SOURCE: RAUNAK KUNDE / NEWS BEAT / IDRW.ORG
Larsen & Toubro (L&T) Defence, led by Executive Vice President and Head Arun Ramchandani, has confirmed a key aspect of its joint bid with Navantia for the Indian Navy’s Project 75I tender. The bid proposes the S-80 Plus class submarines, with a significant focus on maximizing local Indian content.
If their bid is chosen, L&T-Navantia promises that nearly 60% of the components used in the S-80 Plus submarines constructed for India will be sourced locally. This signifies a substantial commitment to India’s “Make in India” initiative, promoting domestic manufacturing and technological expertise.
Continue readingSOURCE: RAUNAK KUNDE / NEWS BEAT / IDRW.ORG
Dassault Aviation, the French manufacturer of the Rafale fighter jet, is making a strategic move to secure a larger role in India’s aerospace industry. The company has reportedly conveyed to Indian Air Force (IAF) and Ministry of Defence (MoD) officials that it can begin Rafale production in India, but with one key condition: acquiring a 100% stake in Dassault Reliance Aerospace Ltd (DRAL).
Dassault’s proposal is enticing. The company claims its Indian facility, upon receiving full ownership, could achieve a production rate of two Rafale jets per month. This translates to potentially delivering the entire 114 jets envisioned under the IAF’s upcoming Multi-Role Fighter Aircraft (MRFA) tender within five years.
Continue readingSOURCE: RAUNAK KUNDE / NEWS BEAT / IDRW.ORG
NewSpace Research and Technologies (NRT), a Bengaluru-based company, has sent ripples through the defence industry by hinting at two significant additions to its swarming platform portfolio. While details remain scarce, NRT’s unveiling of Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) and Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) integrations with their MOSAIC intelligence suite suggests a bold step towards more comprehensive unmanned warfare solutions.
NRT’s MOSAIC suite has garnered considerable attention for its ability to orchestrate swarming tactics in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). This technology empowers UAVs to collaborate in decentralized fused teaming missions, making them highly adaptable and effective.
Continue readingSOURCE: AFI
The ambitious project to develop India’s own 90-seater turboprop aircraft, the RTA, faces significant financial and market challenges. While the initial development cost is estimated at $2 billion under a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), an aviation expert quoted by idrw.org suggests a much steeper climb could be needed.
The long-term viability of the RTA hinges on attracting significant investment beyond the initial development costs. The expert estimates that tax breaks and incentives amounting to $10-15 billion might be necessary to make the aircraft competitive in the Indian market and entice international buyers. This hefty price tag has the Indian government wary of approving the project.
Continue readingSOURCE: AFI
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev has issued a stern warning to countries, including India, against supplying defense equipment to its arch-rival, Armenia. Addressing the issue at an event leading up to COP29 in Baku, Aliyev minced no words as he expressed the gravity of the situation.
“It is a matter of our national security. We cannot sit and wait, seeing how France, India, and Greece are weaponizing Armenia against us and doing it openly, demonstratively,” Aliyev remarked, highlighting the perceived threat posed by the militarization of Armenia with foreign support.
Continue readingSOURCE: AFI
Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL), a defense sector undertaking under India’s Ministry of Defence, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Damen Shipyards Group. The signing ceremony took place in the presence of Her Excellency Liesje Schreinemacher, the Netherlands’ Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation.
This MoU marks a significant step towards collaboration in the development and deployment of electric tugboats (e-Tugs) for Indian ports. Damen Shipyards Group, a renowned Dutch conglomerate with expertise in shipbuilding, engineering, and defense solutions, brings valuable experience to the table.
Continue readingSOURCE: AFI
The Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), a leading laboratory of India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), is seeking Indian industry partners for the design and development of critical power systems for their Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs).
The EOI focuses on the development of a 50 kVA, 115/200VAC, 400 Hz, Variable Speed Constant Frequency (VSCF) electrical machine for ADE’s UAVs. This system will be a vital component of the aircraft’s power supply, ensuring efficient operation and mission success.
