Defence & Security

Yearly Review 2020

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Indian Army inducts 10m short span bridges
 The Indian Army has inducted three sets of
10-meter short span bridges.
 They were formally handed over on 29
Dec'20 at the Talegaon facility of Larsen and
Toubro Limited.
 The equipment will meet the important
requirement of providing mobility to own
forces by speedy bridging of gaps during
operations.
Successful maiden test trial of SAHAYAK-NG
 DRDO along with the Indian Navy conducted
the successful maiden test trial of SAHAYAK-
NG- India’s first indigenously designed and
developed Air Dropped Container from IL
38SD aircraft of Indian Navy off the coast of
Goa on 30 Dec'20.
 The trial was conducted by the Indian Navy
to enhance its operational logistics
capabilities and provide critical engineering
stores to ships.
Export of Akash missile system approved
 The government has approved the export of
the indigenous Akash missile system.
 A committee for faster approvals has been
created.
 The Akash missile is a surface-to-air missile
with a range of 25 kilometers.
 Developed by DRDO, it is India’s first
indigenously designed missile system and
can target fighter jets, cruise missiles,
drones, and other aerial assets.
Indian naval ship conducts "passage exercise"
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 An Indian Navy warship undertook a
"passage exercise" (PASSEX) with the
Vietnamese Navy in the South China Sea as
part of efforts to boost maritime cooperation
between the two countries.
 Indian naval ship INS Kiltan participated in
the exercise on December 26 & 27, 2020.
 The Indian Navy participated in 13 bilateral
and multilateral exercises in 2020.
Vice-Admiral Rajat Datta is new DG of AFMS
 The central government appointed Vice-
Admiral Rajat Datta as the next Director-
General of the Armed Forces Medical
Services (DGAFMS).
 DGAFMS is the senior-most medical officer
in the three services who looks after all the
hospitals of the force.
 He will succeed incumbent Lieutenant
General Anup Bannerjee and assume the
office on January 1, 2021.
Defence Secretary launches DGNCC Digital
Forum
 Defence Secretary Dr Ajay Kumar launched
the DGNCC Digital Forum on 24 Dec 2020 in
Delhi.
 This forum will help NCC cadets to share their
experiences, opinions and suggestions on
NCC training, social service and community
development and sports and adventure
activities and host of other issues related to
national security, national integration and
nation-building.
Successful trial of MR-SAM missile
  DRDO conducted the successful trial of the
Medium Range Surface to Air MR-SAM
missile from Chandipur off the Odisha coast,
on 23 Dec 2020.
 This was the army version of the MR-SAM
missile which has been designed jointly by
India and Israel.
 The missile is designed to provide the armed
forces with air defense capability against a
variety of airborne targets at medium ranges.
Indian Navy, INCOIS sign MoU
 Indian Navy has signed a Memorandum of
Understanding with Indian National Centre
for Ocean Information Services for sharing
ocean services data and expertise in
operational oceanography, virtually.
 Dr. T. Srinivasa Kumar, Director INCOIS, and
Commodore A A Abhyankar, who heads
Indian Navy’s Oceanology and Meteorology
Directorate, signed the MoU.
DRDO successfully test-fires ATAGS Howitzer
 DRDO successfully test-fired its Advanced
Tower Artillery Gun System Howitzer on 19
Dec 2020.
 It tracked the target accurately and
successfully at Odisha’s Balasore firing
range.
 It has the capability to strike targets at the
longest range of 48 kilometers.
 It has been produced by two firms Bharat
Forge & Tata Advanced Systems Limited.
Singh inaugurates India's HWT test facility
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 Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has
inaugurated the advanced Hypersonic Wind
Tunnel (HWT) test facility.
 India is the third country after the US and
Russia to have such a facility.
 The HWT test facility is 'pressure vacuum-
driven enclosed free jet facility having nozzle
exit diameter of 1 metre and will simulate
Mach No 5 to 12.
DRDO Awards Ceremony held
 Defence Minister Rajnath Singh felicitated
eminent scientists for their contribution and
services to the nation at the DRDO Awards
Ceremony on 18 Dec 2020.
 He also handed over a model of Astra MK-1
BVR air to air missile to Indian Air Force
Chief, Indian Maritime Situational Awareness
System to the Navy chief and the Border
Surveillance System to Army Chief.
The 35th edition of IND-INDO CORPAT.
 The 35th edition of India-Indonesia
coordinated Patrol between the Indian navy
and Indonesia begin.
 Indian Naval Ship Kulish, an indigenously
built missile corvette along with P8I Maritime
Patrol Aircraft will undertake coordinated
patrol with Indonesian Naval Ship KRI Cut
Nyak Dien.
 The 35th IND-INDO CORPAT will contribute
towards the Indian Navy's efforts to
consolidate inter-operability.
India test-fires two Prithvi-2 missiles
  India successfully testfires two Prithvi-2
ballistic missiles off the eastern coast of
Odisha in Balasore.
 The Prithvi-2 missile is capable of carrying
500-1,000 kg of warheads and is powered by
liquid propulsion twin engines.
 Earlier BrahMos supersonic cruise missile
developed by DRDO with a strike range of
300 kilometers successfully hit its target
shipping a test fire.
ICG Interceptor Boat commissioned
 Indian Coast Guard Interceptor Boat got
commissioned on 15 Dec 2020 at Hazira in
Gujarat.
 This Interceptor boat is built indigenously
by L&T Jetty, Hazira is capable of a high
speed of 45 knots having the capability to
operate in shallow waters.
 It is fitted with the latest state-of-the-
art navigation and communication equipment
designed for high-speed interception, close
coast patrol, etc.
US Congress passes defence policy bill
 The US Congress has officially passed the
$740 billion defence policy bill, which among
other things include calling out Chinese
aggression against India along the Line of
Actual Control.
 The US House of Representatives and the
Senate passed the National Defense
Authorization Act.
 The House and Senate versions of the bill
were reconciled by a bipartisan
Congressional conference committee.
GSL launches patrol vessel ICGS Saksham
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 Goa Shipyard Ltd launched the fifth and final
Offshore Patrol Vessel out of an order of five
such vessels which is constructing for the
Indian Coast Guard.
 The vessel has been named ICGS Saksham.
 GSL’s OPVs are 2,350-tonne vessels, armed
with 30-millimetre guns and equipped with
“quick response boats” to handle
emergencies along the coast, piracy and anti-
terrorism missions.
PM Modi lights up Swarnim Vijay Mashaal
 PM Narendra Modi lit up Swarnim Vijay
Mashaal on 16 Dec 2020 and began the 50th-
anniversary celebrations of the Indo-Pak
War.
 Four Victory Mashaals were lit from the
Eternal Flame of National War Memorial.
 These Mashaals will be carried to various
parts of the country including to villages of
Param Vir Chakra and Mahavir Chakra
Awardees of the 1971 War.
Coast Guard ship 'Sujit' commissioned in Goa
 The Indian Coast Guard ship 'Sujit', the
second in the series of 105 metres off-shore
patrol vessels, was commissioned in Goa on
15 Dec'20.
 The vessel will enhance the Indian Coast
Guard's operational capability to discharge
multifarious maritime tasks.
 It was commissioned at the Goa Shipyard
Limited (GSL).
 It is fitted with advanced technology,
navigation and communication equipment,
etc.
GRSE Kolkata launches ‘Himgiri’
  Himgiri, which is the first of the three Project
17A ships being built at Garden Reach
Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited (GRSE),
Kolkata, was launched on 14 Dec 2020.
 Under the Project 17A program, a total of 7
ships, 4 at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders
Limited and 3 ships at GRSE, are being built.
 They will have enhanced stealth features and
advanced indigenous weapon and sensor fit.
Russian navy to join NATO countries in drills
 The Russian navy will take part in military
drills with multiple NATO members for the
first time since 2011.
 The drills will involve 30 countries, with 10
engaging their fleets and the rest sending
observers.
 The Aman-2021 drills will involve anti-piracy
exercises off the coast of Pakistan in
February 2021.
Sub-Machine gun completes successful trials
 A sub-machine gun designed by the DRDO
has successfully undergone the defence
ministry's user trials.
 The successful completion of trials has paved
the way for this 5.56x30 mm gun's induction
into the armed forces.
 The DRDO-designed joint protective venture
carbine is a gas-operated semi-automatic
weapon and its rate of fire is more than 700
rounds per minute.
IN finalises procurement of anti-drone systems
 The Indian Navy has finalised a contract for
procurement of a batch of Israeli weapon
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systems that are capable of bringing down
high-speed enemy drones.
 The delivery of the SMASH 2000 fire control
systems is expected to begin in early 2021.
 The fire control system, manufactured by
Israeli firm Smart Shooter can track and bring
down high-speed drones.
DRDO-developed howitzer undergoes trial
 The made in India howitzer Advanced Towed
Artillery Gun System underwent trials at
Ahmednagar in Maharashtra on 6 Dec 2020.
 The howitzer has been developed by DRDO
and has a striking range of around 50 kms.
 The Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System
(ATAGS) project was started in 2013 by
DRDO to replace older guns in service in the
Indian Army with a modern 155mm artillery
gun.
Japan, France, US plan joint military drills
 Japan, France, and the United States will
hold joint military drills on land and sea for the
first time in May 2021.
 The exercises, conducted on one of Japan’s
uninhabited outlying islands, will focus on
providing relief efforts during a natural
disaster, but parts could also form the basis
for a defence against attack.
PASSEX conducted by Indian and Russian Navy
 The Indian Navy (IN) is undertaking a
Passage Exercise (PASSEX) with the
Russian Federation Navy (RuFN) in the
Eastern Indian Ocean Region (IOR) from 4-5
Dec 2020.
  IN is being represented by indigenously
constructed guided-missile frigate Shivalik
and anti-submarine corvette Kadmatt along
with integral helicopters.
 The exercise is aimed at enhancing
interoperability.
BrahMos missile successfully test fired
 BrahMos Supersonic Cruise Missile in Anti-
Ship mode was successfully test-fired on 1
Dec 2020 against a decommissioned Ship.
 The test-firing was carried out by the Indian
Navy.
 BrahMos is the supersonic cruise missile
jointly developed by DRDO and NPOM of
Russia as a Brahmos Aerospace joint
venture, which became Brahmos Aerospace
Private Limited.
Indian Navy’s MARCOS deployed
 The Marine Commandos (MARCOS) of the
Indian Navy have been deployed in the
Pangong lake area in eastern Ladakh.
 The idea behind the deployment of the
MARCOS in Eastern Ladakh where Indian
Air Force’s Garud operatives and Indian
Army’s Para Special Forces, which have
been there since day one of the conflicts, is
to enhance the integration of the three
services.
Cycle expedition of Naval Dockyard concludes
 A Cycle expedition consisting of ten Defence
Civilian Employees of Naval Dockyard from
Visakhapatnam to INS Chilka and back
concluded on 26 November 2020.
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 The expedition was aimed to showcase
Yard's self-reliance and spread Covid
awareness.
 It commenced from ND(V) on 21 November
20 and finished at ND(V) covering a total
distance of more than 700 km.
Indian Army launches cycling expedition
 Konark Corps of Indian Army has launched a
1971 kms cycling expedition in Gujarat and
Rajasthan.
 It has been launched to commemorate the
commencement of the Golden Jubilee
Victory Celebrations of Indian Armed Forces
in the Indo-Pak War of 1971.
 The cycle expedition was flagged off from an
outpost near Lakhpat in Kutch on 26
November 2020 by Honorary Captain
Gumansinh Jhala.
Navy leases two Sea Guardian drones from US
 The Indian Navy has leased a pair of MQ-9B
Sea Guardian unmanned aerial vehicles
(UAVs) from the United States.
 It is a variant of the Predator B
drones manufactured by US firm General
Atomics.
 The MQ-9B is the first piece of military
hardware to be leased by India after the
government announced new weapon-
acquisition procedures that allowed the
option of leasing weapons and systems.
Government approves joint military logistics
 The govt has formally approved the first set
of joint structures to handle logistics in armed
forces.
