Defence & Security

Exercise Cutlass Express 2021 Commences in Mombasa; Indian Naval Ship Talwar to take part
Defence & Security

Exercise Cutlass Express 2021 Commences in Mombasa; Indian Naval Ship Talwar to take part

Exercise Cutlass Express 2021 (CE21) is being conducted from 26 July 2021 to 06 August 2021 along the East Coast of Africa. The exercise is an annual maritime exercise conducted to promote national and regional maritime security in East Africa and the Western Indian Ocean. The exercise also focusses on East Africa’s coastal regions and is designed to assess and improve combined maritime law enforcement capacity, promote national and regional security and increase interoperability between the regional navies. The 2021 edition of the exercise involves participation of 12 Eastern African countries, US, UK, India and various international organisations like International Maritime Organisation (IMO), United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Interpol, EurEuropean Union Naval For...
DRDO conducts successful flight test of Akash-NG Capable of intercepting high speed & agile aerial threats
Defence & Security

DRDO conducts successful flight test of Akash-NG Capable of intercepting high speed & agile aerial threats

Second successful flight test in three daysCapable of intercepting high speed & agile aerial threatsForce multiplier to defence capabilities of Indian Air Force Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) conducted a successful flight-test of New Generation Akash (Akash-NG) missile from Integrated Test Range, Chandipur off the coast of Odisha at 1145 hrs on July 23, 2021. The test was carried out against a high-speed unmanned aerial target which was successfully intercepted by the missile. The flight test has validated the functioning of complete weapon system consisting of the missile with indigenously developed RF Seeker, Launcher, Multi-Function Radar and Command, Control & Communication system. The test was carried out amidst inclement weather conditions provin...
Beginning of a new arms race? China building silos in its north-western desert region to house ICBMs that can strike mainland USA
Defence & Security, Featured, World

Beginning of a new arms race? China building silos in its north-western desert region to house ICBMs that can strike mainland USA

According to a report released by the U.S. Defense Department last September, China is dramatically expanding its arsenal of nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) that can strike the United States. China had about 100 of those missiles but was expected to double that number in the coming years, the report said. However, a Washington Post report on Wednesday shows that China is building more than what was anticipated in the report. The Washington Post report showed large number of structures in the desert of China’s Gansu province, outside a small city called Yumen, that were identical to the ones housing missile silos at Jilantai mentioned in the US report. But while Jilantai has only 16 of each structure, the site near Yumen has nearly 145. Experts suspect tha...
DRDO successfully flight tests New Generation Agni P Ballistic Missile
Defence & Security, National

DRDO successfully flight tests New Generation Agni P Ballistic Missile

India's premier research organisation the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully flight tested a New Generation Nuclear Capable Ballistic Missile Agni P. The DRDO in a press release said that the test was conducted from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam island off the coast of Odisha, Balasore at 1055 hrs on June 28, 2021. DRDO said that various telemetry and radar stations positioned along the eastern coast tracked and monitored the missile. The missile followed text book trajectory, meeting all mission objectives with high level of accuracy, the DRDO has said.  Agni P is a new generation advanced variant of Agni class of missiles. It is a 'canisterised missile' with range capability between 1,000 and 2,000 kms. Successful test of Agni P increases India's capab...
Colonial Pipeline Hack: The Hegemony of Ransomware
Analysis, Defence & Security, Featured, North America

Colonial Pipeline Hack: The Hegemony of Ransomware

On May 7, 2021, Colonial Pipeline, an American oil pipeline system that originates in Houston, Texas, and carries gasoline and jet fuel mainly to the Southeastern United States, suffered a ransomware cyberattack that impacted computerized equipment managing the pipeline. In response, Colonial Pipeline Company halted all of the pipeline's operations to contain the attack. The pipeline shutdown caused fuel shortages at Charlotte Douglas International Airport due to which the atleast two American Airlines changed flight schedules were changed temporarily. Fuel shortages began to occur at filling stations amid panic buying as the pipeline shutdown entered its fourth day. The attackers also stole nearly 100 gigabytes of data and threatened to release it on the internet if the ransom was...
IAF’s Tejas becomes World’s first Light Combat Aircraft to successfully test-fire Israeli Python-5 Air-to-Air Missile
Defence & Security