Continue readingSOURCE: AFI
Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), a leading Indian defense electronics company, actively participated in the inaugural India-Mozambique Defence Industry Interaction event held on April 25-26 in Maputo, Mozambique. The event served as a platform for Indian government and private defense companies to connect with Mozambican counterparts and explore potential avenues for collaboration.
BEL’s presence at the event proved to be fruitful, attracting a visit from Mozambique’s esteemed Minister of Defence. The Minister, alongside Mr. Anurag Bajpai, India’s Additional Secretary (Defence Production), took a keen interest in BEL’s showcased capabilities.
Continue readingSOURCE: PTI
China has launched the first of the eight Hangor-class submarines to be built for its all-weather ally Pakistan to provide it with state-of-the-art warships, adding a new dimension to their growing bilateral military cooperation.
The launch ceremony, held at Wuchang Shipbuilding Industry Group’s (WSIG) Shuangliu Base on Friday, was attended by Pakistan Navy Chief Admiral Naveed Ashraf, Geo News reported. The development comes as part of the agreement between Islamabad and Beijing under which the latter had agreed to provide the former with eight state-of-the-art advanced submarines.
Continue readingSOURCE: BLOOMBERG
Air China will buy 100 Comac C919 jets in a deal valued at $10.8 billion based on list prices, giving a boost to the homegrown challenger to Airbus and Boeing. The planes will be delivered between 2024 and 2031, Air China said in a filing. The Beijing-based airline, one of China’s three biggest carriers, had previously ordered a handful of C919s.
The C919 competes with Boeing’s 737 Max and the Airbus A320neo, the two top-selling jetliners in the world. Air China currently has a fleet of almost 500 airplanes, including 212 in the A320 family and 127 planes from the 737 series, according to data from tracker Planespotters.net.
Continue readingSOURCE: ANI
Pro-Khalistani separatist and Waris Punjab De Chief Amritpal Singh will contest the Lok Sabha polls from the Khadoor Sahib Lok seat as an Independent candidate, said his mother Balwinder Kaur on Saturday.
Singh’s mother also claimed that pressure was being put on him to contest the polls, adding that he will now begin his political innings from Khadoor Sahib. The Pro-Khalistani leader is currently lodged in Dibrugarh jail in Assam.
Continue readingSOURCE: PTI
Challenging the abrogation of Article 370 in the Supreme Court might have been a mistake but not doing so would have made things worse politically for the mainstream parties of Jammu and Kashmir, People’s Conference chief Sajad Lone has said.
The Supreme Court had, in December last year, upheld the Centre’s August 5, 2019 decision to abrogate Article 370, which bestowed a special status on the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. In an interview with PTI, Mr Lone said the Centre could have propped up anyone to take the case to the Supreme Court had the mainstream parties stayed away from taking legal recourse.
Continue readingSOURCE: PTI
Bangladesh Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud has lauded Sahitya Akademi Award-winning Indian author Rita Chowdhury’s new book which encapsulates the essence of the 1971 Liberation War, saying many people of his country will learn a lot about India’s significant role in it from the novel.
At an event here, Mahmud, who was presented the first volume of a special Bengali edition of the trilogy “Neverland – Zero Hour”, said documenting Bangladesh’s liberation war is an unparalleled contribution to and the novel will be a vital historical document.
Continue readingSOURCE: REUTERS
Sri Lanka will hand over management of its $209 million Chinese-built airport to two Indian and Russian companies, a cabinet statement said on Friday, as the island nation attempts to reduce losses from its state enterprises. Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA), funded by China EXIM Bank, has stoked controversy since its opening in 2013 due to a low number of flights, environmentally sensitive location and persistent financial losses.
The airport’s management will be handed over to Shaurya Aeronautics (Pvt) Ltd. of India and Airports of Regions Management Company of Russia for 30 years, a cabinet statement said, without mentioning the deal value.
Continue readingSOURCE: IANS
The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) which comes under the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology, has issued an advisory over three serious vulnerabilities in networking giant Cisco products that could allow hackers to gain access, infiltrate into computer systems and steal data.
The vulnerabilities reported in Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) software and Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) software could allow attackers to execute arbitrary commands and code on the underlying operating system with root-level privileges, device to reload unexpectedly, resulting in a denial of service (DoS), CERT-In said in its latest advisory.
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