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First Ever Commemoration Of WW-1 Battle Of Haifa, Israel On Sep 22, 2010


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Army officer completes first-ever base jump in India

New Delhi: This army officer intercepts and disrupts enemy communications for a living but also loves jumping off high rising buildings.

Lt Colonel Satyendra Verma carried out India's first ever base jump from a 450-ft tall Pitampura TV tower building in the Capital early morning on Friday.

Colonel Verma, who is a professional sky diver, has completed this feat as part of the Army Signal Corps centenary year celebrations.

BASE stands for Building, Antenna, Span (Bridge) and Earth and this advanced form of free fall jump is a major sport around the world.

Verma, with over 1,100 skydivings to his credit, is an experienced BASE jumper and had achieved the feat earlier from the telecom tower in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia and Perrine
Bridge in the US.

It took him more than a year to get the permission for this daredevil act from the owners of the building.

For the jump, the Army had earlier carried out a technical study of the site and found that the feat was possible, given the Pitampura TV tower's location beside the Delhi Development Authority's cricket ground.

In this form of extreme, adventure sport, the jumper takes a free fall off the tower, but carries an unopened parachute. As the jumper approaches the ground, the canopy opens up for a safe landing.

"This sport is attempted only by experienced skydivers to ensure that the jumper completely understands the concept of body positioning in free fall and is capable of immediate and
suitable response to any canopy malfunction," the officers said.

BASE jumping is significantly more dangerous than similar sports such as skydiving from an aircraft and is regarded by many as an 'extreme sport'.

BASE numbers are awarded to those, who have made at least one jump from each of the four categories -- buildings, antennas, spans or bridges, and Earth (such as mountain
cliffs)

---------- Post added at 06:39 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:39 PM ----------

Army officer completes first-ever base jump in India

New Delhi: This army officer intercepts and disrupts enemy communications for a living but also loves jumping off high rising buildings.

Lt Colonel Satyendra Verma carried out India's first ever base jump from a 450-ft tall Pitampura TV tower building in the Capital early morning on Friday.

Colonel Verma, who is a professional sky diver, has completed this feat as part of the Army Signal Corps centenary year celebrations.

BASE stands for Building, Antenna, Span (Bridge) and Earth and this advanced form of free fall jump is a major sport around the world.

Verma, with over 1,100 skydivings to his credit, is an experienced BASE jumper and had achieved the feat earlier from the telecom tower in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia and Perrine
Bridge in the US.

It took him more than a year to get the permission for this daredevil act from the owners of the building.

For the jump, the Army had earlier carried out a technical study of the site and found that the feat was possible, given the Pitampura TV tower's location beside the Delhi Development Authority's cricket ground.

In this form of extreme, adventure sport, the jumper takes a free fall off the tower, but carries an unopened parachute. As the jumper approaches the ground, the canopy opens up for a safe landing.

"This sport is attempted only by experienced skydivers to ensure that the jumper completely understands the concept of body positioning in free fall and is capable of immediate and
suitable response to any canopy malfunction," the officers said.

BASE jumping is significantly more dangerous than similar sports such as skydiving from an aircraft and is regarded by many as an 'extreme sport'.

BASE numbers are awarded to those, who have made at least one jump from each of the four categories -- buildings, antennas, spans or bridges, and Earth (such as mountain
cliffs)
 
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The Hindu : News / National : Army to get unmanned ground vehicles


The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is preparing a road map for induction of unmanned ground vehicles into the Army, S. Sundaresh, Chief Controller Research and Development, Armament and Combat Engineering, DRDO, said.

Inaugurating the “Driving Innovation - DRDO Student Robot Competition 2010” at the Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment (CVRDE) at Avadi near here, Mr. Sundaresh said the Army had agreed to induct 20 Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs), developed by the DRDO's R&D establishment in Pune.

Daksh, the ROV, would locate, handle and destroy hazardous objects safely. Designed to operate remotely from a range of 500 metres, it was capable of handling improvised explosive devices.

Another version to monitor the contamination level in a Nuclear Biological Chemical-affected environment through its Radiation Measurement and Automatic Control Unit and Portable Gas Chromatograph was ready and the Army had to come up with its requirement, he said.

DRDO officials held a meeting with the Army's Director-General (Perspective Planning) a few weeks ago and the road map for induction of unmanned ground vehicles would be ready in the next few months.

About 240 colleges had applied for the student robot competition and 14 teams were selected for the finals.