  The first 3 joint logistics nodes at Mumbai,
Guwahati and Port Blair will handle small
arms ammunition, rations, FOL (fuels, oils
and lubricants), general stores, spares,
engineering support, etc. for the Army, Navy
and Air Force to ensure cost-effectiveness in
operations.
Indian Army launches 'Operation 500'
 Indian Army has launched 'Operation 500' In
Jammu and Kashmir against Pakistan's
terrorists.
 It has been revealed that 270-300 terrorists
are present in Pakistan at Kashmir's
doorsteps on various launchpads, in an
attempt to enter India.
 Pakistan has been training these terrorists.
India successfully test fires BrahMos Missile
 India on November 24, 2020 “successfully”
test-fired the surface-to-surface supersonic
cruise missile BrahMos.
 The land-attack version of the missile was
test-fired in the Andaman and Nicobar and it
was a successful trial.
 The range of the new land-attack version of
the missile has been extended to 400 km
from the original 290 km but its speed has
been maintained at 2.8 Mach.
Taiwan starts construction of new submarines
 Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on
November 24, 2020, vowed to defend the
democratic island’s sovereignty with the
construction of a new fleet of submarines, a
key project aided by the US.
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 Ing-wen revealed that all the submarines
would be domestically manufactured and
would counter the "enemy" fleet, which had
been lurking around the island.
First indigenous heavy weight Torpedo
 Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) has handed
over its heavy weight Torpedo, Varunastra, to
the Indian Navy.
 Varunastra or the heavy weight Torpedo has
been designed by the Naval Science and
Technological Laboratory, a unit of the
Defence Research and Development
Organisation in Visakhapatnam.
 This product is also being offered for export.
2nd edition of SITMEX-20 underway
 Indian Navy Ships including indigenously
built ASW corvette Kamorta and missile
corvette Karmuk are participating in the 2nd
edition of India, Singapore and Thailand
Trilateral Maritime Exercise SITMEX-20 in
the Andaman Sea.
 The two-day exercise got underway on 21
November 2020.
 The first edition of SITMEX, hosted by Indian
Navy, was conducted off Port Blair in
September 2019.
23 Nov : Bilateral Maritime Exercise SIMBEX-20
 Indian Navy is scheduled to host the 27th
edition of India - Singapore Bilateral Maritime
Exercise SIMBEX-20 from 23 Nov in the
Andaman Sea.
 The SIMBEX series of exercises between the
Indian Navy and Republic of Singapore Navy
has been conducted annually since 1994.
  The 2020 edition of SIMBEX will witness
participation by Indian Navy ships including
destroyer Rana with Chetak helicopter.
Malabar exercise concludes in Arabian Sea
 The multilateral war-gaming exercise
Malabar concluded on 20 Nov 2020.
 It saw the participation of all four member
nations of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue
(Quad) for the first time since 2007.
 The naval exercise was conducted in two
phases, first off the Visakhapatnam coast
earlier in November, and the second in the
Arabian Sea, from November 17, 2020.
30th India-Thailand Coordinated Patrol
 The 30th edition of India-Thailand
Coordinated Patrol (Indo-Thai CORPAT)
between the Indian Navy and the Royal Thai
Navy took place from November 18-20, 2020.
 INS Karmuk and His Majesty's Thailand Ship
(HTMS) Kraburi, along with Dornier Maritime
Patrol Aircraft from both the navies
participated in the CORPAT.
 Both the nations have been carrying out
CORPAT twice a year since 2005.
Airavat arrives at Port of Mombasa, Kenya
 In continuation of the ongoing humanitarian
mission ‘Sagar-II’, Indian Naval Ship Airavat
arrived at Port of Mombasa, Kenya on 20 Nov
2020.
 The Government of India is providing
assistance to friendly foreign countries to
overcome natural calamities and COVID-19
pandemic.
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 INS Airavat is carrying food aid for the people
of South Sudan.
US Navy destroyer shot down ballistic missile
 The US Navy destroyer USS John Finn
successfully intercepted a mock
intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
 In the first-of-its-kind test, the Navy warship
fired an SM-3 Block IIA, a weapon originally
designed to eliminate mid-range missiles, at
the mock ICBM.
 This test shows that nation has a viable
option for a new layer of defence against
long-range threats.
Second phase of Malabar Exercise begins
 The second phase of Exercise Malabar 2020
began on 17 Nov 2020 in the Northern
Arabian Sea.
 This phase will involve coordinated
operations of increasing complexity between
the navies of Australia, India, Japan and the
United States.
 Phase Two will witness joint operations,
centred around the Vikramaditya Carrier
Battle Group of the Indian Navy and Nimitz
Carrier Strike Group of the US Navy.
QRSAM Missile System Achieves Major Milestone
 Quick Reaction Surface to Air Missile
(QRSAM) System has achieved a major
milestone by a direct hit on to a Banshee
Pilotless target aircraft at medium range
and medium altitude.
 Ministry of Defence in a statement said that
the missile launch took place from ITR
Chandipur at 3.30 PM off the Odisha Coast.
  The missile is propelled by a single stage
solid propellant rocket motor.
5th Scorpene class submarine 'Vagir' launched
 Indian Navy's fifth Scorpene class submarine
'Vagir' was launched on 12 Nov at Mumbai's
Mazagon Dock.
 Minister of State for Defence Shripad Naik
launched the submarine through video
conferencing.
 Vagir is part of the six Kalvari-class
submarines being built in India.
 INS Kalvari, the first of the six Scorpene-class
submarines, was launched in 2017, followed
by Khanderi, Karanj and Vela.
Indian Army gifts horses to Bangladesh Army
 Indian Army gifted 20 fully trained military
horses and 10 mine detection dogs to
Bangladesh Army.
 These equines and canines were trained by
the Remount and Veterinary Corps of Indian
Army.
 The Indian Army has also trained
Bangladesh Army personnel for training and
handling these specialist dogs and horses.
Model of anti-satellite missile system
 Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated
a model of the anti-satellite missile system at
the DRDO headquarters in Delhi on 9 Nov
2020.
 Earlier, DRDO had successfully conducted
an Anti-Satellite (A-SAT) missile test 'Mission
Shakti' from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island in
Odisha on March 27, 2019.
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 The interceptor missile was a three-stage
missile with two solid rocket boosters.
Centre’s first drone pilot training programme
 India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation has launched
a drive to recruit and train drone pilots as part
of its effort to make commercial UAVs
“become a reality” in the country.
 The premier aircraft pilot training institute in
Uttar Pradesh had recently entered into an
agreement with Delhi-based private firm
Drone Destination for the collaborative effort.
Phase 1 of Malabar exercise concludes
 The first phase of the Malabar naval exercise
has culminated in the Bay of Bengal on 7 Nov
2020.
 It saw the participation of the Indian Navy
(IN), United States Navy (USN), Japan
Maritime Self-Defence Force (JMSDF), and
Royal Australian Navy
 The 24th multinational maritime naval
exercise, which started on Nov 3, 2020, was
restricted to the sea phase and conducted in
zero contact format.
India conducts major tri-Service exercise
 A special tri-Service combat exercise called
“Bull Strike” was conducted by the Andaman
and Nicobar Command (ANC).
 The high-voltage exercise, with assets and
manpower from the Army, Navy and IAF as
well as Para-SF and marine commandos,
was conducted November 3 to 5, 2020.
 The combat manoeuvres included combat
free-fall and para-drop from C-130J “Super
Hercules” strategic airlift aircraft.
Two-day exercise ‘Sagar Kavach’ begins
 A two-day joint coastal security exercise,
“Sagar Kavach” was launched at Paradip
Coast on 5 Nov 2020.
 The exercise is being carried out by a joint
effort of the state of Odisha and West Bengal
governments.
 More than 10 such departments, including
the Indian Navy, the Indian Coast Guard, the
Odisha Police, have joined the joint exercise.
 It will be held for two days on November 5
and 6.
IACG Naravane conferred honorary rank of Gen.
 Indian Army chief General M M Naravane
was conferred the honorary rank of General
of the Nepali Army by Nepal's President
Bidya Devi Bhandari at a special ceremony in
Kathmandu.
 The tradition, which started in 1950, reflects
the strong ties between the two militaries.
 General Naravane was presented with a
sword, insignia and a certificate of
conferment order by the President.
Second batch of 3 Rafale fighter jets arrives
 The second batch of Rafale jets the first
western combat aircraft to join the fleet 23
years after the Sukhoi aircraft from Russia
has arrived in India.
 The jets had covered the 7,000-odd km flying
non-stop from France, the IAF posted after
the three aircraft landed.
 The induction of all 36 jets will be completed
by 2023, Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal
RKS Bhadauria has said.
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Pinaka Rocket System successfully test-fired
 An advanced version of India's Pinaka rocket
system was successfully flight tested from
Integrated Test Range in Chandipur, off the
coast of Odisha.
 A total of six rockets were launched in
succession using Pinaka, indigenously
developed by the Defence Research and
Development Organisation (DRDO).
 This advanced version has a longer range
with reduced length compared to Mk-1, its
earlier.
Army Chief begins 3-day Nepal visit
 Army chief Gen MM Naravane arrived in
Nepal on 4 Nov 2020 on a three-day crucial
visit.
 Naravane's visit is largely aimed at resetting
relations with Nepal after the ties came under
severe strain following a bitter border row.
 Gen Naravane will pay homage at the
martyrs’ memorial at the Army Pavilion on 5
Nov 2020 and receive a guard of honour at
the Nepal Army headquarters.
CDF Kenya – Week Long Visit to India
 General Robert Kibochi, Chief of Defence
Forces of Kenya is visiting India from 02-06
Nov 2020 on the invitation by the MOD.
 India is the first country that the CDF Kenya
is visiting outside of Africa after he assumed
Command in May.
 Scheduled to meet the Raksha Mantri, the
National Security Adviser, the Service Chiefs
and senior officials from the Ministry of
External Affairs at New Delhi.
J&K: Tributes paid to Major P Purushottam
 In the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir,
in a solemn and poignant ceremony held at
the Public Relations Office, Badami Bagh
(BB) Cantonment in Srinagar, all ranks paid
rich tributes to Late Major P. Purushottam
and five brave soldiers, who were martyred in
action on this day in 1999.
 On this occasion, wreaths were laid by all
ranks of the unit at the memorial in Public
Relations Office.
Malabar Naval Exercise scheduled in two phases
 The 24th edition of the Malabar Naval
Exercise is scheduled in two phases during
November 2020.
 The First Phase of the Exercise Malabar-20
involving participation by Indian Navy (IN),
United States Navy (USN), Japan Maritime
Self-Defence Force (JMSDF) and Royal
Australian Navy (RAN) is set to commence
off Visakhapatnam in the Bay of Bengal.
 It will continue till 6 November 2020.
Commission of Indian Coast Guard Ship C-452
 Rajan Bargotra, Additional Director General
(Western Seaboard), will commission Indian
Coast Guard’s (ICG) ship C-452 through
video conference in Ratnagiri, Maharashtra.
 The ship was indigenously designed and built
by Larsen & Toubro, Surat complying with
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of
“Make in India” and “Atmanirbhar Bharat”.
China set to build rail line close to border
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 China is all set to begin the construction of
the strategic Sichuan-Tibet rail track between
Ya’an in southwest Sichuan province and
Linzhi in Tibet, close to the Indian border in
Arunachal Pradesh.
 Linzhi, which is also known as Nyingchi, is
located close to Arunachal Pradesh border.
 China railway announced the bidding results
for the construction of two tunnels and one
bridge.
Army doctors perform surgery at 16,000 feet
 Amid the deployment of Indian troops in
harsh winters to counter China on the Line of
Actual Control, Army doctors achieved a
major feat at an altitude of 16,000 feet as they
successfully removed an appendix of a
soldier in a dug-in at a forward surgical centre
in Eastern Ladakh.
 The surgery was performed by a team of
three doctors including a Lt Colonel, a Major
and a Captain on a soldier.
Indian Army develops a messaging application
 The Indian Army has developed a simple
messaging application named the Secure
Application for Internet.
 The application supports end to end secure
voice, text and video calling services for
Android platform over the internet.
 The model is similar to commercially
available messaging applications like
Whatsapp, Telegram, SAMVAD and GIMS
and utilises end to end encryption messaging
protocol.
