Defence Ministry orders light-specialist vehicles from Mahindra Defence for Army...

Providing further boost to ‘Make in India’, Ministry of Defence (MoD) signed a contract with Mahindra Defence Systems Ltd (MDSL) for supply of 1,300 Light Specialist Vehicles to the Indian Army, at a cost of Rs 1,056 crore, in New Delhi on March 22, 2021. The induction of vehicles is planned to be completed in four years.

The Light Specialist Vehicle is a modern fighting vehicle and will be authorised to various fighting units for carriage of Medium Machine Guns, Automatic Grenade Launchers as well as Anti-tank Guided Missiles.

The Mahindra Armored Light Specialist Vehicle (ALSV) is a light armoured specialist vehicle built for use by military and defence forces. It’s designed to be a modular type vehicle allowing for efficient maintenance and it can be upgraded or configured in the field for a wide variety of operational roles. The ALSV offers ballistic protection up to B7, STANAG Level II.

Features :-

Counter-Terrorist Operations

Patrolling in High Intensity Areas

Special Forces Operations

Quick Reaction Teams

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Conventional Operations

Weapon carrier

Raids in Open/ Desert Terrain

Reconnaissance

Border Security

 The Light Specialist Vehicle is indigenously designed and developed by MDSL. These combat vehicles are extremely agile with all round protection against small arms fire and will assist small independent detachments which are required to operate this weapon platform in the operational area.

 This is a flagship project showcasing the indigenous manufacturing capabilities of the defence industry and will add another milestone to the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan’ and ‘Make in India’ initiative. 

Navy, Army and IAF finally agree to procure armed drones from US as MQ-9 Reaper in $3 bn deal....

Impressed with the performance of the two leased Sea Guardian drones, the Navy, Army and the Air Force will finally jointly procure 30 armed versions of the American unmanned aerial system in what could be a $3 billion deal, ThePrint has learnt.

The decision comes just before US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s visit to India later this month. Austin’s visit could be a precursor to the impending meet of the ‘Quad’ leaders — US, India, Australia and Japan. 

According to sources in the defence and security establishment, initially one of the three services were not clear about procuring the armed predator drones but now all three are finally on the same way. 

They added that the Defence Minister Rajnath Singh-led Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) could take a final decision on this “soon”.

If approved, this would be the first tri-service procurement since Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat was appointed to steer the Indian armed forces into a more united force, both in terms of operational doctrine and procurement.

According to the deal, India will be acquiring 30 MQ-9 Reaper or Predator B, 10 each for the three services.

The MQ-9B has an endurance of 48 hours and a range of over 6,000 nautical miles. It comes with nine hard-points, capable of carrying sensors and laser-guided bombs besides air-to-ground missiles, with a maximum payload of two tonnes.

The Navy, which is the lead agency for procurement of HALE (High Altitude Long Endurance) UAVs, will seek the Acceptance of Necessity (AON) from the DAC.

‘‘ASMI” India's First Indigenous Machine Pistol

In another boost to its defence capabilities, India has now developed its first-ever indigenously made 9mm machine pistol 'ASMI'. As per the Ministry of Defence, the weapon has been jointly developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Indian Army.

It has been developed by a young officer from Infantry School Lt Col Prasad Bansod in a record time of four months. The weapon has the capability of firing the in-service 9 mm ammunition. The weapon has been named “Asmi” which means 'pride', 'Self-Respect' and 'Hard Work'.

A press statement from DRDO informed that the Army's infantry school in Mhow and the DRDO's Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE) in Pune have designed and developed the weapon. 

Structure & Design :

The upper receiver of ASMI is made from Aircraft grade Aluminium while the lower receiver is created from Carbon Fibre. The weapon has an overall empty weight of less than 2 Kg and it features an 8-inch barrel along with 33 rounds high capacity magazine and machine pistol fires the in-service 9mm ammunition. 

A 3 dimensional printing process has been used in designing and prototyping of various parts and the machine pistol is likely to have production cost under Rs 50,000 each and has potential for exports. 

ASMI :

The weapon has been named “Asmi” which means 'pride', 'Self-Respect' and 'Hard Work'. 