IAF’s Tejas becomes World’s first Light Combat Aircraft to successfully test-fire Israeli Python-5 Air-to-Air Missile

Enhancing its combat prowess, India's indigenously developed Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas has successfully added 5th generation Israeli-origin Python-5 Air-to-Air Missile (AAM) under its air-to-air weapons capability. Python-5 can be launched from very short to beyond visual ranges with precise attack probability, excellent resistance to countermeasures, irrespective of evasive target maneuvers or deployment of countermeasures. The Air-to-Air missile comes with a fifth-generation imaging seeker, which enables it with ‘full sphere launch capability’ with lock-on-after-launch and excellent acquisition and targeting capabilities. Similar trials were also conducted on validating the enhanced capability of the already inducted Derby Beyond Visual Range (BVR) AAM on the light com...
India’s DRDO develops Single Crystal Blades for helicopter engine application; Read why it is a critical technological achievement
Defence & Security, Science & Technology

India’s DRDO develops Single Crystal Blades for helicopter engine application; Read why it is a critical technological achievement

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed single crystal blades technology and supplied 60 of these blades to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) as part of their indigenous helicopter development program for helicopter engine application. Very few countries in the world such as USA, UK, France and Russia have the capability to design and manufacture such Single Crystal (SX) components. The blades are part of a program taken up by Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratory (DMRL), a premium laboratory of DRDO, to develop five sets (300 in number) of single crystal high pressure turbine (HPT) blades using a nickel-based super alloy. The supply of remaining four sets will be completed in due course. Why is it so important? Helicopters used in strategic a...
South Korea Unveils Prototype of its First Indigenous Fighter Aircraft KF-21
Defence & Security

South Korea Unveils Prototype of its First Indigenous Fighter Aircraft KF-21

South Korea on Friday (9th April) unveiled a prototype of the country’s first indigenous fighter jet. The gray-colored jet, named KF-21 Boramae, was showcased at a rollout ceremony held at the Korea Aerospace Industries headquarters in the southern city of Sacheon. The launch event comes more than five years after South Korea began the 8.8 trillion-won (US$7.9 billion) program to replace the Air Force’s aging fleet of F-4 and F-5 jets in late 2015. Inaugurating the prototype, President Moon Jae-in called the rollout an “opening of a new era” in independent national defense and said that the new aircraft will become the backbone of the South Korean Air Force. He said that the rollout was a “landmark” moment in the history of the aerospace industry. Friday’s event was attended ...
India focusing on cyber defence and working on offensive cyber capabilities to counter cyber threats: CDS General Bipin Rawat
Defence & Security, National

India focusing on cyber defence and working on offensive cyber capabilities to counter cyber threats: CDS General Bipin Rawat

Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat on Wednesday said that Indian defence forces are focusing on cyber defence, and working on offensive cyber capabilities as well to counter cyber threats emanating from across the border. The CDS was speaking on "Shaping the Armed Forces to meet likely Current and Future Challenges" at the Vivekananda International Foundation's Vimarsh on 7 April. Speaking about new forms of warfare, the CDS spoke about cyberattacks, and as they may not have "signatures," it will be more difficult to work out where the attack was coming from as there can be "deniability." Such attacks would not attack the border regions but targets in the "depth areas." Similarly, in the wake of the battle between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the importance of drones as a weapon...
Indian and US Special Forces Conclude Vajra Prahar 2021 Joint Training Exercise
Defence & Security

Indian and US Special Forces Conclude Vajra Prahar 2021 Joint Training Exercise

The 11th edition of Indo-US Joint Special Forces Exercise VAJRA PRAHAR 2021 was conducted at Special Forces Training School located at Bakloh, HP in March 2021. The joint exercise by the Special Forces of both the countries is conducted alternatively between India and the United States to share the best practices and experiences in areas such as joint mission planning and operational tactics as also to improve interoperability between the Special Forces of both nations. The 16th edition of ‘Yudh Abhyas’, a joint military exercise between India and US was held in Rajasthan from February 8 to February 21, 2021. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said that such bilateral military exercises and defence exchanges are an important facet of deepening bilateral defence cooperation betwee...