Defense Logistics Production Centre functional
  A Defense Logistics Production Centre and
Atal Innovation Park has started functioning
at Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu from 28 Oct 2020.
 The defence corridor project aims at
increasing the proportion of Make in India
products in the defence sector.
 An MoU has also been signed today between
the Defence Logistics Production Centre and
the Naval Shipyard at Kochi.
US offers F-18 fighters to India
 The United States of America (USA) has
offered its F-18 naval fighter jets to fulfil the
Indian Navy's requirement of combat jets.
 The Indian Navy had expressed its interest in
the induction of 57 Naval fighter aircraft for
operations from its aircraft carriers.
 Along with the F-18 fighters, the US
government has also offered to sell the
unmanned aircraft Sea Guardian to the
Indian Navy.
74th Infantry Day: 27 October
 Indian Army celebrates October 27 each year
as Infantry Day.
 The day commemorates the first
engagement with an armed adversary post-
independence.
 In response to the threat posed to the
sovereignty and territorial integrity of our
nation, on this day in 1947, the leading
elements of the Indian Army air landed at
Srinagar and gallantly fought the Pakistani
tribesmen led by Pakistan Army.
BRO Road In Sikkim Dedicated To Nation
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 Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on 26 Oct
dedicated a 19.85 Km Alternate Alignment of
the National Highway 310 from km 0.00 to km
19.350 to the nation in East Sikkim.
 The road serves as an important link to
bolster defence preparedness in the Nathula
Sector in particular and in the whole of East
Sikkim in general.
 The ceremony was held through video
conference from the 33 Corp Hq in Sukhna.
Defence Ministry acquires strategic land
 The Defence Ministry is taking control of over
200 acre of strategic grazing grounds near
Lungro La pass.
 It was one of the flashpoints during the
Sumdorong Chu incident in 1986, when the
Indian Army stood up to and thwarted a
Chinese bid to occupy territory in Arunachal
Pradesh.
 It will develop a new defence infrastructure
close to the border with China.
MoD sets new rules for land transfer
 The Defence Ministry has approved changes
to land transfer rules.
 These will allow the armed forces to receive
infrastructure equivalent in value to the land
under their control which is needed for public
utilities.
 The move is expected to reduce the defence
forces expenditure on development works,
including new offices and housing for
soldiers.
Indian Army shot down Pak's quadcopter
  Indian Army troops shot down a Pakistan
Army quadcopter along Line of Control (LoC)
in Keran sector of Jammu and Kashmir's
Kupwara district on 24 Oct 2020.
 The Pakistani quadcopter has been made by
Chinese company DJI Mavic 2 Pro model.
 Pakistan has been trying to push across
terrorists before the snowfall closes all
possible routes of infiltration on the border.
1st batch of 3 women pilots at Kochi
4-day Commanders’ Conference of Indian Army
 A 4-day Commanders’ Conference of Indian
Army began on 26 Oct 2020 in New Delhi.
 Army Chief Gen MM Naravane chaired the
apex level biannual event that formulates
important policy decisions through a
collegiate system of deliberation.
 It was attended by all Army Commanders,
Principal Staff Officers of the Army
headquarters, and other senior officers.
UN nuclear weapons ban treaty
War memorial at Bum La
 The United Nations announced 25 Oct that
50 countries have ratified a UN treaty to ban
nuclear weapons triggering its entry into force
in 90 days.
 A move hailed by anti-nuclear activists but
strongly opposed by the United States and
the other major nuclear powers.
 The treaty had 49 signatories, and UN
officials said the 50th ratification from
Honduras had been received.
47 additional ITBP outposts to be set up
The final trial of Nag anti-tank
 The Govt has given consent to Indo-Tibetan
Border Police, ITBP to set up 47 additional
13
border outposts to step up vigil along the
border.
 Minister of State for Home G. Kishan Reddy
announced while addressing the 59th
Raising Day of Indo-Tibetan Border Police.
 Apart from border security, ITBP is fighting
terrorism in J&K, and making a significant
contribution in peace mission abroad.
 Indian Navy has operationalized the first
batch of three Women Pilots on Dornier
Aircraft.
 They graduated as Fully operational Maritime
Reconnaissance MR Pilots
 The three women pilots are Lieutenant Divya
Sharma, Lieutenant Shubhangi Swaroop,
and Lieutenant Shivangi.
 They initially underwent basic flying training
partly with Indian Air Force and partly with the
Navy prior to the DOFT course
 Under the patronage of Arunachal Govt, a
War Memorial has been constructed at Bum
La, where Sub Joginder Singh, 1st Battalion
the Sikh Regt made the supreme sacrifice.
 Sub Joginder Singh, 1st Battalion the Sikh
Regt received the highest gallantry award,
Param Vir Chakra in the Eastern Theatre
during the 1962 Sino- India War.
 The Inauguration Ceremony of the Memorial
was held on 23 Oct'20.
 India on 22 Oct successfully carried out the
final user trial of the third-generation anti-tank
 guided missile Nag at Pokhran desert in
Rajasthan.
 It is a significant milestone that paves the way
for the deployment of the weapon in
strategically sensitive sectors.
 The missile has been developed by the
DRDO to engage highly fortified enemy tanks
in day and night conditions.
Navy's first batch of three women pilots
 The Indian Navy operationalised the first
batch of women pilots of Dornier Aircraft by
the Southern Naval Command (SNC) at
Kochi.
 The three women pilots were part of the six
pilots belonging to the 27th Dornier
Operational Flying Training (DOFT) Course,
who graduated as Fully operational Maritime
Reconnaissance (MR) Pilots at a passing out
ceremony held at INS Garuda.
INS Kavaratti commissioned into Navy
 The last of the four indigenously built Anti-
Submarine Warfare (ASW) stealth corvettes
INS Kavaratti under Project 28 was
commissioned into the Indian Navy on 22 Oct
2020.
 It was commissioned by Chief of the Army
Staff General Manoj Naravane, at Naval
Dockyard in Visakhapatnam.
 Kavaratti is indigenously designed by the
Indian Navy's in-house organization,
Directorate of Naval Design(DND).
SANT Missile successfully testfired
14
 India successfully test-fired the Stand-off
Anti-tank (SANT) Missile off the coast of
Odisha on 19 October 2020.
 The Missile is developed by the DRDO for
the Indian Air Force (IAF) and will have both
Lock-on After Launch and Lock-on Before
Launch capability.
 It is, reportedly, an upgrade on India’s Helina
missile believed to have a range of 7 to 8km.
 It has a range between 15 and 20 km.
DRDO Procurement Manual-2020 approved
 Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has
approved a new DRDO Procurement
Manual-2020.
 This will encourage more participation of the
Indian Industry including start-ups and
MSMEs in R&D activity and achieve the goal
of self-reliance in Defence.
 It will facilitate the indigenous Defence
Industry by simplifying the processes and
ensuring their participation in design and
development activities.
Australia will join the Malabar naval exercise
 Ministry of Defence on 19th October
announced that Australia would join the
Malabar 2020 naval exercise, consisting of
India, Japan, and the U.S.
 The exercise is to be held at the end of
November.
 This will formally bring together the militaries
of the four countries in the Quad group.
 India seeks to increase cooperation with
other countries in the maritime security
domain.
Indian and Sri Lankan Navy drill
  The navies of India and Sri Lanka are
conducting a three-day military exercise off
Trincomalee.
 The Eighth Edition of annual Indian Navy (IN)
– Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) bilateral maritime
exercise SLINEX-20 is scheduled off
Trincomalee, Sri Lanka from 19 to 21
October 2020.
 The previous edition of SLINEX was
conducted off Visakhapatnam in September
2019.
36th Raising Day of NSG
 National Security Guard (NSG) celebrated its
36th Raising Day on 16 Oct 2020.
 The NSG is a Federal Contingency force to
deal with anti-terrorist activities.
 Established in 1984, NSG is popularly known
as the Black Cats and is an elite striking force
in the country, trained and equipped to
handle situations like a terrorist attack,
hijacking, and hostage captivity.
India successfully test-fires BrahMos missile
 India for the first time successfully flight-
tested supersonic cruise missile BrahMos
from the Navy’s indigenously built stealth
destroyer INS Chennai against a live target.
 BrahMos has a strike range of over 300 km
and with a very low-cruise altitude of 10m at
terminal phase and precision hit capability
has turned the warship into one of the
deadliest platforms of Indian naval fleet.
India Conducts Trial of Prithvi-2
15
 A night trial of nuclear-capable missile
Prithvi-2 successfully conducted from a test
range in Odhisa.
 The Prithvi-2 missile is capable like carrying
500-1,000 kg of warheads and is powered by
liquid propulsion twin engines.
 The nine-metre tall 'Prithvi' was the first
missile to have been developed by DRDO
under the Integrated Guided Missile
Development Programme (IGMDP).
Vice Chief of Army Staff to visit US
 Lieutenant General S. K. Saini, Vice Chief of
the Army Staff will visit the United States of
America from 17th to 20th Oct 2020.
 The aim of the visit is to enhance military
cooperation between both the Armies.
 Lt. Gen. Saini will visit the US Army Pacific
Command (USARPRAC), the Army
component of Indo-Pacific Command
(INDOPACOM) and exchange ideas
extensively with the military leadership.
New batch of Rafale fighter jets to join IAF
 The newly acquired Rafale fighter jets of
India will be put to test as the 2nd batch of the
planes will be joining the Indian Airforce fleet.
 3-4 Rafale fighter jets will be arriving at the
Ambala base by the first week of Nov 2020.
 The new additions will be the second batch of
jets that will be employed to serve the Indian
forces.
 The first batch was officially inducted on 10
Sept 2020.
India-to-deliver INS Sindhuvir to Myanmar
  India will be delivering a Kilo Class
submarine INS Sindhuvir to Myanmar Navy
as part of defence cooperation.
 This will be the first submarine of Myanmar
Navy.
 The step is in accordance with India's vision
of SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the
Region) and also in line with India's
commitment to building capacities and self-
reliance in the neighbouring countries.
Army Chief Naravane to visit Nepal
 Army Chief General M.M. Naravane will be
visiting Nepal in November 2020.
 He will be conferred the honorary rank of
General of the Nepali Army in an investiture
ceremony.
 Nepal’s President Bidhya Devi Bhandari will
confer the honorary rank upon him.
 Nepal and India have, since 1950, followed
the tradition of decorating the chiefs of each
other’s armies with the highest Army rank.
Joint anti-terror exercise in Pune
 The Indian Army and Maharashtra Police
carried out a joint anti-terror exercise in Pune
on 9 Oct 2020.
 The aim of the exercise was to harmonize the
drills and procedures of both Army and Police
for activating anti-terrorist Quick Reaction
Teams (QRTs) to counter any terrorist
actions in Pune.
 The exercise involved the participation of
QRTs, Dog Squads and Bomb Disposal
Teams of the Army.
IN Ships Sahyadri, Kora adjudged as Best
16
 Fleet Award Function, 2020 was organised to
mark the successful culmination of the
Operational Cycle of the Eastern Fleet of the
Indian Navy, on 10 Oct 2020.
 The most coveted trophies of Best Ship were
awarded to INS Sahyadri amongst Capital
ships and INS Kora amongst Corvettes and
similar classes of ships.
 Indian Naval Ships Airavat and Kiltan jointly
bagged the ‘Best Spirited Ship’.
Two-day exercise Sagar Kavach concludes
 A two-day Coastal Security Exercise- 'Sagar
Kavach', concluded on 8 Oct 2020.
 It was organised to assess the preparedness
of all agencies towards dealing with an
asymmetric threat emanating from the sea.
 20 ships of the Indian Navy and Coast Guard
as well as 50 patrol crafts manned by various
security agencies, took part in the exercise.
'Kanaklata Barua' commissioned in Kolkata
 Fast Patrol Vessel (FPV) ICGS 'Kanaklata
Barua' of the Indian Coast Guard has been
commissioned at the Garden Reach
Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) Ltd.
 ICGS Kanaklata Barua is one of the five
FPVs built by GRSE, the Defence Public
Sector Undertaking, for the Indian Coast
Guard and it was delivered on June 9, 2020.
 The FPVs are medium-range surface vessels
with a length of 50 metres.
