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.

A Woman Fighter Pilot Could Fly Indian Airforce Rafale Very Soon

According to some reports, a female pilot could soon be operating a Rafale in IAF.

In a first, a woman fighter pilot is all set to be a part of the Rafale squadron of the Indian Air Force in Ambala, according to India Today.

The women officer, whose name has not been disclosed due to security reasons, is one of the ten female-fighter pilots currently under training. She will begin actively participating in duties along with the 17 Squadron soon. Indian Air Force formally inducted five Rafale fighter jets to the fleet of IAF’s 17 Squadron, the “Golden Arrows” at a glittering ceremony in Ambala air base.

The pilot has already undergone a full fighter training course and already knows hot to operate MiG-21 fighters. In India, IAF’s 10 women pilots have operated on a variety of aircraft including Su-30 MKI and MiG-29 UPG. 

Just four years ago, Flt Lt Avani Chaturvedi, Flt Lt Bhawanna Kanth and Flt Lt Mohana Singh became the first women fighter pilots in the country.

This may come as an achievement, however, India still has a long way to go.

Armed forces, in general, have a very low proportion of women personnel. The Air Force has the highest share of women officers in India at 13.9%. Whereas, there are only 6% female officers in Indian Navy. The Indian Army has an even lower proportion of women at only 3.8%.

Women Officers in Indian Navy

    (Afnan Sheikh, Kreeshma R, Sub Lt. Riti      Singh, and Sub Lt. Kumudini Tyagi.)

Women officers in the Indian Navy are finally taking the lead. For years now, women officers in the Indian armed forces have been in very small numbers.

According to Indian Navy, four women officers, today, passed the ‘Observe Course” and are set to join their duties.

Indian Navy’s Sub Lt Kumudini and Sub Lt Riti Singh are the first women officers to be deployed on a frontline warship as crew members. Both the naval officers will work as airborne tacticians. Meanwhile, Sub Lt. Afnan Sheikh and Sub Lt. Kreeshma R. will be operating fixed wing aircraft of the Navy.

Sub Lt Kumudini and Sub Lt Riti studied engineering and joined the Indian Navy in 2019. They successfully passed Indian Navy’s ‘ Observe Course’ at Southern Naval Command in Kochi on September 21.

All the four women officers participated in the batch of 21 Navy and Coast Guard personnel.

This comes as a landmark moment for Indian Navy, which got its first woman Navy pilot, Lieutenant Shivani, just nine months ago.

Women officers are rising from across the seas to fly higher in the skies.

Indian Navy & Royal Australian Navy Conduct 2-day Naval Exercise in Indian Ocean from Wednesday

Navies of India and Australia will carry out a two-day mega exercise in the Indian Ocean Region beginning Wednesday that will involve a range of complex naval manoeuvres, anti-aircraft drills and helicopter operations, officials said.

The exercise comes in the midst of India's tense border row with China and in the backdrop of growing activities by the Chinese navy in the Indian Ocean Region.

"The exercise is aimed at enhancing interoperability, improving understanding and imbibing best practices from each other. It would involve advanced surface and anti-air exercises including weapon firings, seamanship exercises, naval manoeuvres and cross deck flying operations," a Navy spokesperson said.

It will be the fourth major military drill by the Indian Navy since June. It has already carried out similar exercises with the navies of the US, Japan and Russia.

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, officials said, adding Indian Navy ships Sahyadri and Karmuk will be part of Indian platforms.

"The exercise, which is in keeping with the strong bond shared by the two navies, would be another step towards strengthening Indo-Australia defence relations and the continued efforts of both governments to work closely to enhance safety and security of the global commons," the Navy spokesperson said.

He said the two navies have built a robust relationship through regular exercises.

Earlier this month, navies of India and Russia carried out an exercise in the Bay of Bengal.

In July, the Indian Navy carried out a military exercise with a US Navy carrier strike group led by the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz off the coast of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The USS Nimitz is the world's largest warship.

In the exercise with the US Navy, four frontline warships of the Indian Navy participated. The US carrier strike group was transiting through the Indian Ocean Region on its way from the South China Sea.

The US Navy carrier strike group comprises USS Nimitz, Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Princeton and Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Sterett and USS Ralph Johnson.

The Indian Navy carried out a similar exercise with the Japanese navy in June.

India has significantly expanded its deployment in the Indian Ocean Region with a plethora of warships and submarines following the border row to send across a message to Beijing.

The maritime space around the Malacca Strait is very critical for China's supply chain through sea routes.

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.