Defence & Security Current Affairs August 2015

Kalyani Group Tied-up with Rafael to make Spike Missiles

• Rafael of Israel and India’s Kalyani Group are forming a manufacturing Joint Venture (JV) as on July 30, 2015 to produce Spike Anti-Tank Guided Missiles (ATGM) in India. This move will further deepen India-Israel strategic cooperation.
• Spike is a third generation, fire-and-forget, man-portable, anti-tank missile. Bharat Dynamics limited (BDL) will be the system integrator. In all, about 40000 missiles are required to equip the Army’s 382 infantry battalions and 44 mechanised regiments.
• In October, 2014, the Defence Acquisition Council chaired by then Defence Minister Arun Jaitley had cleared the Spike ATGM deal worth ? 3200 crore for 8000 plus missiles, 300 plus launchers and requisite transfer of technology to an Indian firm.

China Launched Two Satellites as it Builds GPS Rival

• China launched two new satellites into space from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in South-Western Sichuan province on July 25, 2015 as it develops its domestic navigation system BeidotL or three in 2015.
• Beidou named after the Chinese lent for the ploagh or Big Dipper constellation- It as announced in 2012 and joined the US’s GPS. Russia’s GLONASS and European Union’s Galileo. The satellites are the 18th and 19th out of total constellation of 35 satellites launched by China.
• Beidou became operational in China in December, 2011, with the constellation of 10 satellites. In December, 2012, it began offering services to customers in the Asia-Pacific region but it slated to cover the whole world by 2020.

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Pipavav Defence Signed Pact with Russian Firm

• Pipavav Defence and Offshore Engineering Company (PDOC) of Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group signed an agreement with JSC Ship Repairing Centre Zvyozdochka, Russia, for Medium Refits and Life Certification of 877 EKM Submarines in India on July 21, 2015.
• The programme will be executed under a joint venture (JV) with 51% stake, which is consistent with the Defence Ministry regulations. The indicative value of work planned to be undertaken by the proposed JV is around Rs 11000 crore.
• It is a significant step for the country’s ‘Make in India’ programme. With this, Reliance Group became the first private sector Indian company to refit of submarines in India. Zvyozdochka will provide complete technical support and assistance to the Reliance group.

‘INS-Astravahini’ Decommissioned after 31 Years in Service

• ‘INS-Astravahini’, an indigenously built Torpedo Launch and Recovery Vessel (TLRV), was decommissioned after almost 31 years in service at a ceremony presided over by Commodore KA Bopanna, Naval Officer-in-Charge at the Ship Building Centre on July 16, 2015.
• INS-Astravahini was developed by Naval Science and Technological Laboratory (NSTL). It was an auxiliary vessel of TLRV class and the ship was commissioned on November 5, 1984 at Visakhapatnam, the headquarters of Eastern Naval Command.
• The Ship was only one of its class, extensively used by NSTL as a test platform to launch and recover experimental torpedoes prior to their induction into the Navy.

Defence Proposals of Rs 30000 Crore Cleared

• The meeting of the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) chaired by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar cleared proposals worth over Rs 30000 crore on July 14, 2015.
• The Ministry of Defence (MoD) was the Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for replacing the Army’s vintage air defence guns and for buying four more P8i long-range maritime patrol aircraft for the Navy.
• The National cadet corps also got a shot in the arm as the DAC approved 110 micro-tight aircraft for it with the contract likely to go to a Slovenian firm. The Navy had in November last year decided to go in far the option clause in the contract under which it can place an order for four more.

Anti-Tank Missile ‘Nag’ Tested

• India has test-fired successfully its indigenously developed ‘Nag’ anti-tank guided missile. Its three-round trial of Helicopter-launched Nag (HeliNa) missile was conducted on July 12, 2015 at the Chandhan firing range.
• HeliNa is developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP). The missile can hit a target upto 7 km, from a helicopter at a firing range in Jaisalmer in Rajasthan.
• Once inducted in the Armed Forces, the HeliNa missile will be integrated with the weaponised version of the Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Dhruv, the light combat helicopter produced by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

Indigenously-built Supersonic Surface-to-Air Missile ‘Aakash’ Inducted in IAF

• The indigcqiously-developed supersonic surface-to-air missile ‘Akash’ which can target aircraft upto a distance of 30 km, at altitudes upto 18,000 metres was formally inducted in the Indian Air Force on July 10, 2015.
• IAF has given an initial contract for eight squadrons of Akash defence system. Each squadron has two firing units with four launchers. Each launcher has a capacity to fire three missiles in quick succession.
• The Akash system has been developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) is the production agency.

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