SOURCE: IDRW.ORG
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) is poised to expand its partnership with India’s tri-service following the successful securing of orders for 31 MQ-9B Predator drones in June 2024. With deliveries set to commence in 2026 for the Indian Army, Navy, and Air Force, GA-ASI is now exploring avenues to strengthen ties with India, a key market in its global strategy. Informed sources cited by idrw.org indicate that the company is particularly enthusiastic about offering its innovative Gambit Series, signaling a potential new chapter in Indo-U.S. defense cooperation.
The Gambit Series is built around a modular “Gambit Core,” a versatile platform comprising common hardware such as landing gear, baseline avionics, chassis, and other essential systems. This core, accounting for approximately 70 percent of the cost across variants, offers economies of scale, reduces expenses, enhances interoperability, and accelerates the development of specialized models. The series includes four distinct configurations: Gambit 1 for long-endurance intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR); Gambit 2 for air-to-air combat; Gambit 3 as an advanced trainer; and Gambit 4 for stealth combat reconnaissance. This flexibility positions the Gambit Series as a multi-mission asset tailored to diverse operational needs.
Continue readingSOURCE: IDRW.ORG
Pakistan has formally requested Turkish defense firm Baykar, a leading private company specializing in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), command, control, communications, computers, intelligence (C4I), and artificial intelligence, to investigate the repeated failures of the YIHA-III, a high-precision UAV and loitering munition co-developed with Pakistan’s National Aerospace Science and Technology Park (NASTP).
The request follows the recent India-Pakistan conflict in May 2025, during which numerous YIHA-III drones landed inside Indian territory in near-intact condition, suggesting that India’s sophisticated electronic warfare (EW) and anti-drone systems may have played a decisive role in disabling the drones mid-flight. This development raises questions about the reliability of the YIHA-III and the effectiveness of Pakistan’s drone strategy against a technologically advanced adversary.
Continue readingSOURCE: AFI
The Indian Air Force (IAF) is set to submit a proposal to acquire three advanced Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition, and Reconnaissance (I-STAR) aircraft. These spy planes will play a crucial role in monitoring enemy ground activities, enhancing the IAF’s capability to neutralize targets in future operations, according to sources.
The aircraft will be procured from an original equipment manufacturer and subsequently modified by the Defence Research and Development Organisation’s (DRDO) Centre for Airborne Systems, in collaboration with private industry partners.
Continue readingSOURCE: AFI
In a groundbreaking advancement for India’s indigenous defense sector, Gurugram-based deep-tech startup Sharang Shakti has introduced vajR, a fully autonomous hard-kill drone interceptor system designed to neutralize hostile unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in real-time.
Launched on July 03, 2025, this innovative platform marks one of the first efforts by an Indian private firm to deliver a reusable, AI-enabled kinetic defense solution, tailored to counter the escalating threat of drone incursions across India’s borders. As drone warfare becomes a critical security concern, vajR’s combination of smart targeting, high-speed interception, and reusability positions it as a game-changer in modern aerial defense.
Continue readingSOURCE: AFI
India has achieved a significant milestone in its maritime defense capabilities with the successful trial of its first moored autonomous underwater sonar system, conducted by the Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL), Kochi, under the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
The trial, held from May 17–19, 2025, in the Bay of Bengal, marks a pioneering effort in the country and aligns with the “Atmanirbhar Bharat” initiative to bolster underwater domain awareness (UDA). This development enhances India’s ability to monitor subsurface threats along its strategic east and west coasts, strengthening its maritime security in the Indo-Pacific region.
Continue readingSOURCE: AFI
The Indian Air Force’s (IAF) Multi-Role Fighter Aircraft (MRFA) tender, aimed at procuring 114 advanced fighter jets to bolster India’s air combat capabilities, has become a national embarrassment, languishing for over a decade despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s emphasis on defense modernization and self-reliance.
Launched in 2018 as a successor to the scrapped Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) program, the MRFA remains mired in bureaucratic delays, indecision, and competing priorities, undermining the IAF’s operational readiness at a time of escalating regional threats from China and Pakistan. As Modi’s government enters its 11th year, the failure to finalize the $15–20 billion tender has drawn sharp criticism, with defense analysts and social media users labeling it a strategic misstep that weakens India’s deterrence.