Ministry of Defence cancels a contract
 The Ministry of Defence has cancelled
Reliance Naval and Engineering Ltd’s
(RNEL) ₹2,500-crore contract to build naval
 offshore patrol vessels (NPOVs) for the
Indian Navy.
 The contract was cancelled two weeks ago
due to the delay in the delivery of the vessels.
 The contract to build 5 warships was signed
with the company in 2011 before the
Reliance Group took over the Gujarat-based
shipyard.
ICG Patrol Vessel 'Vigraha' launched
Rafale to feature in IAF Day parade
 The seventh offshore patrol vessel of the
Indian Coast Guard (ICG), 'Vigraha' was
formally unveiled at Kattupalli.
 The vessel built by Larsen and Toubro is the
last in the series of seven OPVs contracted
to the company by the Ministry of Defence in
2015.
 It was for the first time a private sector
shipyard has undertaken the design and
construction of offshore patrol vessel class of
ships.
Naval Investiture Ceremony held
India successfully tests Shaurya missile
 Vice Admiral Atul Kumar Jain FOC-in-C
Eastern Naval Command conferred Gallantry
and non-Gallantry Awards announced on the
Republic Day to meritorious personnel.
 He also gave citations to Naval units at the
Naval Investiture Ceremony conducted at
Visakhapatnam on 05 October 2020.
 The ceremony was conducted at Samudrika
Naval Auditorium.
India successfully tests SMART
Indian Army builds a memorial in Galwan Valley
 India successfully tested the Supersonic
Missile Assisted Release of Torpedo
17
(SMART) system for the first time from a
defence facility off the Odisha coast.
 Developed by DRDO, SMART is a missile
assisted release of lightweight anti-
submarine torpedo system for Anti
Submarine Warfare (ASW) operations far
beyond torpedo range.
 The launch demonstrated India’s anti-
submarine warfare capabilities
 India’s newly acquired Rafale aircraft will be
the centre of attention of Indian Air Force Day
2020 parade.
 The parade will see 56 aircraft of the IAF take
to the skies.
 One Rafale aircraft will team up with two
Jaguars and two Mirage 2000s in one
display.
 Five of the 36 multi-role Rafales acquired by
India in a multi-billion dollar deal arrived at the
Ambala Air Force Station in July'20.
 India on 3 Oct 2020 successfully test-fired an
advanced version of the Shaurya surface-to-
surface nuclear-capable ballistic missile in
Odisha.
 The Shaurya missile can strike targets at a
range of around 800 kilometres and will
complement the existing class of missile
systems.
 It will be lighter and easier to operate.
  The Indian Army has built a memorial to
honour the soldiers who lost their lives in the
Galwan Valley clash with China.
 Indian and Chinese soldiers had clashed in
this part of north-eastern Ladakh on 15 June
2020.
 According to the Indian Army, 20 Indian
soldiers had lost their lives in the clashes in
the Galwan Valley.
2nd edition of 'Bongosagar' began on Oct 3
 The 2nd edition of Indian and Bangladesh
Navy Bilateral Exercise 'Bongosagar'
commenced in Northern Bay of Bengal on 3
October 2020.
 This Exercise is aimed at developing
interoperability and joint operational skills.
 This exercise will be followed by the 3rd
edition of Indian and Bangladesh
Navy Coordinated Patrol in Northern Bay of
Bengal from 4th to 5th October 2020.
India successfully test-fires BrahMos missile
 India test-fired an extended range BrahMos
supersonic cruise missile.
 The missile, whose test-firing was
successful, is capable of hitting targets at
more than 400-km range.
 The missile was test-fired From a mobile
launcher at the integrated test range in
Odisha’s Balasore district.
 The test was carried out under PJ-10 project
of the Defence Research and Development
Organisation.
Defence India Startup Challenge-4 launched
18
 Defence Minister Rajnath Singh launched the
Defence India Startup Challenge (DISC 4)
during the iDEX event.
 Mr Singh also launched the iDEX4Fauji
initiative and Product Management Approach
(PMA) guidelines during the event.
 iDEX4Fauji is a first of its kind initiative,
launched to support innovations identified by
members of the Indian Armed Forces.
Russia to complete tests of Mi-26T2V
 Russia will complete the acceptance tests of
a prototype of the modernised Mi-26T2V
helicopter in 2021.
 It is the heaviest mass-produced helicopter in
the world.
 The design and development of this aircraft
are underway.
 It is a wide-body helicopter capable of lifting
payloads up to 20 tonnes and protected
against radio-controlled and laser-guided
missiles.
India's 1st coast guard academy - Mangaluru
 India's first Coast Guard Academy will be
established at Mangaluru.
 The initial plan was to set up an academy in
Kerala's Azhikkal.
 Around 158 acres Karnataka Industrial Area
Development Board (KIADB) land has been
taken over for setting up this academy.
 The project will also enable ICG to train
officers from friendly nations, from which it
receives a lot of demand.
India-Japan Maritime exercise ‘JIMEX’ began
  The fourth edition of India-Japan Maritime
bilateral exercise (JIMEX) began in North
Arabian Sea from 26 Sept 2020.
 The exercise is conducted biennially between
the Indian Navy and Japanese Maritime Self-
Defense Force (JMSDF).
 ‘JIMEX’ series of exercises commenced in
January 2012 with special focus on maritime
security cooperation.
 The last edition of JIMEX was conducted in
October 2018.
Prithvi-II missile testfired from ITR
 India on September 23, 2020, conducted a
successful night testfire of its indigenously
developed nuclear-capable surface-to-
surface Prithvi-II missile as part of a user trial
by the Army from a base in Odisha.
 The state-of-the-art missile was testfired from
the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at
Chandipur.
 The missile has a strike range of 350 km.
Shivangi: First Rafale woman fighter pilot
 Flight Lieutenant Shivangi Singh is going to
become the first Rafale woman fighter pilot.
 Flt Lt Singh, who hails from Varanasi, will
formally join the 17 ‘Golden Arrows’
Squadron of the 4.5-generation Rafales at
the Ambala airbase after she finishes her
“conversion training”.
 This training is required when a combat pilot
switches from one fighter to another.
Laser guided ATGM successfully test-fired
 Laser Guided Anti Tank Guided Missile
(ATGM) was successfully test-fired from MBT
19
Arjun Tank at KK Ranges, Armoured Corps
Centre and School, Ahmednagar on 22 Sep
2020.
 These ATGMs lock and track the targets with
the help of laser designation to ensure
precision hit accuracy.
 The missile employs a tandem HEAT
warhead to defeat Explosive Reactive
Armour (ERA) protected armoured vehicles.
India, Australia to conduct naval exercise
 Navies of India and Australia will carry out a
two-day mega exercise in the Indian Ocean
Region from 23 September.
 It will involve a range of complex naval
manoeuvres, anti-aircraft drills and helicopter
operations.
 HMAS Hobart, the lead ship of the Hobart-
class air warfare destroyers, will be among
the assets to be deployed in the exercise by
the Royal Australian Navy.
DRDO conducts successful flight test of ABHYAS
 Defence Research and Development
Organisation conducted a successful flight
test of ABHYAS- High-speed Expendable
Aerial Target (HEAT) from ITR Balasore in
Odisha.
 The vehicle can be used as a target for
evaluation of various missile systems.
 ABHYAS is designed and developed by
Aeronautical Development Establishment
(ADE), DRDO.
 The air vehicle is launched using twin
underslung booster.
Women officers in helicopter stream of Navy
  In yet another first in the history of Indian
naval aviation, two women officers have been
selected to join as “Observers” (Airborne
Tacticians) in the helicopter stream.
 They will be the first set of women airborne
combatants who would be operating from
warships.
 These officers are Sub Lieutenant (SLt)
Kumudini Tyagi and SLt Riti Singh.
6th India-China corps commander-level talks
 Corps commanders of India and China
will meet at the Chushul/ Moldo meeting point
along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in a bid
to resolve the ongoing border standoff
between the two armies.
 This is the sixth such meeting between
military leaders of the two sides.
 This time, a joint secretary-level officer from
the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) will also
be present during the meeting.
IN aircraft carrier Viraat's last journey
 Viraat, the decommissioned aircraft carrier of
the Indian Navy, began its last journey on 19
Sept 2020 from Mumbai’s Naval Dockyard to
Alang in Gujarat, where it will be dismantled.
 The vessel had served the Indian Navy for 30
years before being decommissioned in 2017.
 There were attempts to convert 'Viraat' into a
museum or a restaurant, but none of the
plans materialised.
Rs 90,048 cr spent on defence modernisation
 An amount of Rs 90,048 crores has been
allocated for the capital acquisition of the
20
armed forces under Defence Service
Estimates in 2020-21.
 This is an increase of over Rs 9,000 crores
from last year's allocations.
 The total amount allocated for modernisation,
through procurement of new equipment and
upgrading of existing equipment and
systems, is 27.87% of the Defence Services
Estimates.
DRDO plans Star Wars-style weapons for battle
 DRDO is now planning a nationwide
programme on directed power weapons
(DEWs).
 These include high-energy lasers and high-
powered microwaves, that are more and
more being thought-about essential around
the globe for the contactless conflicts of the
longer term.
 The DRDO has been engaged on a number
of DEW initiatives like ‘chemical oxygen-
iodine’ and ‘high-power fibre’ lasers.
India, China reach on 5 points consensus
 India and China have agreed on five points to
guide their approach to the situation on the
Line of Actual Control (LAC).
 It includes the disengagement of troops and
easing of tensions.
 The consensus was reached during talks
between external affairs minister S
Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart
Wang Yi on the margins of a Shanghai
Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meet in
Moscow.
IAF formally inducts Rafale jets in Ambala
  The Indian Air Force formally inducted the
Rafale fighter jets at the Ambala airbase on
10th September 2020, in the presence of
defence minister Rajnath Singh and his
French counterpart Florence Parly.
 Five Rafales of the 36 ordered by the IAF
arrived at the Ambala airbase on 29 July
2020.
 These Rafale jets are part of the IAF’s No. 17
Squadron, which is also known as the
‘Golden Arrows’.
ITBP deploys female doctors in Ladakh
 For the first time, the Indo-Tibet Border Police
(ITBP) has sent female doctors to forward
operating locations in Ladakh.
 From sending troops from Leh to taking care
of them at the forward locations, the ITBP
female doctors have given all kinds of
charge.
 ITBP has changed its standard operating
procedure, which did not allow any female
officer to be deployed at such locations.
DRDO tests hypersonic technology vehicle
 DRDO on 7 Sept 2020 has successfully
flight-tested a Hypersonic Technology
Demonstrator Vehicle (HSTDV).
 It is an unmanned scramjet vehicle with the
ability to travel at six times the speed of
sound.
 The test was conducted from Dr A P J Abdul
Kalam Launch Complex, off the coast of
Odisha.
 The HSTDV tests the indigenously
developed hypersonic air-breathing scramjet
technology.
21
Army trying to make night operational ICVs
 The Indian Army started a process to make
its infantry combat vehicles capable of
operating in the night.
 It invited eligible domestic companies for the
development of a prototype and further
procurement of armament for BMP-2/2K
infantry combat vehicles.
 The current fleet of BMP-2/2Ks was first
inducted into the Army in 1985 and it has
been the mainstay of the mechanised infantry
since then.
India withdraws from Russia’s KavKaz 2020
 Given the ongoing military confrontation with
China along the Line of Actual Control, India
has decided to withdraw from military
exercise KavKaz 2020.
 It is scheduled to be held from Sept 15-26,
2020 at Donguz training ranges in Russia’s
Orenburg region.
 India had plans to send a tri-services
contingent with 200 personnel to take part in
a multilateral war game.
INDRA NAVY exercise begins in Bay of Bengal
 Indian Navy and Russian Navy has
commenced the 11th edition of a biennial
bilateral maritime exercise “INDRA NAVY”.
 The biennial bilateral maritime exercise will
be conducted in the Bay of Bengal from 4-5
September 2020.
 The INDRA NAVY-20 exercise seeks to
consolidate the inter-operability built up by
the navies of two countries over the years.
