SOURCE: PNN. ANI

 In an era of fast-evolving conflicts and unmanned combat, drones have emerged as the decisive force in modern warfare. From targeted loitering strikes to autonomous surveillance missions across the globe, drones have redefined how nations assert dominance and secure their borders. The current war landscape demands speed, precision, and decision-making without latency–something traditional warfare systems cannot deliver.

As defence strategies worldwide shift towards autonomous and intelligent aerial systems, the need of the hour is clear: AI-powered, modular drone ecosystems that can operate with minimal human intervention while adapting dynamically to battlefield scenarios. Rising to this challenge, Aerpace Industries Limited, in collaboration with Aerpace Robotics Pvt Ltd, UAV Tech Pvt Ltd, and Leospear Defence Pvt Ltd, has successfully developed and tested India’s next-generation smart UAV ecosystem under the aerShield initiative. Each partner brings a core capability–AI and flight software from Aerpace Robotics, airframe and propulsion engineering from UAV Tech, and advanced munitions integration from Leospear Defence.

SOURCE: PTI

India is set to conduct its first-ever biological experiments aboard the International Space Station (ISS) to study the sustainability of human life in space, Science and Technology Jitendra Singh said on Thursday.

An important initiative under the BioE3, these unique experiments, spearheaded by the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) in collaboration with the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), will be carried out as part of the upcoming International Space Station (ISS) mission AXIOM-4, with Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla as a crew member.

SOURCE: PTI

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday extended an offer of talks to India, saying Pakistan is ready to engage “for peace”. Shehbaz made the comments during a visit to the Kamra air base in the country’s Punjab province where he interacted with officers and soldiers involved in the recent military confrontation with India.

“We are ready to talk with it (India) for peace,” he said.

SOURCE: ANI

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday strictly reaffirmed that the Kashmir issue is a bilateral matter, focusing on Pakistan’s illegal occupation of Indian territory in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

He said that the Indian government is willing to discuss the Kashmir issue with Pakistan, specifically regarding the vacating of illegally occupied Indian territory.Jaishankar, while talking to reporters on the sidelines of the inauguration of the Embassy of Honduras, said, “So sometimes the Kashmir issue has been brought up again. The only thing which remains to be discussed on Kashmir is the vacating of illegally occupied Indian territory in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. We are open to discussing that with Pakistan. So I want you to spell out our positions very clearly so that you know what is in your minds and what many of you have raised with me on various occasions. The government’s position is very, very clear.”

SOURCE: ANI

Military aviation analyst and historian Tom Cooper has highlighted Pakistan’s financial struggles, stating that the country has been bankrupt for decades and relies heavily on foreign sponsors to stay afloat.

‘Pakistan is bankrupt, actually, since the decades already. It’s always kept alive by some sponsor from abroad,’ Cooper told ANI. Cooper noted that Pakistan’s financial backers have changed over time. ‘To times Saudi Arabia, then China, then Qatar and Italy. So Pakistan actually on its own cannot afford really much. It is always dependable on…,’ he said, emphasising Pakistan’s dependence on external funding.

SOURCE: REUTERS

 India revoked the security clearance of Celebi Airport Services India, a unit of Turkey’s Celebi (CLEBI.IS), opens new tab, with immediate effect, citing national security concerns, the country’s civil aviation ministry said in an order on Thursday.

New Delhi’s decision came a day after travel booking firms said Indians were cancelling holidays in popular resorts in Turkey and Azerbaijan following the countries’ support for Pakistan during the recent conflict with India.

SOURCE: ANI

Defense Minister Rajnath Singh visited the Srinagar air base and Badami Bagh Cantonment in Jammu and Kashmir to meet with Indian Air Force (IAF) and Army personnel. He commended their bravery during “Operation Sindoor,” a military response to the April 22nd Pahalgam terror attack, where 26 people were killed.

During his visit, Singh inspected Pakistani shells recovered from cross-border shelling. He praised the soldiers’ destruction of Pakistani posts, stating, “the enemy will never be able to forget Op Sindoor.” He also acknowledged the public’s anger towards Pakistan following the Pahalgam attack.

SOURCE: PTI

India on Thursday welcomed Kabul’s firm rejection of attempts to create distrust between India and Afghanistan during a phone conversation between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and acting Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi.