Continue readingSOURCE: AFI
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is set to complete its long-awaited reforms within the next three months, as announced by DRDO Chairman Dr. Samir V. Kamat. This development marks a significant step toward modernizing India’s premier defence research agency, aligning it with the government’s vision of self-reliance in defence technology under the ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ initiative.
Dr. Kamat, who has been leading the DRDO since August 2022 and recently received a one-year tenure extension until May 2026, heads an Overseeing Committee tasked with implementing recommendations from the K. VijayRaghavan Committee.
Continue readingSOURCE: IANS
All Pakistani accounts on X have been blocked in India after briefly being accessible in the past few days, official sources confirmed on Thursday. The move comes in continuation of India’s escalating digital and diplomatic restrictions against Pakistan following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, in which 26 tourists were killed by terrorists affiliated with the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba’s proxy, The Resistance Front.
After the attack, India responded with a series of retaliatory measures, including the suspension of the Indus Water Treaty and the launch of Operation Sindoor, targeting nine terror launch pads inside Pakistan. Among the measures was a wide-reaching crackdown on Pakistani media and social media content encompassing accounts of actors, cricketers, and internet influencers across Instagram, X, YouTube, and other platforms.
Continue readingSOURCE: IANS
The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) on Thursday said it facilitated the transfer of 10 state-of-the-art technologies developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to six Indian companies.
The tripartite Technology Transfer Agreements (TTAs) were signed between NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), the six companies, and IN-SPACe at the IN-SPACe headquarters in Ahmedabad.
Continue readingSOURCE: IANS
The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) is currently evaluating the approval process for Elon Musk’s affordable satellite-based internet service Starlink, which is likely to roll out in the country in a few months.
Reliable sources told IANS on Thursday that “the authorisation is still under evaluation” at the space regulator’s end for Starlink services in the country.
Continue readingSOURCE: AP
The United States. Australia, India and Japan have agreed to expand their cooperation on maritime security in the Indo-Pacific and further collaborate on supplies of critical minerals and rare earths that are key components of high-tech production.
The foreign ministers of the four countries, known as the “Quad,” met in Washington on Tuesday as the Trump administration seeks to expand U.S. influence in the Indo-Pacific to compete with a rising China amid tensions with partners over trade and defense issues.
Continue readingSOURCE: IANS
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held a meeting with FBI Director Kash Patel in Washington DC on Wednesday (local time). Jaishankar expressed appreciation for cooperation between India and the US in countering organised crime, drug trafficking and terrorism. In a post on X, Jaishankar stated, “Great to meet @FBIDirectorKash today. Appreciate our strong cooperation in countering organised crime, drug trafficking and terrorism.
” Earlier, Jaishankar in a meeting with US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said that they discussed the global situation and bilateral cooperation. “Delighted to meet US DNI @TulsiGabbard in Washington, DC this afternoon. A good exchange on the global situation and our bilateral cooperation,” Jaishankar posted on X.
Continue readingSOURCE: PTI
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was conferred with ‘The Officer of the Order of the Star of Ghana’, the country’s national honour, for his “distinguished statesmanship and influential global leadership”.
Modi received the award on Wednesday from the Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama. “Honoured to be conferred with the Officer of the Order of the Star of Ghana,” the prime minister said on X.
Continue readingSOURCE: IANS
Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Upendra Dwivedi visited the Indian Military Training Team (IMTRAT) in Bhutan on Thursday, where he was briefed on the vital role of the team in furthering close military cooperation between India and the Royal Bhutan Army.
According to the Indian Army’s Additional Directorate General of Public Information (ADGPI), the COAS interacted with the Indian Army and Royal Bhutan Army soldiers at IMTRAT and lauded them for their focused joint training initiatives and leadership development.
Continue readingSOURCE: PTI
India has expressed deep concern over the abduction of three Indian nationals in Mali amid a series of terrorist attacks in various parts of the West African country. A day after the Indians were abducted, New Delhi on Wednesday called upon the Mali government to take all necessary measures to secure their “safe and expeditious” release.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) expressed its “deep concern” regarding the abduction of Indians, employed at the Diamond Cement Factory in Kayes.
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