Defence Ministry signs Rs 2580 cr deal
  The Defence Ministry has sealed a deal with
two leading domestic defence majors to
procure Pinaka rocket launchers for six Army
regiments at a cost of Rs 2,580 crore.
 The Pinaka regiments will be deployed along
India's border with China and Pakistan to
further enhance operational preparedness of
the armed forces.
 The contract has been signed with Tata
Power Company Ltd and Larsen & Toubro.
AFSCB conferred with an award
Indian to take part in Kavkaz-2020
 Air Force Sports Control Board has
been conferred with ‘Rashtriya Khel
Protsahan Puruskar 2020’.
 It was awarded for the outstanding
contribution in helping sportsperson to excel
in their respective disciplines and implement
robust sports welfare measures.
 The award is for sustained efforts towards
encouragement and promotion of sports in
the country and IAF in particular.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh launches an app
Mobile application MY IAF launched
 Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has
launched a mobile application to assist in
online training of NCC cadets in the country.
 The mobile app, called "DGNCC", aims at
providing NCC cadets all training materials,
including syllabus, training videos and
frequently asked questions, on one platform.
 The app has been made interactive by
including a query option.
Northern Command Equipment Display 2020
CAS Appreciation to 51 SAG of NSGs
22
 Northern Command Equipment Display 2020
has been inaugurated at Northern Command
Headquarters, Udhampur.
 The event was organised to promote Make in
India initiative in defence technology which
witnessed active participation for the Indian
Defence Industry.
 The display served to showcase cutting edge
technologies and innovative products to meet
the complex challenges faced by security
forces.
 India is sending a tri-services contingent of
around 200 personnel to Southern Russia in
September 2020 for participating in a multi-
lateral exercise Kavkaz-2020.
 Along with several other countries, troops of
China and Pakistan are also likely to
participate in the event.
 The Indian contingent would include 160
personnel from the army along with 40 troops
of Air Force and two Navy officers.
 Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal Rakesh
Kumar Singh Bhadauria on 24 Aug 2020
launched a mobile application MY IAF at Air
Force Headquarters Vayu Bhawan in New
Delhi.
 It is a part of the Digital India initiative.
 The app developed in association with the
Centre for Development of Advanced
Computing provides career-related
information and details for those desirous of
joining the Air Force.
  Army Chief General Manoj Naravane
conferred the Chief of Army Staff Unit
Appreciation to 51 Special Action Group of
the National Security Guards.
 It was conferred in recognition of the Group’s
outstanding achievements in combating
terrorism.
 The group draws 100% of its manpower from
the Indian Army and has established itself as
an elite Counter-Terrorist Force earning
many Gallantry Awards.
India Pavilion At Army-2020 Forum
 The India Pavilion at the Army-2020
International Military and Technical Forum
has been inaugurated in Russia.
 Secretary (Defence Production) Raj Kumar
inaugurated the India Pavilion and visited
other pavilions showcased at the exhibition,
including India-Russia Brahmos JV pavilion.
 The forum, organized by the Russian
Defence Ministry is being held from August
23-29, 2020 near Moscow.
Indian Coast Guard launches interceptor boat
 A newly-built `Interceptor' boat of the Indian
Coast Guard (ICG) has been launched in
Surat.
 Interceptor Boat `ICGS C-454' is built by
Larsen and Toubro.
 The 27-meter-long boat has a maximum
speed of 45 nautical miles or 83 kilometers
per hour.
 It has "excellent seakeeping, maneuverability
and endurance range of 500 nautical miles".
Indian Navy Commanders to hold a conclave
23
 Top commanders of the Indian Navy will hold
a three-day conclave beginning 19 August
2020.
 They will review the country's maritime
security scenario including the deployment of
a significant number of naval assets in the
Indian Ocean region.
 The Indian Navy has already deployed a
range of its frontline warships and
submarines in the Indian Ocean region.
Bangladesh navy ship ‘Sangram’ visits Goa
 Bangladesh Navy Ship BNS Sangram, a
guided missile stealth corvette, made a port
call at Mormugao Port, Goa on 17 Aug 20.
 The ship was received by officers from
Headquarters Goa Naval Area and the
Officiating Defence Advisor at the
Bangladesh High Commission in India.
 BNS Sangram is en route to participate as a
member of United Nations Interim Force in
Lebanon.
ICG commences Joint Coastal Patrol
 Indian Coast Guard has commenced Joint
Coastal Patrol by embarking Marine Police
personnel on-board ICG ships to strengthen
coastal security.
 This will also help to develop synergy and
provide sea training to Marine Police
personnel for coastal security.
 The Joint Coastal Patrolling is being
instituted to implement the Coastal Security
Scheme -CSS through capacity building of
Marine Police.
Ammunition Factory sent first consignment
  The Khadki Ammunition Factory in
Maharashtra's Pune has sent the first
consignment of 40 mm UBGL ammunition to
the Border Security Force.
 This ammunition is fired from a launcher fitted
under the barrel of 5.56 mm Rifle (INSAS).
 40 mm UBGL ammunition is designed and
manufactured by Ammunition factory, Khadki
with the components sourced from Indian
Industries.
Defence Minister launches SRIJAN portal
 Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has
launched a portal SRIJAN which is a one-
stop-shop online portal that provides access
to the vendors to take up items for
indigenization.
 This will help industry partners to play an
active role in the goal of self-reliance in the
defence sector.
 Department of Defence Production has
developed this indigenization portal,
srijandefence.gov.in.
15 products developed by Defence PSUs
launched
 Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has
launched four products each by OFB and
BEML, two by BEL and one each by HAL,
BDL, MDL, GRSE and GSL, developed by
respective DPSUs/ OFB.
 These are a part of ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat’
week celebrations which continued till 14 Aug
2020.
 Among the products launched included the
prototype of Nag Missile Carrier (NAMICA)
developed by Ordnance Factory Medak.
24
Offshore Patrol Vessel 'Sarthak' launched
 An Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) for the
Indian Coast Guard was launched on 13 Aug
2020 and re-christened as Indian Coast
Guard Ship ‘Sarthak’.
 Sarthak is the 4th in the series of five OPVs
deployed by the Coast Guard to enhance
maritime security.
 It has been designed and built indigenously
by Goa Shipyard Limited in line with the
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of
‘Make in India’.
Rajnath Singh launches NIIO
 Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has
launched the Naval Innovation and
Indigenisation Organisation (NIIO) through
an online webinar.
 The NIIO puts in place dedicated structures
for the end-users to interact with academia
and industry towards fostering innovation and
indigenisation for self-reliance in defence.
 Indian Navy already has a functional
Directorate of Indigenisation.
approves procurement proposals
 Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has
approved procurement proposals worth over
Rs. 8,722 crores including 106 Basic Trainer
Aircraft for Indian Air Force.
 The DAC approved procurement of Basic
Trainer Aircraft from HAL to address the
basic training requirements of the IAF.
 Post Certification 70 Basic Trainer Aircraft
will be initially procured from HAL.
Indian Army gifts ventilators to Nepali Army
  The Indian Army has gifted 10 ventilators to
the Nepali Army to support its efforts to fight
against the COVID-19 pandemic.
 Indian Ambassador to Nepal Vinay Mohan
Kwatra handed over the ventilators to Nepal
Army chief Purna Chandra Thapa during a
ceremony.
 The ventilators are designed for a broad
range of applications to include advanced
invasive or non-invasive respiratory support.
India to participate in the Kavkaz exercise
 India is ready to participate in the Russian
Kavkaz 2020 strategic command-post
exercise.
 A tri-service contingent with 150 Army
personnel and from Air Force and Navy will
be heading to Astrakhan in Southern Russia
for the exercise.
 It is scheduled for Sept 15-26, 2020 and there
will be participation from 18 countries
including countries who are part of SCO as
well as China and Pakistan.
India China held senior military level talks
 India and China held senior military-level
talks on 8 August 2020 to discuss the
pullback of troops.
 The talks at the level of major generals come
a week after senior commander level talks
ended in a seeming stalemate over the
question of the pullback of troops from two
friction points in Ladakh.
 The talks are taking place at Daulat Beg
Oldie, DBO, which has the world's highest
airstrip.
Defence Production and Export Promotion Policy
25
 Defence Ministry has formulated a draft
Defence Production and Export Promotion
Policy 2020 (DPEPP-2020).
 The policy aims to provide impetus to self-
reliance in defence manufacturing under the
Atmanirbhar Bharat Scheme.
 Its 1st goal is to achieve a turnover of Rs.
1,75,000 core including export of Rs. 35
thousand Crore in the Aerospace and
Defence goods and services by the year
2025.
Naval Communication Network training lab
 The Naval Communication Network (NCN)
Training Lab at Signal School, Kochi was
inaugurated on 29 July 2020.
 It is designed to provide comprehensive and
realistic training to naval personnel in the
operation and management of NCN.
 The Lab is equipped with modern IT
infrastructure to impart training on NCN
related applications, security features and
troubleshooting protocols.
New Commandant for Indian Naval Academy
 Vice Admiral M.A. Hampiholi has
taken charge as the Commandant, Indian
Naval Academy (INA).
 He took over from Vice Admiral Dinesh K.
Tripathi.
 He is a recipient of the Nao Sena Medal and
the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal.
 On promotion to the rank of Vice-Admiral in
2019, he assumed charge as the Director-
General of Naval Operations, prior to being
appointed as the eighth Commandant of the
INA.
First batch of Rafale jets leave from France
 The first batch of five Rafale jets flew out of
France and will arrive in India on 29 July
2020.
 The fighter jets will officially be inducted and
join the Indian Air Force fleet in Ambala on
July 29th, 2020.
 The fighter jets, built by French aviation firm
Dassault, took off from the Merignac airbase
in southern France's Bordeaux.
Cheque of Rs 20 lakh to Army Hospital
 President Ram Nath Kovind presented a
cheque of Rs 20 lakh to the Army Hospital,
Delhi to buy equipment that will help doctors
and paramedics combat COVID-19
effectively.
 The contribution from the President will be
used to procure units of PAPR (powered air-
purifying respirator).
 It is equipment to enable medical
professionals to breathe during surgeries and
protect them from infection.
3 MW Solar Power Plant commissioned at INA
 The Indian Navy has commissioned a three-
megawatt solar power plant at Indian Naval
Academy situated in Ezhimala, Kerala.
 This is in line with the government initiative of
‘National Solar Mission’ to achieve 100
gigawatts of solar power by the year 2022.
 The solar plant is the largest in the Indian
Navy and has an estimated life of 25 years.
Permanent Commission to Women Officers
26
 Defence Ministry has issued the formal
Government Sanction Letter for grant of
Permanent Commission (PC) to Women
Officers in the Indian Army.
 This will pave the way for empowering
Women Officers to shoulder larger roles in
the organisation.
 The order specifies grant of PC to Short
Service Commissioned (SSC) Women
Officers in all ten streams of the Indian Army.
Indian Army got ‘Bharat’ drones
 DRDO has provided its indigenously-
developed drone - Bharat - to the Indian
Army.
 It will help in conducting accurate
surveillance in high altitude areas and
mountainous terrain along the Line of Actual
Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh.
 The drone is equipped with artificial
intelligence that helps it to detect friends and
enemies and take action accordingly.
Air Force Commanders’ Conference to begin
 The 3-day long Air Force Commanders’
Conference will begin from 22 July 2020 at
Air Headquarters in New Delhi.
 The theme of the conference is "Indian Air
Force in the Next Decade".
 Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is likely to
inaugurate the conference.
 The Conference will be chaired by the Chief
of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal RKS
Bhadauria.
Indian Navy undertook exercise with US Navy
  Indian Navy undertook a passage exercise
with the US Navy in the Indian Ocean Region
on 20 Jul'20.
 US Navy carrier strike group, led by USS
Nimitz and Indian Navy conducted the
maritime drills, PASSEX, which aims at
further enhancing interoperability between
Navies of both the countries.
 The Nimitz Carrier Strike Group is on its way
to be deployed in the Gulf region from the
South China Sea.
Armed forces get special financial powers
 The Defence Ministry has granted special
powers to the three services for individual
capital procurement programme worth Rs
300 crore to meet emergent operational
requirements.
 This will shrink the procurement timelines
and ensure placement of orders within six
months.