Netra demonstration

A demonstration of Netra, a fully autonomous, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), designed for anti-terrorist and counter-insurgency operations was held. “It can be deployed 1.5 km away. Flying at a height of 200 metres, it could send live video to the base. Four high-speed propellers allow the vertical take-off and landing of the portable Netra, which was expected be ready for induction into the Army by year-end,” said Alok Mukherjee, chief designer.
 
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Army team makes Guinness entry | Deccan Chronicle | 2010-11-01


Bengaluru, Oct. 31: The 48-member Swetha Ashwa team of the Indian Army has achieved a feat worthy of entry in the Guinness Book of World Records by balancing 48 people on a single, moving bike.

The record-breaking performance was held on Saturday at Yelahanka Air Force Station and on Sunday the same feat was displayed again for the media and other military officials.

It was a breathtaking sight when the famed ‘Swetha Ashwa’ team from the Corps of Military Police, stood in a pyramid formation on a 500 cc Royal Enfield motorcycle as they went past the awestruck audience. With this demonstration, the team has broken the record set by the Army Corps of Brazil.

The air rang with applause as the team performed their unique maneuvers, like ‘scissors cross’ and ‘parallel crossing,’ with skill and precision. The Swetha Ashwa team has been the major attraction at Republic Day and Independence Day parades for their sensational performances on motorbikes.

“We are happy to have set a world record. We had actually prepared to cover 1.6 km, but could not do so as the runway length did not permit it,” said Naik Subedar M.G. Rajan, the leader of the team. “There were difficulties during our four-month long training period, including an accident where one of our team members fractured his back. He recouped and was part of the record-breaking team,” Rajan said.

Earlier, on Sunday, the reunion of the Corps of Military Police began with the Adjutant General and Colonel Commandant of the CMP, Lieutenant General Mukesh Sabharwal and other serving and retired army officers paying homage at the war memorial.

Lt. Gen. Sabharwal then felicitated the family members of the CMP personnel who laid down their lives in various military operations. He honoured the Swetha Ashwa team and the team of Motor Para Gliders of the Parachute Regiment, who also showed their skills on Sunday.
 
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1,500-horsepower FMBT to replace T-72 tanks beyond 2020
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The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is working on India's future main battle tank (FMBT) with a 1,500-horsepower (HP) indigenous engine. This tank will replace beyond 2020 the imported T-72 tanks, renamed Ajeya, with the Army. Various specifications for the FMBT have been finalised.

“For engine development, we have formed a national team comprising members from the academia, the user, industry and the DRDO. We have also gone in for an international consultant,” said S. Sundaresh, Chief Controller (Armaments and Combat Engineering), DRDO. The first prototype of the indigenous engine would be ready in four to five years.

The DRDO is launching a project to develop the transmission for the tank; the indigenous engine and transmission will together be called Bharat Power Pack and it will meet the FMBT's mobility requirements.

“We are confident that we will be ready with the FMBT prototype in five to seven years,” Mr. Sundaresh said. “We are trying to involve all the stakeholders — the user [the Army], quality control personnel and the production agency — in this project and the industry will be our partner. We will go for a modular design so that we can always upgrade the tank when new technology comes in.”

The FMBT will weigh only 50 tonnes compared to Arjun-Mark II's 62 tonnes. The DRDO is simultaneously working on Arjun-Mark II. The volume occupied by the electronics package in the FMBT will be less. The FMBT's engine will be two-thirds the size of Arjun-Mark I's, but will generate 1,500 HP compared to Arjun-Mark I's 1,400 HP.

Improved technologies

Improvements in material, fuel injection and filtration technologies will contribute to the reduction in the engine size without compromising on power.

“The immediate task for the CVRDE [Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment] is to develop the Arjun-Mk II tank and demonstrate it to the user and go for the production of 124 numbers in the HVF (Heavy Vehicles Factory],” Mr. Sundaresh said. The CVRDE and the HVF are situated in Avadi, near Chennai.

The Arjun-Mk II tank will have a number of upgrades compared with Arjun-Mk I. Missiles can be fired from the former to destroy long-range targets and bring down attack helicopters. The tank's commander will have a panoramic sight with night vision. “With this upgrade, the commander can carry out his hunting job at night with his thermal sight and engage targets more effectively,” Mr. Sundaresh explained.

Another upgrade will see the introduction of an explosive reactive armour panel which will comprise explosives in metallic brick form. These bricks will be mounted not only on the front slope of Arjun-Mk-II tank, but all round it as well. When the enemy ammunition hits these bricks, they will explode and retard the energy of the projectile, which then cannot penetrate the tank's armour.

