Defence Production and Export Promotion Policy 2020
LCH deployed at Leh
greatly extends the reach of the Indian military. Conversely, Japanese warships or military aircraft can use Indian facilities. With this, India has completed arrangements of sharing military logistics with all members of the ‘Quad’ or Quadilateral, an emerging alliance of India, the USA, Japan and Australia.
India and Vietnam to boost economic and defence ties
Transport Aircraft Division at Kanpur has been manufacturing this light transport aircraft since the mid-1980s, with its engines and accessories being produced at HAL Divisions in Bangalore and Lucknow respectively.
Unified Air Defence Command
According to reports from New Delhi, the all-service (joint) Air Defence
Command (ADC), is likely to be set up by mid-October 2020 and headed by an Air Force officer. Preparations have been afoot to prepare the structure of the Command with its headquarters at
Prayagraj (Allahabad) and having under unified command all assets of the Indian Air Force and Indian Army ( image is the crest of Corps of Army Air Defence).
First S-400s to India by end 2021
On 10 August 2020, the Defence Acquisition Council in its meeting held under Chairmanship of the Defence Minister accorded approval for capital acquisitions of various platforms and equipment worth Rs 8,722.38 crore. The main item concerned HAL’s HTT-40 basic trainer aircraft with procurement of 106 such aircraft being cleared. Of these, 70 HTT-40s will be initially procured post certification from HAL and balance 36 after operationalisation. It is recalled that the IAF had ordered the Pilatus PC-7 Mk.II to meet its basic trainer requirement and was initially indifferent to the indigenous HTT-40. It is learnt that the second batch of Swiss-origin trainers will now most probably not be ordered to follow the first tranche of 75 aircraft imported from 2013 onwards.
CAS flies MiG-21bison
The MoD has signed contracts with Bharat Earth Movers Ltd. (BEML), Tata Power Company Ltd. (TPCL) and Larsen & Toubro (L&T) for supply of six Pinaka Regiments to the Indian Army at an approximate cost of Rs. 2580 Crores. These will comprise 114 launchers with automated gun aiming & positioning system (AGAPS) and 45 command posts to be procured along with 330 vehicles from BEML. Induction of these six Pinaka Regiments is planned to be completed by 2024.
Responding to the call for Atmanirbhar Bharat, a DRDO delegation has met with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to apprise him about 108 systems and subsystems which have been identified for design and development by Indian Industry. “DRDO will also provide support to industries for design, development and testing of these systems on requirement basis….which will allow DRDO to focus on design & development of critical and advanced technologies and systems.”