 The decision was taken at a meeting of the
Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) headed
by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
Invalid pension to Armed Forces Personnel
 The Government has decided to allow Invalid
Pension to Armed Forces Personnel with less
than ten years of qualifying service.
 This pension is granted to the Armed Forces
Personnel who are invalided out of service on
account of a disability which is accepted as
Neither Attributable to Nor Aggravated
(NANA) by Military Service.
 Defence Minister Rajnath Singh approved a
proposal in this regard.
Shripad Naik inaugurated a Conference
27
 Union Minister of State for Defence Shripad
Naik delivered his inaugural address at the
Fifth Edition of the Conference on Aerospace
and Defence Manufacturing Technologies in
New Delhi on 15 July 2020.
 The theme of the conference was
Empowering India with ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat
Mission’.
 The defence sector growth has increased at
a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 9.7 per
cent from 2008 to 2016.
Boeing delivered Chinook helicopters to IAF
 Boeing India has confirmed that the final five
of the 22 Apache attack helicopters and 15
Chinook choppers have been handed over to
the Indian Air Force.
 India is one of the 17 nations to select the
Apache and has the most advanced variant,
the AH-64E Apache.
 The AH-64E Apache is designed and
equipped with an open systems architecture,
including the latest communications,
navigation, etc.
Indian Navy completed Operation Samudra Setu
 Operation Samudra Setu, which was
launched on May 5, 2020, has culminated
after successfully bringing 3,992 Indian
citizens back to their homeland by sea.
 It was launched as a part of the national effort
to repatriate Indians from overseas amid the
COVID-19 pandemic.
 Indian Naval Ships Jalashwa and Airavat,
Shardul and Magar participated in this
operation which lasted over 55 days.
India, Japan navies conducted exercise
  Warships from the Indian Navy and
Japanese Navy (Japan Maritime Self
Defense Force) conducted a joint exercise in
the Indian Ocean on 27 June 2020.
 Japan Maritime Self Defense Force training
squadron ships JS Kashima and JS
Shimayuki took part in the maritime exercise.
 From the Indian Navy, INS Rana and INS
Kulish were involved in the day-long
exercise.
IAF modified Mi-17 helicopters
 3 Base Repair Depot (BRD) of the Indian Air
Force and the Central Scientific Instruments
Organisation (CSIO) have developed an
indigenous control system for two Mi-17
helicopters for spraying atomised pesticides
to arrest locust breeding.
 The pesticide Malathion, in appropriate
concentration, would be filled in the internal
auxiliary tank of 800 liters capacity fitted
inside the helicopter.
Defence acquisition worth Rs 38,900 Cr cleared
 Defence Acquisition Council ( DAC)
has accorded approval for Capital
acquisitions of various platforms and
equipment required by the Indian Armed
Forces.
 Proposals for an approximate cost of Rs
38,900 cr were approved.
 The meeting was chaired by Defence
minister Rajnath Singh.
 These approvals include acquisitions from
Indian Industry amounting to Rs 31,130 cr.
“Defence Conclave 2020 Gujarat”
28
 Union Minister of State for Defence Shripad
Naik inaugurated two-day Defence Conclave
2020 Gujarat on 25 June 2020.
 It was jointly organised by Confederation of
Indian Industry Gujarat and Society of Indian
Defence Manufacturers (SIDM).
 It aimed to bring together the high-level govt
representatives to exchange ideas,
viewpoints and knowledge regarding the
critical defence offset policies.
Indian Navy inducted a system
 Anti-Submarine Warfare capability of the
Indian Navy has inducted the Advanced
Torpedo Decoy System Maareech capable of
being fired from all frontline warships.
 Design and Development of this anti-torpedo
decoy system has been undertaken
indigenously by DRDO labs-(NSTL and
NPOL).
 The Bharat Electronics Limited, a Defence
PSU, would undertake the production of this
decoy system.
India to send a Contingent to Russia
 India will send a 75-member Tri-Service
contingent to participate in the military parade
in Moscow on the occasion of the 75th
anniversary of the victory in the Second
World War.
 The parade will honour the heroism and
sacrifices made by the Russian and other
friendly people.
 It will be held on 24 June 2020.
India-China border face-off at Galwan valley
  20 Indian soldiers were martyred in a face-off
with Chinese soldiers at the border on 15
June 2020.
 It began near the Pagong Lake in Ladakh on
May 5-6, 2020.
 This is the first deadly conflict between India
and China in at least 45 years.
 Around 43 Chinese soldiers have been
injured in the violent face-off, pushing the
bilateral relationship between the two nuclear
powers to an all-time low.
GRSE delivered ICGS Kanaklata Barua to ICG
First Rafale fighters to join IAF
 Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers
(GRSE) Ltd has delivered ICGS Kanaklata
Barua, the fifth and final ship in the series of
Fast Patrol Vessels (FPV) for the Indian
Coast Guard.
 This is the 105th vessel delivered by the
Miniratna Category 1 Defence PSU shipyard.
 Yard 2116, the fourth ship in the series of
FPVs is earmarked for export delivery to the
Seychelles Coast Guard.
Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle Complex
Second phase of operation Samudra Setu began
 The Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle
(DSRV) Complex was inaugurated at
Visakhapatnam on 10 Jun 20.
 The DSRV Complex is designed to
accommodate the newly inducted Submarine
Rescue System with state of the art facilities
to store the DSRV assets in a Rescue-Ready
state.
 The DSRV system consists of a Submarine
Rescue Vessel, a Remote Operations
Vehicle, Side Scan Sonar and associated
equipment.
29
IAF develops rescue pod “ARPIT” for evacuation
 The Indian Air Force has designed,
developed and inducted an Airborne Rescue
Pod for Isolated Transportation (ARPIT).
 It will be utilised for the evacuation of critical
patients with infectious diseases including
COVID-19 from high altitude areas, isolated
and remote places.
 It has been developed at a mere cost of Rs
60,000, compared to the imported systems
costing up to Rs 60 lakh.
 The French Dassault Aviation’s `Rafale’ is
expected to arrive India by July 2020 end.
 These aircraft can easily integrate with the
existing fleets in the IAF and will enhance the
overall combat potential and deterrence
value.
 The first Rafale is expected to be
commanded by the Commanding Officer
(CO) of the 17 Golden Arrows’ squadron who
will be accompanied by a French pilot.
 Indian Navy ship INS Jalashwa will sail from
Colombo port in Sri Lanka on 1 June
2020 carrying around 700 Indian nationals
back to Tamil Nadu.
 This will be the 1st operation as part of
operation 'Samudra Setu' from Sri Lanka to
repatriate Indian citizens as part of Vande
Bharat mission.
 Indian Navy has already repatriated 1,488
Indian nationals from Malè to Kochi during
the previous phase
Ultraviolet sanitisation bay set up: Navy
 An ultraviolet (UV) sanitisation bay to
decontaminate things has been set up at the
naval dockyard in Mumbai, which is a part of
the Western Naval Command.
 Naval Dockyard (Mumbai) has manufactured
a UV sanitisation bay to meet this emerging
requirement.
 It will be utilised for decontamination of tools,
clothes and other miscellaneous items, to
control spread of the coronavirus.
Missile Park 'Agneeprastha' to be set up
 Foundation Stone for a Missile Park
"AGNEEPRASTHA" was laid at INS Kalinga
by Cmde Rajesh Debnath, Commanding
Officer on 28 May 20.
 The park will be dedicated to all the Officers,
Sailors and Support Staff of INS Kalinga, who
have served in this premier op-support
Base since its establishment in 1981.
 The park aims to capture glimpses of Missile
History of INS Kalinga since 1981 till date.
Army Commanders' Conference to begin
 The Army Commanders' Conference, an
apex level biannual event which was
scheduled for April 2020 and postponed due
to COVID-19 pandemic, will now be
organised in two phases.
 The first phase of the conference will
commence from 27 May 2020 which will
continue till 29 May 2020.
 The second phase will be held in last week of
June 2020.
IAF to launch its Number-18 - Flying Bullets
30
 The Indian Air Force is set to operationalize
its squadron called the Number-18 - Flying
Bullets with a fleet of the Light Combat
Aircraft, LCA Tejas at its Sulur base near
Coimbatore.
 It will be launched by the Chief of the Air Staff,
Air Chief Marshal R K S Bhadauria on 27 May
2020.
 It will be the second IAF squadron to operate
with the modern multi-role light fighter
aircraft.
Procurement of 26 defence items approved
 Ministry of Defence has approved
procurement of 26 defence items only from
local suppliers to boost Make in India.
 The government has issued Public
Procurement (Preference to Make in India)
Order 2017 to encourage Make in India.
 Under this order, the Department of Defence
Production (DDP) has so far notified 127
items where purchase preference is given to
local suppliers.
Indian Navy's ''breathable'' PPE kit
 The Indian Navy's indigenously-made PPE
kit, ''NavRakshak'' has been made for
enhancing comforts of the health workers
under Indian conditions.
 Navrakshak - which translates to a "novel
protector", has two distinctive factors; optimal
protectiveness and optimal breathability.
 It has an innovative ''breathable'' fabric
material.
Naval awards presented
  Lieutenant Commander Akshay Kumar of the
Anti-Submarine Warfare School of the
Southern Naval Command in Kochi was
awarded the Vice Admiral G.M. Hiranandani
Memorial Rolling Trophy for the year 2020.
 He was awarded at the Maritime Warfare
Centre, Kochi on 13 May'20.
 The trophy was instituted in 2013 for the
officer performing best in tactics during the
year-long warfare specialisation course.
'INLCU L57' commissioned into Indian Navy
 Landing Craft Utility Ship 'INLCU L57' was
commissioned into Indian Navy in Port Blair
on 15 May 2020.
 The indigenously designed ship has been
built by Garden Reach Shipbuilder and
Engineers, GRSE, Kolkata.
 This is the seventh Landing Craft Utility (LCU)
MK-IV class to be inducted into Indian Navy.
 It is capable of carrying 160 troops.
ICG Ship ‘Sachet’ commissioned
 Defence Minister Rajnath Singh
commissioned Indian Coast Guard Ship
(ICGS) Sachet and two interceptor boats
(IBs) C-450 and C-451 in Goa on 15 May
2020.
 The ICGS Sachet is the first in the series of
five offshore patrol vessels (OPVs).
 It has been designed & built indigenously by
Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) and is fitted with
state-of-the-art navigation and
communication equipment.
Army: 3-year tenure for civilians
31
 The Indian Army is considering a proposal to
allow civilians including young working
professionals to join the force for a three-year
tenure as officers and in other ranks for a
variety of roles.
 Its main aim is to bring people closer to the
1.3- million-strong force by giving them an
opportunity to experience military life.
 If approved it will be a voluntary engagement.
India launched Mission Sagar
 India launched Mission Sagar on 10 May
2020.
 It is a part of the government’s outreach
initiative towards 5 Island nations in the
Indian Ocean amidst the ongoing COVID-19
pandemic.
 Also, as part of Mission Sagar, Indian Naval
Ship Kesari would enter the Port of Male in
the Republic of Maldives, to provide them
with 600 tons of food provisions.
Indian Navy's PPE cleared certification
 The Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
designed and produced by the Indian Navy
has been certified to be mass-produced and
used in clinical coronavirus COVID-19
situations.
 It has been tested by INMAS (Institute of
Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences) Delhi.
 The PPE passed with 6/6 Synthetic blood
penetration resistance test pressure.
Indian Navy launched Operation Samudra Setu
 Indian Navy has launched Operation
Samudra Setu - meaning Sea Bridge, as a
 part of national effort to repatriate Indian
citizens from overseas.
 Indian Naval Ships Jalashwa and Magar are
presently enroute to Malè in Maldives to
commence evacuation operations from 8
May 2020 as part of Phase-1.
 A total of one thousand persons are planned
to be evacuated during the first trip,
Australia cancelled “Pitch Black 2020”
 Australia has informed India that the exercise
Pitch Black 2020, scheduled to be held from
27th July to 14th August 2020 has been
cancelled due to Covid-19.
 The next edition will be held in 2022.
 Exercise Pitch Black is a biennial three-week
multilateral air combat training exercise
hosted by the Royal Australian Air Force
(RAAF).
