BY : HT Media




Rising inflation across the world has hit the Indian Armed Forces, with British arms firm BAE Systems Plc. increasing by 50% the price of 57 Hawk advanced jet trainers that India’s air force and navy are looking to order, citing rising costs of aluminium and titanium used in these planes.
BAE has quoted a price of Rs135 crore for each Hawk plane, to be made under licence by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), India’s military plane maker in Bangalore. In 2004, HAL had signed a nearly Rs8,000 crore contract for

BY : CNNIBN



The Indian Army's first and only surviving Field Marshal, Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw is fighting for his life at the Army Hospital (Research & Referral) in Wellington in Tamil Nadu.

CNN-IBN Defence Correspondent reports, "Sam has moved in to coma following complications with lung ailment. He is in the ICU of the Army's Wellington hospital

BY : Economic Times

The Defence Public Sector Undertaking, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), has secured an order for the supply of seven Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopters to the Ecuadorian Air Force.

HAL has bagged this order amidst strong competition from Elbit, Eurocopter and Kazan. HAL's offer of $50.7 million for seven helicopters was about 32 per cent lower than the second lowest bid from Elbit.

The first helicopter would be delivered by HAL in six month's time. The contract for the supply of helicopters is likely to be signed within a few weeks.

BY : The Telegraph

If a Red Flag can be a red rag, this is it.

In the teeth of opposition from the Left over strategic ties with the US, the Indian Air Force is sending its most advanced fighter aircraft, a transporter, a mid-air-refueller and about 150 “air warriors” for a war game born out of lessons America learnt in its war against the communists in Vietnam.

The government has cleared the contingent and the funds required for it, an air headquarters source said today. India will incur about $20 million in despatching the contingent to the US, a figure close to the expenses the US paid for participating in

BY : PTI

The third weight-optimised prototype of Saras, the 14-seater multi-role light transport aircraft, is being manufactured and is expected to fly in June next year.

Dr A R Upadhya, the Director of the National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), said the Indian Air Force had conveyed its intention to procure 15 Saras aircrafts for operational

BY : PTI

Former President APJ Abdul Kalam today asked India to explore possibilities of forging a "world knowledge platform" with other nations to develop quality passenger aircraft needed for the international market.
Speaking at the International Conference on Aerospace Science and Technology (INCAST) organised by the National Aerospace Laboratories, Kalam said, through the platform India should integrate the core competencies of multiple Indian institutions and countries to develop the aircraft.

He suggested that the joint venture (JV) be on the lines of the Indo-Russian venture for Brahmos missile. The JV had seen equal contribution of USD 150 million each to produce the world's first supersonic operational cruise missiles which can be

BY : IANS


The Indian Navy took the first step Tuesday in establishing an amphibious warfare school with Minister of State for Defence M.M. Pallam Raju performing the groundbreaking ceremony for a naval enclave near this Andhra Pradesh port city. The Advanced Amphibious Warfare School and Fleet Support Complex will be housed in the enclave that will come up along the beach road on the outskirts of Kakinada, about 500 km from state capital Hyderabad.

The enclave will also bolster the Indian Navy’s capabilities along the east coast as it will complement its Eastern Naval Headquarters at Visakhapatnam further up the coast and also help guard the Krishna-Godavri basin where huge gas reserves have been discovered.

BY : BBC



The Jian-8 fighters collided above the suburbs of Hohhot city in Inner Mongolia during a training mission, said news agency Xinhua.

Both pilots are said to have ejected and parachuted to safety, and suffered only minor injuries.

The agency says both planes crashed in inhabited areas, but gives no word on casualties on the ground.

BY : Abu Dhabi Media

India’s civil nuclear agreement with the United States may be in jeopardy because of opposition from Communist members of the country’s coalition government, but defence ties between the two countries are growing steadily.

Military officials in New Delhi said recent visits to India by senior US officials, including Robert Gates, the defence secretary, in February, were to bolster military ties and agree on weapons deals rather than to rescue the fading nuclear agreement.

“Other than obvious commercial interests, the US is keen to invest militarily in India, which it believes, with Washington’s help and hardware, can emerge as a counterweight to China’s growing might across Asia and other vital regions like Africa and the Middle East,” said Lt Gen V K Kapoor, a defence analyst.

BY : Flight International




The US Navy has asked Boeing to make good on a four-year-old promise to accelerate deliveries of P-8A Poseidon long-range maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft, following last December's grounding of around a quarter of its Lockheed P-3C Orions.

"We're working with the navy right now on a capacity analysis to understand what the possible rates out of the factory are," says Boeing Integrated Defense Systems P-8A programme manager Bob Feldmann. "There's a gap in capability that needs to be filled."