SOURCE: API

Airbus Military began a quiet campaign to showcase the A400M airlifter to the Indian Air Force (IAF) in 2013, long before India walked out of the Russian-Indian MTA (Multipurpose Transport Aircraft) programme in 2015 due to engine selection differences, but trouble was brewing much earlier, and Airbus sensed it.

The MTA was supposed to replace the Indian Air Force’s ageing fleet of Antonov An-32 transport planes, but little is known about the Indian Air Force team that was in the United Kingdom witnessing the first flight of the first Turkish A400M. Airbus also demonstrated the aircraft’s capabilities, including trials on unpaved runways, at RAF Boscombe Down in the United Kingdom.

SOURCE: API

INS Vikramaditya will complete ten years of service in the Indian Navy this November, but this Russian-modified Kiev-class aircraft carrier and the Indian Navy’s flagship has been nothing but trouble for its maintenance crew, with high downtime and unreliable Russian spares support.

Since December 2020, the INS Vikramaditya has been undergoing its first major refit and will be ready to sail in the coming months. Officials in the Indian Navy have stated that three aircraft carriers are a ‘unavoidable requirement and have been stressing Defence Ministry to get approvals for second aircraft carrier which might be near identical to the current INS Vikrant, India’s first Aircraft carrier.

SOURCE: API

Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE) has developed an improved variant of the Full-authority digital engine control (FADEC): A digital computer which controls a servo-operated fuel valve for the Dry Kaveri engine program that will be used to power India’s first unmanned stealth strike aircraft.

Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE) is looking for a production partner for the FADEC that it developed in India and is looking for industrial partners who can refine it and make it production ready.

SOURCE: API

Puppet Prime Minister of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK), Sardar Tanveer Ilyas Khan, stated that his government will observe Kashmir Day with traditional zeal to express complete solidarity with the people of the Indian side of Kashmir, and that Pakistan’s survival is also linked to Kashmir’s freedom. The PM highlighted the importance of highlighting the Kashmir issue from a historical perspective, and stated that the government would continue to play a role in strengthening the freedom movement.

Khan stated that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will address the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly in order to express solidarity with our brothers and sisters on the Indian side of Kashmir.

SOURCE: AFI

According to Hindustan Times report, Ajit Doval, India’s National Security Advisor, is expected to express India’s serious concerns about the UK turning a deafening blind eye to the rise of Sikh radicalisation and anti-India sentiments fueled by Pakistani Muslims in the country.

NSA Doval will be in London for an open discussion with Barrow about UK-based violent extremism in the context of Sikh radical groups operating from the Island nation, as well as Pakistani Islamist groups opposed to India on Kashmir and the Citizenship Amendment Act.

SOURCE: UNI

A day after India and the United States signed iCET, a significant technological partnership, China condemned the agreement, citing the age-old Chinese adage “same bed, different dreams.”

The Chinese proverb was used in an article on the Chinese state-backed Global Times to mock the two countries’ agreement. “The Chinese proverb “same bed, different dreams” describes a relationship between two people whose lives are inextricably linked but who have opposing goals. This appears to be an apt description of the relationship between Washington and New Delhi “the article stated.

SOURCE: PTI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will dedicate to the nation a helicopter production facility of state-run aerospace behemoth Hindustan Aeronautics Limited in Karnataka’s Tumakuru on Monday. The greenfield helicopter factory, spread across 615 acres, is planned with a vision to become a one-stop solution for all helicopter requirements of the country, a defence ministry statement said on Saturday.

It is India’s largest helicopter manufacturing facility and will initially produce Light Utility Helicopters (LUHs), it said. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) plans to produce more than 1,000 helicopters in the range of 3-15 tonnes, with a total business of over Rs 4 lakh crore over a period of 20 years. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and senior officials of the Ministry of Defence will be present at the inauguration ceremony of the production facility.

SOURCE: REUTERS

Indian refiners have begun paying for most of their Russian oil purchased via Dubai-based traders in United Arab Emirates dirhams instead of U.S. dollars, four sources with knowledge of the matter said.

While Western sanctions against Moscow are not recognised by India, and purchases of Russian oil may in any case not violate them, banks and financial institutions are cautious about clearing payments so as not to unwittingly fall foul of the many measures imposed against Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.

SOURCE: PTI

The launch of the India-US initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and his American counterpart Jake Sullivan is an important signal that the two countries are ready to break down barriers, foster ties in technology and bolster defence cooperation, experts said.

Sullivan and Doval met at the White House on Tuesday along with their respective high-powered delegations for the inaugural iCET dialogue.

SOURCE: PTI

The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee has strongly opposed any move to introduce ballistic helmets for Sikh soldiers.

A delegation of the SGPC, the apex religious body of the Sikhs, met the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) chief to discuss the issue. The SGPC delegation said no interference in the matter of Sikh identity will be tolerated. Therefore, under no circumstances the helmets can be accepted on Sikh soldiers, they said.

SOURCE: ANI

Nepal under the new Prachanda-led government must balance its ties with both India and China as the country already witnesses the geopolitical and geo-economic power play on its territory by the two neighbouring power giants, according to a report by EPardafas. According to the EPardafas report, the task of balancing the ties becomes important as the economic situation in Nepal is not very conducive. The inflation is over eight per cent which is the highest in the last six years.

Unemployment is also touching new highs. There is an increased dependence on foreign goods in Nepal but the foreign exchange reserves are shrinking. The country has been affected by the impact of COVID and has not fully recovered yet. The government’s immediate focus is thus on attracting investments and businesses as well as boosting the production of goods and services.

SOURCE: IANS

An army soldier was injured on Saturday in a landmine explosion along the line of control (LoC) in J&K’s Poonch district.

Official sources said that the explosion took place in Kerni sector of Poonch district today. “The explosion apparently occurred accidentally around 11.15 a.m., today. The injured soldier was airlifted to the command hospital in Udhampur town,” sources said.

SOURCE: UNI

On Saturday, February 4, live cartridges were recovered from Bihar’s Aurangabad in a massive development. The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the Bihar Special Task Force (STF) conducted a joint operation in which live cartridges found in a bucket were seized in the Aurangabad neighbourhood of Chakrabandha.

The police have launched a cordoned-off search operation throughout the region.

SOURCE: PTI

The Madhya Pradesh Police have arrested an office-bearer of the now-banned outfit Popular Front of India (PFI) from Bhopal on the charge of conspiring against the government and indulging in unlawful activities, an official said.

The arrest was made on Friday in connection with a case registered by the state police’s Special Task Force (STF) last year, he said. “PFI member Wasid Khan (26), a resident of Sheopur, was arrested under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 121A (conspiracy to wage war against govt), 153B (assertions prejudicial to national integration) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) besides the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act,” the official said.

SOURCE: IANS

The Jammu and Kashmir government has passed clear orders to all deputy commissioners in the Kashmir Division to monitor the return of

At a top-level meeting headed by the union territory’s chief secretary, Arun Kumar Mehta, which was attended by all deputy commissioners and district SSPs, it was decided that deputy commissioners of Kashmir Division will monitor and maintain data about the return of Kashmiri Pandit families and PM Package employees within their respective districts.