 Its last edition was held in 2018.
Army developed COVID-19 helpline app for J-K
 The Army has developed a mobile app to
strengthen the efforts of Jammu and Kashmir
administration to contain the spread of
coronavirus.
 Covid-19 Helpline J&K app will provide useful
real-time information to people about the
location and contact number of hospitals,
control rooms and rapid response teams in
their vicinity.
 It is based on integrated information available
on Google maps.
Naval Dockyard designed a temperature sensor
 The Naval Dockyard in Mumbai has
developed a low-cost handheld temperature
32
sensor to screen its personnel in light of the
coronavirus outbreak.
 As many as 20,000 personnel enter the 285-
year-old naval dock and Western Naval
Command in South Mumbai every day.
 The infrared-technology-based sensor is
manufactured using in-house resources
under Rs 1,000.
Naval dockyard manufactured oxygen manifold
 Personnel from Naval Dockyard in
Visakhapatnam have designed an innovative
'Portable Multi-feed Oxygen Manifold
(MOM)'.
 It has been designed using a six-way radial
header fitted to a single cylinder.
 This innovation would enable one oxygen
bottle to supply 6 patients concurrently thus
enabling critical care management to a larger
number of patients with the existing limited
resources.
Indian Army started ‘Operation Namaste’
 To defeat the Coronavirus, the Indian Army
has launched Operation Namaste.
 The army has successfully carried out all the
operations of the past and will also
successfully carry out Operation Namaste.
 A helpline number has also been issued by
the army.
 The army has set up a total of eight
quarantine centres to fight the coronavirus in
the country.
India, France conduct joint patrols
  India and France, for the first time, have
conducted joint patrols from the Reunion
Island.
 India has so far carried out Coordinated
Patrols only with maritime neighbours and
had rejected a similar offer by the US.
 The Indian Navy conducted a joint patrol with
the French Navy in Feb 2020 from the
Reunion Island
 The patrol was conducted by a P-8I aircraft
with French Navy personnel onboard.
Draft Defence Procurement Procedure 2020
 Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on 20 March
2020 released Draft Defence Procurement
Procedure(DPP), 2020 in New Delhi.
 The policy is aligned with the vision of the
government to empower the private industry
through the Make in India initiative.
 The government has introduced leasing as
another category to get defence equipment at
affordable rates.
Indian Navy installed Quarantine Facility
 In an effort to augment Nation’s fight against
the spread of CoViD-19, Indian Navy has set
up a Quarantine Camp.
 It has been installed at INS Vishwakarma in
Eastern Naval Command (ENC) for Indian
nationals being evacuated from CoViD 19
affected countries.
 The Quarantine Camp is fully equipped to
accommodate nearly 200 personnel with all
suitable facilities and other arrangements.
Procurement of 83 Tejas aircraft for IAF
33
 Defence Acquisition Council approved
procurement of 83 indigenous Tejas fighter
aircraft for Indian Air Force on 18 March
2020.
 The Light Combat Aircraft Tejas is going to
be the backbone of Indian Air Force in future.
 The Defence Acquisition Council also
accorded approval for acquisition of
indigenous Defence equipment for about
1,300 crore rupees.
Nupur Kulshrestha: 1st woman DIG of ICG
 Nupur Kulshrestha becomes the first woman
to be promoted as DIG of Indian Coast
Guard.
 She joined the service in 1999 and became
the first woman to be promoted to this level.
 The Indian Coast Guard was formally
established on 18 August 1978 by the Coast
Guard Act, 1978 of the Parliament of India as
an independent Armed force of India.
Lt Gen KJS Dhillon to take charge as DG of DIA
 Lt Gen KJS Dhillon will take over the post of
Director General Defence Intelligence
Agency and Deputy Chief of Integrated
Defence Staff (Intelligence).
 It is a department that comes under the Chief
of Defence Staff in the newly created
Department of Military Affairs.
 He is from the 1983 batch of the Indian
Military Academy and recently handed over
the charge of XV Corps to Lt Gen B S Raju.
Indian Coast Guards conducts SAREX-2020 in
Goa
  Final exercise of the National level Search
and Rescue Exercise (SAREX-2020) was
conducted by the Indian Coast Guard in the
sea at Vasco, South Goa district.
 The exercise was carried out on 6 March
2020 and rehearsals for SAREX were
conducted on March 4, 2020
 It was observed by observers from 19
countries.
Indian Army conducted Self Defence Training
 A unit of Indian Army organized a
demonstration on Self Defence themed
“Stronger You Stronger Society” for the local
womenfolk at Dhamdhama Anchlik College in
Nalbari District, as a prelude to the upcoming
International Women's Day.
 A senior lady officer from the Indian Army and
Smt Juppi Bordoloi, DSP from Nalbari Police
were felicitated as women achievers of our
nation.
Pragyan Conclave 2020 began
 Pragyan Conclave 2020, a 2-day Indian
Army International Seminar, commenced on
4 March 2020 in New Delhi.
 It is being organised by the Centre for Land
Warfare Studies (CLAWS).
 The event brings together cross-domain
national and international experts to
deliberate on the complex subject of
'Changing Characteristics of Land Warfare
and its Impact on the Military'.
Indian Navy postponed MILAN 2020
 The Indian Navy on 3 March 2020 postponed
a multi-nation mega naval exercise ''MILAN
34
2020'' as part of precautionary measures
against the coronavirus outbreak.
 A biennial, multilateral naval exercise which
started in 1995, MILAN was conducted at the
Andaman and Nicobar Command until 2018.
 Over 40 countries were expected to
participate in the exercise for the year 2020.
Yard 45006 VAJRA launched in Chennai
 The sixth offshore patrol vessel 'Yard 45006
VAJRA' was formally launched on 27 Feb
2020 in Chennai.
 The vessel, built by Larsen and Toubro under
the Centre's 'Make in India' campaign, would
be used for day and night patrolling.
 The vessel is 98 metres long and 15 metres
wide with a gross tonnage of 2,100 tonnes.
 It is equipped with two diesel driven engines.
ICGS Varad commissioned
 The Indian Coast Guard's Offshore Patrol
Vessel ICGS Varad has been commissioned
on 28 Feb 2020.
 It was inducted into service by Union
Shipping Minister Mansukh Mandaviya at a
function held in the Chennai Port.
 The ship Varad will be based at Paradip in
Odisha, under the operational control of the
Coast Guard North Eastern Region.
Special child awarded for open water swimming
 Jiya Rai, an eleven year created a world
record by becoming the fastest special girl to
swim 14 Km in open water.
 The solo swimming event was conducted
under the supervision of Swimming
 Association of Maharashtra, an authorized
body of Swimming Federation of India.
 She is the youngest and first special girl in the
world to swim a distance of 14 Km in 3 hrs 27
min 30 sec in the open water.
First anniversary of National War Memorial
 Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat
and veterans from the three services laid a
wreath to pay homage to the fallen soldiers.
 The memorial is a fitting tribute to those
heroes who sacrificed their lives in the line of
duty during various wars and internal security
challenges since Independence.
 The monument was dedicated to the nation
by PM Narendra Modi on 25th Feb 2019.
Govt amends provisions of Arms Acts and Rules
 Govt has amended provisions of Arms Act,
1959 and Arms Rules, 2016 to increase the
number of firearms that can be kept by
shooters.
 The Ministry has made provisions to provide
adequate firearms and ammunition to the
shooters for their practice.
 As per the new rules, now international
medalists are allowed to keep additional
weapons up to a total of twelve, which earlier
was seven.
Five day training course on Vessel Search Tech
 A five-day training course on Vessel Search
Technique being organized by the Indian
Coast Guard
 Training course jointly done with the
Australian Border Force in Chennai.
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 The course by the Mobile Training Team of
the Australian Border Force is being
conducted for the ICG personnel, Customs
officials and CSG members of the TN Police.
Best marching contingent trophy to CISF
 Defence Minister Rajnath Singh presented
trophies of best marching contingents for
Republic Day Parade-2020.
 The Indian Air Force contingent was
adjudged the best among the three services.
 The Central Industrial Security Force was
named the best marching contingent among
the Central Armed Police Forces.
 The trophy was received by DG of CISF
Rajesh Ranjan and Deputy Commandant PS
Singh.
Foundation stone of Thal Sena Bhawan laid
 Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on 21 Feb
2020 laid the foundation stone of Thal Sena
Bhawan in Delhi Cantt.
 The new Army headquarters will come up
near the Manekshaw Centre and is spread
over 39 acres.
 The multi-storeyed building will be able to
accommodate around six thousand
personnel and will have all the offices of the
Army in the complex.
GRSE's anti-submarine ship delivered to Navy
 Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers
Ltd (GRSE) delivered its 4th anti-submarine
warfare stealth corvette to the Indian Navy on
18 Feb 2020.
  Kavaratti was the last in the series of 4 anti-
Submarine Warfare Corvettes (ASWC) built
by Kolkata-based GRSE under Project 28.
 Project 28, approved in 2003, is a class of
anti-submarine warship corvettes currently in
service with the Indian Navy.
Admiral Karambir Singh on a visit to Myanmar
 Admiral Karambir Singh, Chief of Naval Staff,
Indian Navy, is on a visit to Myanmar from 17-
20 February 2020.
 The visit is intended to consolidate and
enhance the bilateral maritime relations
between India and Myanmar.
 He will interact with trainees of the National
Defence College in Nay Pyi Taw, and also
visit the Naval Dockyard and Training
Command of the Myanmar Navy in Yangon.
Plan to create Peninsula Command announced
 Chief of Defence Staff, General Bipin Rawat
announced the plans to create a Peninsula
Command with Navy’s Eastern and Western
Command under it.
 India is looking at setting up two to five
theatre commands.
 Air Defence command will be rolled out by the
beginning of 2021 and peninsula command
will be rolled out soon.
 India may also have a separate Jammu and
Kashmir theatre.
HAL to provide IAF with 83 Tejas fighters
 Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has
provided the Indian Air Force with 83 Tejas
fighter aircrafts at a reduced cost of Rs
39,000 crore.
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 Earlier, the cost of this deal was Rs 56,500
crore.
 After the contract is finalised, HAL could start
the deliveries of Mark-1A jets in 3 years.
 Tejas Mark-1A jets are likely to come with 43
upgrades over the Mark-1 jets.
India and UK to hold a joint military drill
 The 5th edition of joint military exercise
''Ajeya Warrior 2020'' between India and the
UK will be conducted at Salisbury Plains in
the UK from 13-26 Feb 2020.
 The exercise will comprise of 120 soldiers
each from the two armies.
 The aim of the exercise is to conduct
company-level joint training with emphasis on
counter terrorist operations in urban and semi
urban areas.
World's first bulletproof helmet
 An Indian Army Major who had developed a
bulletproof jacket for protection against
sniper bullets, has now developed a helmet
which is claimed to be first such in the world.
 It can stop an AK-47 bullet round from a
distance of 10 meters.
 The helmet has been developed under
project Abhedya by Major Anoop Mishra.
 The officer is part of the Indian Army's
College of Military Engineering.
11th edition of DefExpo-2020 concluded
 11th edition of the DefExpo, a flagship
biennial event of the Ministry of Defence,
concluded on 8 Feb 2020 in Lucknow.
 Defence Minister Rajnath Singh presided the
valedictory session.
  However, the Defexpo 2020 will remain open
for the general public till 9 Feb 2020.
 Over 200 partnerships involving the signing
of MoUs, Transfer of Technology and
Product launches concluded on 7 Feb 2020.
First India-Africa defence conclave held
 First India-Africa defence conclave was held
on 6 February 2020 in which Defence
Minister Rajnath Singh participated, on the
2nd day of DEFEXPO 2020 in Lucknow.
 There was focussed interaction at the
ministerial and head of delegation-level in
which over 30 African countries participated.
 The fifth India-Russia Military Industry
Conference was also held on 6 Feb 2020.
'Matla Abhiyaan' exercise concluded
 The Indian Navy carried out a 5-day coastal
security exercise, 'Matla Abhiyaan', along the
riverine border with Bangladesh.
 The exercise, named after Matla River,
aimed to interact with coastal communities to
spread awareness on coastal security and
understand the navigational complexities in
the Sunderban deltaic waters.
