Industrial Licences for Reliance Defence approved

India-Sri Lanka Exercise

TMitra Shakti

he third India- Sri Lanka Joint Training Exercise Mitra Shakti- 2015 culminated on 12 October 2015 at Aundh Military Camp, Pune. The 14- day joint exercise reviewed transnational terrorism, developing interoperability and conduct of joint tactical operations controlled by a Joint Command Post. “The exercise demonstrated the determination of the two Armies in working closely with each other to eradicate the menace of terrorism in all forms.” The joint training culminated with a parade, jointly reviewed by Brigadier Tapan Lal Sah of the Indian Army and Brigadier KP Aruna Jayasekera of the Sri Lankan Army.

Indo-Russian Exercise

AIndra

14-day Indo-Russian joint training Exercise Indra commenced on 7 November at the Mahajan Field Firing Ranges near Bikaner in Rajasthan. The exercise was focussed specifically on ‘Counter terrorism operations in desert terrain under a United Nations Mandate,’ and was conducted in two phases. The first phase involved combat conditioning and tactical training, which was then put into practice in the second phase. Both the contingents jointly took part in a validation exercise, which included clearing of an axis, establishment of observation post, cordon and search operations and house clearing drills.

This year’s Exercise Indra involved a total of 500 military personnel from a Russian Motorised Brigade and an Indian Mechanised Infantry Regiment, and was intended to train soldiers to defeat current and future terrorist threats. The exercise “aimed at strengthening and broadening the inter-operability and co-operation between both the Armies.”

On 6 November, the Department of Industrial Policy and promotion ( DIPP) approved 12 industrial licences for eight subsidiaries of Reliance Defence ( R- Defence). Eight subsidiaries of Reliance Defence which got licences for ‘ full- spectrum’ manufacturing, were for aircraft, helicopters, missiles, night vision, naval and land systems. “New defence projects by R-Infra subsidiaries will cover all critical requirements of the Indian Armed Forces under the ‘Make in India’ programme.” These projects are to be located in Gujarat where R-Infra has acquired Pipavav Defence and Offshore Engineering Company Limited together with sole management control.

Of particular importance is the Reliance plan to establish an aerostructures production facility near Nagpur in Maharashtra which is reportedly part of the plan to fulfill the Dassault commitment for fulfilling the 50% offsets required under the Rafale programme. Air Marshal (retd) M Matheswaran ( see photograph) has been appointed as President Aerospace Business for Reliance.

Tata to produce Apache parts for Boeing

Boeing and Tata Advanced Systems Limited ( TASL) have announced a joint venture to manufacture aerostructures for the AH-64 Apache attack helicopter and collaborate on integrated systems development opportunities in India. The JV will initially create a manufacturing ‘centre of excellence’ to produce Apache parts, and to compete for additional manufacturing work packages across Boeing platforms, both commercial and military.

“This partnership will capitalise on India’s industrial capability, innovation and talent to contribute to Boeing’s long- term competitiveness and position us for future growth in the global marketplace,” said Chris Chadwick, president and CEO of Boeing Defence, Space & Security. “It is a demonstration of our commitment to further accelerate our partnership with one of the world’s fastest growing economies.”