“The penalty for using these bricks is that they will add 1.5 tonnes to the tank's weight. But we can prevent top attack and side attack. We can add to the tank's protection from missiles and rocket-propelled grenades,” the DRDO Chief Controller said.

Automatic target tracking

The fourth upgrade is that Arjun Mk-II will have an automatic target tracking system which will add to the accuracy when firing on a moving target.

P. Sivakumar, CVRDE Director, said Arjun-Mk-II would have a total of 93 upgrades, including the advanced air defence gun system for firing at attack helicopters. The Army had placed an indent for production of 124 Arjun-Mk II tanks.

In phase I, 45 tanks will roll out with 56 upgrades, including the missile firing capability and the commander's panoramic sight with night vision.

In phase II, the remaining 79 tanks, with all the 93 improvements, will come off the assembly line. “By 2013-14, the first batch of around 30 tanks will go out,” Dr. Sivakumar said.

According to Mr. Sundaresh, these 124 Arjun-Mk II tanks would cost Rs.5,000 crores.

The Hindu : News / National : 1,500-horsepower FMBT to replace T-72 tanks beyond 2020
 
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Antony Hints at Major Policy Changes for Defence Industry
19:23 IST


Indian Defence Industry is poised to witness major policy changes. Disclosing this at a function after presenting the Raksha Mantri's Awards for Excellence for the Year 2008-09 to Ordinance Factories (OFs) and Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs), here today the Defence Minister Shri A.K. Antony said the first ever Defence Production Policy would be unveiled soon and major changes incorporated in the Defence Procurement Policy.

"2011 January onwards we hope to introduce the new Defence Production Policy as well as the Defence Procurement Policy. So now we are going to take some more drastic steps to achieve our goal of speedy indigenization," Shri Antony said.



"Our aim is to have a strong defence industrial base in India, because a country like India cannot indefinitely depend on foreign suppliers for majority of our equipments. At the moment 65-70 percent of the equipments are imported, we have to reverse this trend. So we will continue to support the PSUs, but at the same time PSUs alone will not be able to meet the requirements of the Armed Forces. So now we are formulating a new policy.


Earlier we took a decision (that) hereafter no more nominations to the shipyards, nomination basis. Both public sector shipyards will have to compete with the Indian private shipyards to get projects for the Indian Navy. So all the Indian Navy's procurements in future will be from 'Buy Indian, Make Indian.' … so they will have to compete… So 'Buy Indian and Make Indian' is going to be the major component of our procurement policy. That will help us to have a strong defence industrial base in India," he added.

The Defence Minister said that there is plenty of space and opportunity for the public and the private sector to coexist and thrive. Assuring the DPSUs and OFs all out financial support for their modernization plans, Shri Antony said that they should be vigorously prepared to face competition from the Indian private sector from next year.

“There is no option, but to remain globally competitive and efficient and not rest on past laurels, or achievements,” Shri Antony said. “Both the Defence PSUs and the private sector must carve out respective niches for themselves, by developing their own fields of specialization. These specializations must complement each other’s efforts and thus generate an even more healthier and competitive environment,” he added.

The Defence Minister also stressed on the need for R&D and constant coordination between the DRDO and the Industry Partners. "A growing nation like India, a nation aspiring for the membership of the Security Council, a place on the high table of the nations still depending heavily on foreign countries for supply of defence equipments is not good for us," he added.



Commending the Ordnance Factories and DPSUs for the significant improvement in recent months, the Defence Minister said that it must lead to a further refining and development of technical skills and reliability," he said.

Speaking on the occasion the Minister of State for Defence Shri MM Pallam Raju stressed on the need for the DPSUs and OFs to remain cost competitive while delivering quality standards and maintaining consistency. "Timely delivery of the products is an area of concern which we are not able to meet for various reasons", Shri Pallam Raju said. "We should strive hard in ensuring adherence to delivery schedules so that our Defence PSUs and OFs will also emerge as reliable global players in the field of Defence Production", he added.

During the Financial Year 2009-10, the forty Ordnance Factories produced wide range of weapons and defence hardware amounting to ` 8,751 Crores while the total value of production by the nine DPSUs was ` 28,703 Crores.


PIB Press Release
 
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Indian army chief visits Tajikistan

Indian army chief visits Tajikistan

Wednesday, November 10, 2010 - The head of the Indian army, General V K Singh, arrived in Tajikistan on Tuesday night to begin a four-day working visit to strengthen defense ties between the two countries.