 The exercise commenced on 29 Jan 2020,
was completed on 2 Feb 2020.
Defence Expo 2020 opened in Lucknow
 The 11th edition of the DefExpo-2020, a
flagship biennial event of the Ministry of
Defence, kick started in Lucknow on 5 Feb
2020.
 One of the largest mega defence exhibition of
its kind is being held for the first time in
Lucknow and it will cover the entire spectrum
37
of the country's aerospace, defence and
security interests.
 Ministers from over 40 countries will take part
in it.
AN-32 aircraft of IAF landed successfully
 The AN-32 aircraft of the Indian Air Force
powered with 10% blend of bio-jet fuel took
off and landed successfully in Leh airport on
31 Jan 2020.
 This is the first time that both the engines of
an aircraft were powered by the bio-jet
indigenous fuel.
 Bio-jet fuel is produced from non-edible ‘Tree
Borne Oils’, grown and procured from the
tribal areas of Chhattisgarh state.
Assam Rifles built war memorial in Nagaland
 The Assam Rifles has constructed a
combined war memorial in Nagaland for the
357 Army and Assam Rifles personnel killed
while fighting insurgency in the northeastern
state.
 The memorial has been built at Mokokchung,
which is also the cultural and intellectual
centre of Nagaland.
 This memorial is the first of its kind in
Nagaland, which also has the famous
Second World War Cemetery at Kohima.
'SAMPRITI-IX' exercise from Feb 3
 The ninth edition of joint military training
exercise between India-
Bangladesh, SAMPRITI-IX will be conducted
at Umroi, Meghalaya from February 3-16,
2020.
  During the exercise, a Command Post
Exercise (CPX) and a Field Training Exercise
(FTX) will be conducted.
 Exercise SAMPRITI is an important bilateral
defence cooperation endeavour between
India and Bangladesh.
ICG commissioned interceptor boat C-448
 The third Indian Coast Guard Interceptor
Boat of Coast Guard Headquarters
(Karnataka), C 448, was officially
commissioned at New Mangalore Port on 29
Jan 2020.
 The interceptor boat has been built by Larsen
and Toubro Shipyard Limited in Surat.
 The boat is equipped with an infrared system
for night surveillance and can perform high-
speed interception, low-intensity maritime
operations.
Indian Navy launched operation 'Vanilla'
 Indian Navy has launched operation Vanilla
to provide humanitarian assistance and
disaster relief at Madagascar.
 Operation Vanilla has been launched to
provide assistance to the affected population
of Madagascar post devastation caused by
Cyclone Diane.
 The Indian Navy Ship is geared to set up
medical camp and provide food, water and
other necessary relief material.
GRSE to deliver INS Kavaratti to Navy soon
 Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers
(GRSE) is set to deliver anti-submarine
warfare stealth corvette INS Kavaratti to the
Navy soon.
38
 'Kavaratti' is the last of the four Anti-
Submarine Warfare (ASW) stealth corvettes
built by the GRSE for the Indian Navy under
Project P28.
 'Kavaratti' will be the 104th ship to be
constructed and delivered by the GRSE.
Ship 'Annie Besant' reached base harbour
 The recently inducted Indian Coast Guard
Ship Annie Besant has reached its base
harbour at Chennai on 27 Jan 2020.
 The ship Annie Besant is the third Fast Patrol
Vessel of the ‘Priyadarshini’ class.
 The ship has been indigenously designed
and built and was commissioned at
Khidderpore Dock, Kolkata recently.
 It is 48.9 m long and has a beam of 7.5 m with
a displacement of 308 tonnes.
Procurement of defence equipment approved
 Defence Acquisition Council has approved
procurement of equipment worth over Rs
5,000 cr from indigenous sources to promote
indigenization.
 They include sophisticated Electronic
Warfare Systems for the Army designed by
DRDO and manufactured locally by the
Indian industry.
 The DAC also approved shortlisting of Indian
Strategic Partners (SP) and the potential
Original Equipment Manufacturers.
IAF inducted Sukhoi-30 MKI with BrahMos
 The Indian Air Force inducted its first
squadron of Sukhoi-30 MKI aircraft carrying
the BrahMos missiles in Tamil Nadu, on 20
Jan 2020.
  The Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin
Rawat and the Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief
Marshal Rakesh Kumar Bhadauria inducted
the squadron.
 The newly reinstated 222-squadron, also
known as the Tigersharks, would serve as a
lethal weapons platform.
K-4 ballistic missile successfully test fired
 India successfully test-fired a 3,500 km range
nuclear capable missile that can be launched
from a submarine on 19 Jan 2020.
 The missile was developed by DRDO.
 The three-metre-tall missile carries a nuclear
warhead of over one tonne with a circular
error probability.
 Only the US, Russia and China have
submarine-launched ballistic missiles of
3,500-kilometre range.
Indian Army conducted Exercise ‘Winged Raider’
 The Indian Army conducted its biggest
airborne exercise called the ‘Winged Raider’
comprising of more than 500 special forces
troops in the North-Eastern theatre.
 The exercise conducted on January 10 had
over 500 soldiers of the Special Forces
parachuting from C-130 Hercules and C-17
globemaster transport aircraft of the Indian
Air Force, besides Dhruv helicopters during
the day and night.
Exercise Sahyog Kaijin began in Chennai port
 Coast Guards of India and Japan took part in
a joint exercise 'Sahyog-Kaijin' off the
Chennai coast on 16 Jan 2020 as part of
strengthening the bond of the two countries.
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 One ship of the Japanese Coast Guard, and
four ships and an aircraft of the Indian Coast
Guard took part in the exercise.
 The exercise marked demonstrations of
search and rescue and external fire-fighting.
51st K9 Vajra-T guns dedicated to nation
 Defence Minister Rajnath Singh dedicated to
the nation the 51st K9 Vajra self-propelled
Howitzer gun made by L&T at Hazira in
Gujarat, on 16 Jan 2020.
 The gun weighs 50 tonnes and can fire 47-
kg bombs at targets up to a distance of 43
kilometres.
 It can also turn around at zero radius.
 They meet the requirement of 21st-century
warfare including deep fire support to the
longer firing range.
Army Ocean Sailing Expedition flagged off
 The Indian Army Ocean Sailing Expedition
from Mumbai to Okha in Gujarat was flagged
off in Mumbai on 15 Jan 2020.
 The team will be sailing in the Arabian Sea
and will return to Mumbai on 27 Jan 2020.
 The 13-day exercise will test the skill of
sailors on high seas.
 The team comprises of 43 members.
 The team will sail in 4 non-motorised Seabird
class boats, supported by a ground support
team
Capt Tania Shergill: 1st woman parade adjutant
 Captain Tania Shergill, an officer with Army's
Corps of Signals, will be the first woman
parade adjutant for the Republic Day parade.
  A parade adjutant is responsible for the
parade.
 In the 2019 Republic Day parade, Captain
Bhavna Kasturi was the first woman officer to
lead an all-men contingent.
 Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro will be the
chief guest at the parade for the year 2020.
NATO class diesel launched for Indian Navy
 Indian Oil Corp (IOC) has developed a
special class diesel conforming to NATO
grade for use in ships of Indian Navy.
 Vice Admiral G S Pabby launched the
Upgraded High Flash High-Speed Diesel
(HFHSD- IN 512) in presence of IOC
Directors SSV Ramakumar and S M Vaidya.
 The fuel has lesser environmental impact
due to low Sulphur content and would result
in the better performance of engines.
Japan's Ship ‘Echigo’ arrived in Chennai
 The Japan Coast Guard Ship ‘Echigo’ arrived
Chennai on 13 Jan 2020 on a five-day
goodwill visit.
 It will be participating in the Annual Joint
Exercise ‘Sahyog-Kaijin’ with the Indian
Coast Guard off Chennai on 16 Jan 2020.
 This is the 19th edition of the exercise.
 It is aimed at further strengthening bilateral
ties and mutual understanding between the
two Coast Guards.
India to acquire 200 fighter jets for IAF
 The government is in the process of acquiring
around 200 aircraft to cope with the depleting
aerial inventories of the Indian Air Force.
40
 The contract for HAL-manufactured 83 LCA
Tejas Mark 1 A advanced fighter jets are in
the final stages.
 The Indian Air Force has Sukhoi 30 MKIs,
Mirage 2000s, Mig 29s and the ageing
Jaguars and Mig 21 Bisons in its inventory of
fighter jets at present.
Light Combat Aircraft made successful landing
 The naval version of indigenous Light
Combat Aircraft, LCA, made its first
successful landing on the aircraft carrier INS
Vikramaditya on 11 Jan 2020.
 This aircraft is developed by the Defence
Research and Development Organization,
DRDO.
 India has now entered into the club of
selected nations having the capability to
design a fighter jet which can land on an
aircraft carrier.
Vikrant carrier to be commissioned by 2021
 The manufacturing of India's first indigenous
aircraft carrier Vikrant is currently under
phase three.
 It is likely to be commissioned by early 2021.
 The nearly 40,000-tonne carrier is being built
at the Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) in
Kochi.
 Vikrant will be fully operational by 2022 and it
will have a fleet of MiG-29K aircraft.
Visakhapatnam to host MILAN 2020 in March
 After successfully hosting the International
Fleet Review (IFR) in Feb 2016,
Visakhapatnam will host another
 International Naval event 'MILAN' in March
2020.
 MILAN 2020 is a multilateral naval exercise
aimed to enhance professional interaction
between friendly foreign navies and learn
from each other's strengths in the maritime
domain.
 The theme of the exercise is 'Synergy Across
the Seas'.
Lt Gen Ranbir Singh visits Xinjiang, China
Army to sign MoU for AK-203 assault rifles
 A high-level military delegation led by Lt.
General Ranbir Singh, Commander of Indian
Army’s Northern Command visited Xinjiang,
on 9 Jan 2020.
 He held talks with senior Chinese Military
leaders in province’s capital Urumqi on issue
of mutual interest.
 The delegation has also met the Commander
of Western Theatre Command, General Zhao
Zongqi at Chengdu and discussed issues of
joint training.
India & Oman conduct bilateral naval exercise
Defence Expo 2020 to be held in Lucknow
 India and Oman will conduct 12th edition of
bilateral maritime exercise ‘Naseem Al Bahr’
in Mormugao Port, Goa.
 ‘Naseem-Al-Bahr’ (or sea breeze) is a naval
exercise between the Indian Navy and the
RNO, being conducted since 1993.
 Indian Navy ships Beas and Subhadra and
Oman Navy ships RNOV Al Rasikh and
RNOV Khassab are participating in this
exercise.
Indian Navy start 1st Maha-Navy Connect 2020
4 IAF personnel selected for Gaganyaan Mission
41
 Indian Navy's 1st Maha-Navy Connect 2020
Tri-Dimensional Expedition started from
Mumbai, Maharashtra.
 The aim of the expedition is to promote the
maritime heritage of India and spread
awareness about Coastal Security amongst
the coastal communities in Maharashtra.
 The tri-dimensional expedition consisting of
yachting, running and cycling teams of 50
naval personnel.
 The Indian Army will sign an MoU in a month
for the procurement of over 7.5 lakh AK-203
assault rifles, which are to be
manufactured by an India-Russia joint
venture (JV).
 About 1 lakh rifles will come directly from
Russia and the remaining will be
manufactured by the JV in India.
 The rifles will be manufactured by the Indo-
Russian Rifles Private Limited (IRRPL) at
Korwa in Uttar Pradesh.
 The Defence Expo 2020 will be held for the
first time in Lucknow from February 5 to 9,
2020.
 It will be the biggest ever defence exhibition
in the country in terms of participation of
exhibitors, the area of the exhibition and the
revenue to be earned.
 The Defence Ministers and Army chiefs of 25
countries are expected to participate in the
programme.
 4 airmen from Indian Air Force have been
identified for India's first manned mission to
space, Gaganyan.
 They will undergo astronauts' training in
Russia from the third week of January 2020.
 Gaganyan is planned to be launched in 2022
as announced by the Prime Minister.
 Chandrayan-3 mission has also been
approved by the Government, which will be
launched without an orbiter.

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