Defence & Security Current Affairs

‘Prithvi-ir Successfully Test-fired

• India successfully test-fired its indigenously-developed nuclear capable Prithvi-II missile from Chandipur in Odisha on May 18, 2016.
• It has strike range of 350. km, capable of carrying 500 kg to 1000 kg of warheads and is thrusted by liquid propulsion twin engines. It uses advanced inertial guidance system with maneuvering trajectory to hit its target.
• The 9 m tall, single-stage liquid-fueled Prithvi II is the first missile to be developed by DRDO under India’s prestigious Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP) and is now a proven technology.

Military Tourism Initiative ‘Veer Yatra’ Launched in Pune

• Maharashtra Ex-servicemen’s Corporation launched the Veer Yatra, an initiative by the Military body that aims to spice up a vacation with on-locale narratives of real-life dare-devilry and heroism.
• This yatra is for civilians provides a peek into the lives of the country’s defence forces, also focusing on areas of historic importance. It also targets to provide employment to many ex-servicemen and war widows over the next year.
• This yatra includes a range of specially designed holiday packages that could take tourists to military training academies, battlefields, and high-altitude pickets, mountain passes such as Nathu La and Zoji La or border posts along the Line of Control.

India Successfully Tested Supersonic Interceptor Missile

• India has successfully test-fired Advanced Air Defence (AAD) supersonic interceptor missile from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) of Abdul Kalam Island, formerly known as Wheeler Island, in Balasore on May 14, 2016.
• The interceptor missile had its own mobile launcher, secure data link for interception, independent tracking and homing capabilities and sophisticated radars.
• The indigenously developed interceptor missile is capable of destroying any incoming hostile ballistic missile. The AAD interceptor is a 7.5 m single-stage solid fuel rocket equipped with a navigation system, a hi-tech computer and an electro-mechanical activator.

‘Red Rag’ Aerial Combat Exercises Conducted

• The Air Forces of India and the USA conducted ‘Red Flag’ aerial combat exercises at Alaska (USA) on May 13, 2016.
• The objective of this inter-continental deployment was not only to showcase the IAF’s capability in undertaking integrated air ops but also to imbibe operational lessons from the exercise engagements, which will help us add more teeth to our overall war waging capabilities.
• During the exercise, a set of Red Flag team formed the ‘white Force’ and using high tech instrumentation and mission debrief tools were used to evaluate the performance of the participants in an objective and logical manner.

Air Chief Inaugurated IAF’s e-Maintenance System

• Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha inaugurated the Electronic Maintenance Management System (e-MMS) at the air force station, Pune, Maharashtra on May 12, 2016.
• The system has a central console that will help LAF to get rid of paper works and heavy logbooks.
• The system would seamlessly connect squadrons, wings, commands, and Air Headquarters after its implementation.

Indian Navy Launched Underwater Vigil System

• The Indian Navy on May 11, 2016 launched the state-of-the-art harbour defence systems, viz., Integrated Underwater Harbour Defence and Surveillance System (IUHDSS) and Mine Warfare Data Centre (MWDC) in Visakhapatnam.
• The IUHDSS is a multi-sensor system capable of detecting, identifying, tracking and generating warnings for all types of surface and underwater threats to Visakhapatnam harbour.
• The MWDC will collate, analyse and classify data collected by the Navy’s Mine Hunting Ships from various ports along the East coast. This state-of-the-art facility will be the nodal centre for maintaining an underwater database of harbours along the coast.