Ministry of Defence Statement :

The weapon has huge potential in armed forces as a personal weapon for heavy weapon detachments, commanders, tank and aircraft crews, drivers and dispatch riders, radio or radar operators, for closed quarter battles, counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operations, etc. This is also likely to find huge employability with the central and state police organizations, as well as VIP protection duties and policing.

                           Jai Hind!!!!!!!! 

                                🇮🇳🇮🇳

India Successfully test fired a New Version of Nuclear Capable Shaurya missile Today....

The ongoing border crisis with China, India on Saturday successfully test-fired a new version of nuclear-capable Shaurya missile off the coast of Odisha which can strike targets at around 800 kms.

The new version of the missile was testfired successfully and would be inducted in the strategic forces to complement one of the existing missiles in the same class.

The missile would be lighter and easier to operate in comparison with the existing missile.

In the last phase while moving close to its target, the missile moves at hypersonic speeds, the sources said further.

The DRDO has been working towards completing total self-reliance in the field of strategic missiles and has enhanced its efforts further after the call of Aatmanirbhar Bharat by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the defence sector earlier this year, the sources said.

India also successfully testfired the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile which can hit targets at over 400 km strike range which is at least more than 100 kms from the previous capability of the missile. 

Indian Navy, Indian Airforce To Get Indigenous SAAW (Smart Anti-Airfield Weapon)

The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) headed by the Defence Ministery cleared the procurement of the indigenously developed ‘Smart Anti-Airfield Weapon’ or SAAW for the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force.

Developed by the DRDO, SAAW has a range of around 100 km and weighs around 125 kg.

The weapon, which is being procured at an approximate cost Rs 970 crore, will give the Air Force and the Navy the capability to hit Enemy Airfields and Runways, Bunkers, plane Hanger from a standoff distance with high precision during conflicts.

Given that this weapon can be launched from standoff ranges, the aircraft launching it can remain at a safe distance from the enemy target. In many cases, the weapon can be fired by IAF fighters like Jaguar & Sukhoi-30 MKI from within the Indian air space.

Apart from SAAW, the DAC also cleared the procurement of Static HF Trans-receiver sets for field units of the Indian Army and the Air Force at an approximate cost of Rs 540 crore to enable seamless communication.

India Conducts Successful Flight Test of ABHYAS from Odisha Test Range

India on Tuesday successfully conducted the flight test of ABHYAS - High-speed Expendable Aerial Target (HEAT) vehicles from a test range in Odisha.

The trial, carried out by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur near here, was tracked by various radars and electro-optic systems, the sources said.

Congratulating DRDO on its achievement, defence minister Rajnath Singh said ABHYAS can be used as a target for evaluation of missile systems.

During the trial on Tuesday, two demonstrator vehicles were successfully test-flown, DRDO sources said.

ABHYAS has been designed and developed by the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) of the DRDO.

The air vehicle is launched using twin underslung boosters. It is powered by a small gas turbine engine and has an Inertial Navigation System (INS) along with a Flight Control Computer (FCC) for guidance and control.

The vehicle has been programmed for fully autonomous flight. The check out of the vehicle is done using laptop- based Ground Control Station (GCS), a defence statement said.

During the test campaign, the user requirement of 5 km flying altitude, vehicle speed of 0.5 mach, endurance of 30 minutes and 2g turn capability of the test vehicle were successfully achieved, it said.

“It proved its performance in a fully autonomous waypoint navigation mode,” a DRDO source said.

HAL Indigenous Developed Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) Trials Complete....

HAL’s indigenously developed Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) demonstrated high altitude capability in Hot and High weather conditions in the Himalayas recently for about 10 days. 

A comprehensive test plan was executed at Leh (3300 MAMSL) in temperatures up to ISA+320C which included envelope expansion, performance and flying qualities.  LUH took off from Leh and demonstrated its hot and high hover performance at Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO) Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) at 5000 MAMSL. 

The helicopter also demonstrated its payload capability in Siachen glacier high altitude.  During the trials, pilots landed the helicopter at the highest helipads of Amar and Sonam. 

LUH took approx 3 ton maximum weight & It is power by one  Shakti Engine with Speed upto 250km/h.