In the first publicly acknowledged phone conversation, Jaishankar also “deeply” appreciated Muttaqi’s condemnation of the Pahalgam terror attack. “Welcomed his firm rejection of recent attempts to create distrust between India and Afghanistan through false and baseless reports,” Jaishankar said, in an apparent reference to a report in a section of the Pakistani media that claimed India had “hired” the Taliban to carry out a “false flag” operation at Pahalgam.

SOURCE: IANS

 Indian Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh said on Thursday that the present ceasefire understanding is respected by India only as long as no terrorist attack takes place in the country. He also said that it was time that the Nuclear facility of Pakistan was taken over by a global watchdog.

Addressing the Indian Army soldiers at the Badami Bagh Cantonment area of Srinagar city, which is the headquarters of the Army’s 15 Corps, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said, “Our ‘Operation Sindoor’ is undoubtedly the biggest anti-terrorist operation ever undertaken by India. We hit their chest and left a huge wound on it after they tried to attack our head.”

SOURCE: IANS

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed an indigenous seawater desalination technology, the Ministry of Defence said on Thursday. Developed by the Defence Materials Stores and Research and Development Establishment (DMSRDE), the Kanpur-based laboratory of DRDO, the nanoporous multilayered polymeric membrane technology will be used for high-pressure seawater desalination in Indian Coast Guard (ICG) ships.

The technology for the desalination plant in Coast Guard ships is based on their operational requirements. It will also address the challenge of ship stability when exposed to chloride ions in saline water.

SOURCE: IANS

Pakistan has reportedly written a letter to India, urging it to reconsider the decision to put the Indus Waters Treaty into abeyance. Pakistan’s Ministry of Water Resources has reportedly written a letter to New Delhi to resume the flow of rivers into its territory under the Indus Waters Treaty, reports have claimed.

The Indus Waters Treaty is a pivotal water-sharing accord that has endured for more than six decades. The plea comes after India halted the 1960 agreement in the wake of yet another Pakistan-backed terrorist attack, this time in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam on April 22, which left 26 civilians dead, mostly tourists.

SOURCE: ANI

A former Pentagon official, Michael Rubin has said that India targeted terror infrastructure with precision, and it was able to blunt Pakistan’s response following the recent strikes. He said that “Pakistan went running to try to achieve a ceasefire like a scared dog with its tail between its legs” after India put their airfields out of commission.

In an interview with ANI, Mr Rubin who is currently a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute stated that the Pakistani military cannot shield itself from the full reality of the fact that it “lost very, very badly.” He said India has emerged victorious both diplomatically and militarily and mentioned that all attention is now on Pakistan’s terrorist sponsorship.

SOURCE: IANS

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif visited an Army cantonment in Sialkot of Punjab province on Wednesday evening, to meet and express solidarity with the soldiers. However, what could have been a morale-boosting exercise for Pakistani Defence forces turned out to be an ‘embarrassing and ignominious’ one because of the location, ambience and the backdrop in which the Pakistani PM interacted with them.

Shehbaz Sharif’s meeting with Pakistani soldiers is seen as a clear attempt to copy that of his Indian counterpart Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in sending a message to the world.

SOURCE: ANI

Three terrorists were killed in an encounter with security forces in the Nader area of Jammu and Kashmir’s Awantipora, the Indian Army said on Thursday, adding that the identity of the terrorists is being ascertained. The Chinar Corps shared a post on their official ‘X’ handle stating, “Three hardcore terrorists have been eliminated in the ongoing Operation at Nader, Awantipora. Identity of terrorists is being ascertained”, the ‘X’ post read.

On the basis of special intelligence input, a joint operation was launched by Indian Army, Jammu and Kashmir police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in the Nader area of J-K’s Tral in Awantipora in the morning hours of Thursday. Suspicious activity was observed by the troops and on being challenged, the terrorists opened heavy fire on the forces and a fierce gunfight ensued.

SOURCE: PTI

An Indian delegation met top officials of the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) and Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate here even as New Delhi stepped up efforts to designate The Resistance Front, an LeT proxy, as a UN-listed terror outfit.

The Resistance Front (TRF), a front for Pakistan-based terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), had claimed responsibility for the attack that killed 26 people in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam. An Indian technical team, which is in New York, interacted today (Wednesday) with the Monitoring Team of the 1267 Sanctions Committee and other partner countries in the UN. They also met with the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) and Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED), sources told PTI.