“Gen Singh’s visit will further cement our defense relationship with a key friendly country in our extended neighbourhood and provide an impetus to our defense cooperation roadmap in Central Asia,” the Indian Times on Wednesday reported an official source as saying. “Gen Singh's visit assumes special significance in the light of enhanced defense cooperation between India and Tajikistan.”

India has an airbase already stationed in Tajikistan at the Ayni Air Force Base, where over 150 military staff are stationed. In recent years, India has been working to extend the runway at the air base and to construct a perimeter around the base as well as an air-control tower.

Tajik Defense Minister Sherali Khairulloyev met with General Singh on Wednesday to discuss enhancing military-technical cooperation between the two states, the Tajik news source AsiaPlus reported on Wednesday. The officials also talked about personnel training in the Tajik army and military cooperation between Tajikistan and India to combat international terrorism.

General Singh is expected to meet with Tajik President Emomali Rahmon on Thursday.

He will also visit the training grounds used by the Tajik Defense Ministry, a hospital and the Tajik Military Institute during his visit.
 
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India Acquiring Ultra Light Howitzers; No Agreement With BAE Systems As Yet

2010-11-10 The Government of India is not purchasing Ultra-Light Howitzers (ULHs) for the Indian Army from BAE Systems, against the Defence Procurement manual 2009.

Proposal for procurement of Ultra Light Howitzers (ULHs) through FMS route is underway.

This information was given by Defence Minister Shri AK Antony in a written reply to Shri Jai Prakash Narayan Singh in Rajya Sabha today.

India Acquiring Ultra Light Howitzers; No Agreement With BAE Systems As Yet | India Defence
 
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Indian MoD comments various defence and security issues
15:37 GMT, November 11, 2010 According to the Indian Press Information Bureau, the following information was recently given by Indian Defence Minister, Shri AK Antony in written replies to members of the Parliament of India:


Auto-Pilot System for Jaguar Aircraft

Auto pilots have already been fitted on 55 Jaguar aircraft of the Indian Air Force. The Comptroller & Auditor General had raised the issue of delay in induction of auto pilot in its Report No. CA18 of 2008-2009 (Air Force and Navy) for the year ended 31.3.2008. The Ministry has agreed with the audit conclusions regarding delay in the procurement process. After confirming full operationalisation of the already installed auto pilots, a Request for proposal is being issued for procurement of additional sets of auto pilots for the remaining Jaguar aircraft.


Commissioning of Interceptor Boat C 148

An interceptor boat C 148 was commissioned in October 2010. The maximum speed of the boat is 45 knots with a displacement of 90 tonnes. The boat has been designed and constructed by ABG Shipyard. The contract was signed with M/s ABG Shipyard in March 2006 for supply of 11 interceptor boats. Six of the boats have already been delivered. The remaining boats are scheduled for delivery during November 2010 – May 2011. With the induction of these boats, surveillance capabilities of the Coast Guard have been significantly increased.


Agreement on Purchase of Helicopters

The contract for procurement of 12 AW-101 helicopters for the Indian Air Force was signed between Ministry of Defence and M/s Agusta Westland Ltd., United Kingdom at a total cost of Rs. 3546.17 crores on 8th February 2010.

The Ministry of Finance had raised certain issues relating to costs that were clarified while placing the proposal for consideration of the Government.

AW-101 is a three engine helicopter, whereas, Sikorsky S-92 is a twin engine helicopter. The S-92 did not comply with certain mandatory Services Qualitative Requirements (SQRs) of the Request for Proposal and hence its commercial proposal was not opened.


Agreement with Russia for Multirole Transport Aircraft

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and Russian Companies UAC Transport Aircraft and Rosonboronexport signed a Shareholders Agreement on 9.9.2010 to incorporate a Joint Venture Company for design, development and production of Multi Role Transport Aircraft. This agreement was in pursuance to the Inter-Governmental Agreement between Government of India and Russian Federation which was signed on 12th November, 2007 for Design, Development and Production of a Multirole Transport Aircraft (MTA). The Joint Venture company will have shareholding of 50 each from both sides. The investment for the programme has been worked out to be 600.70- MUSD at 2006 Price Level – which will be shared equally by the two sides. Development and certification of the MTA will take 6 years from 'Go-ahead' of the project. It is planned to start the project in January, 2011 after incorporation of the Joint Venture programme.
 
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