UPDATED: OCTOBER 02, 2018 18:56 IST

Indian Navy has diverted three ships INS Tir, Sujata and Shardul on deployment to Singapore to Palu in Indonesia. IAF has deployed one C-130J and one C-17 transport aircraft to ferry medical teams and relief material. Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a telephonic conversation with Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Monday and offered all possible assistance.

After India’s offer of assistance to tsunami-hit Indonesia, Indian Air Force (IAF) and Navy launched Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) efforts on Tuesday to deliver relief material to the South East Asian country.

Indian Navy has diverted three ships INS Tir, Sujata and Shardul on deployment to Singapore to Palu in Indonesia. IAF has deployed one C-130J and one C-17 transport aircraft to ferry medical teams and relief material.

Besides HADR bricks or material normally carried by all ships, these ships also have on board 30,000 L of bottled drinking water, 1500 L of packaged juices, 500 L milk, 700 kg of biscuits and 20 tents. The ships were dispatched at first light on Tuesday morning, a Navy officer said.

A massive 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck the Indonesian province of Sulawesi on Friday triggering a tsunami leaving at least 1,234 dead. On Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a telephonic conversation with Indonesian President Joko Widodo and offered all possible assistance.

The IAF C-130J aircraft is carrying a field hospital from Agra while the C-17 aircraft is carrying National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) load, mainly consisting tents, generators and medicines.

The C-130 carrying 37 medical personnel has taken off from Hindon Air Force station to Chennai. From Chennai the aircraft will fly to Kualanamu international airport and from there move to Palu.

“The medical teams have been instructed to be self-contained for 10 days. Accordingly they are carrying their rations, generators, fuel oil lubricant, tentage. In addition, light medical equipment including an X-ray machine and medicines are being carried,” one IAF officer said.

The C-17 was loaded at Palam with relief material received from NDMA, including 15.66 tonne of tentage and generators and 16 tonne of medicines. The aircraft is headed to Makkasar in Indonesia.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Sep 30, 2018

Press Trust of India Kolkata

The Indian Navy currently has only two minesweepers at its disposal to safeguard sea lanes and ports spread across thousands of kilometres of coastlines in the eastern and western seaboards, a top Navy officer has said.

The Indian Navy currently has only two minesweeper ships at its disposal to safeguard sea lanes and ports spread across thousands of kilometres of coastlines in the eastern and western seaboards, a top Navy officer has said.

The Navy requires 12 minesweeper ships, but at present has only two, rear admiral Rajaram Swaminathan, assistant chief of material, Indian Navy, said.

“The Navy needs these ships urgently,” Swaminathan said.

Minesweepers are small naval warships that detect and destroy underwater mines and are considered vital for keeping the critical sea lanes safe for movement of essential cargo, including crude oil.

Speaking on the sidelines of the launch of a fuel barge for the Navy on Friday, he said that Defence PSU Goa Shipyard Ltd (GSL) is in the process of collaborating with a foreign firm for manufacturing minesweepers.

The government has been looking for a foreign collaborator for its over Rs 32,000 crore project, entrusted to GSL, for procuring 12 minesweeper ships.

The basic function of these ships would be to locate, classify, sweep and neutralise all types of ground moored and drift mines.

A parliamentary standing committee on defence last year had slammed the government for delay in procurement of the minesweepers and asked it to make efforts to fill the gap in the Navy’s capability.

There are at least 12 major ports and several other minor or intermediate ports in the eastern and western seaboards.

Courtesy: HT

26 September2018

PARIS: Undeterred by the controversy over the Rafale deal, France is pitching the fighter jet as a contender for the Indian Navy’s requirement of carrier-borne combat aircraft, witha top officer saying that it’s battle proven.

Pointing to operations against ISIS using the Rafale, the French Navy feels it will be suitable for India and can be easily integrated onboard the aircraft carrier under construction at Cochin Shipyard. “We have used the aircraft carrier in the fight against ISIS and have used sophisticated armaments from the Rafale that demonstrates that it works very well,” Rear Admiral Gilles Boidevezi, in charge of foreign relations for the

French Navy, told ET.

“The Rafale can be integrated with non-French carriers.” Industry sources said several rounds of talks had taken place with Indian Navy regarding the Rafale offer for a requirement of 57 jets and that it hadn’t been impacted by the political controversy over the earlier deal for 36 planes. In fact, defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman is expected to be in Paris from October 11 for a bilateral meeting, during which she is expected to be briefed on all ongoing projects, including Scorpene submarines and progress on Rafale production.

Super Hornet Vs Rafale Marine

Beyond the 36 jets that the air force has ordered, the French side is confident about its prospects for a deal with the Indian Navy, which is trying to find new jets for the indigenous aircraft carrier under construction in Kochi. While the navy has used Russian MiG 29 K jets till now, it wants to progress to a new aircraft due to several technical problems with the fleet.

The tenders for the contract are expected to be issued shortly but it is likely to be a straight contest between the Boeing-made F/A 18 Super Hornet and the Rafale Marine. The French navy believes that it has demonstrated its ability to operate from foreign carriers. “The Rafale went to the US and was deployed on American aircraft carriers,” said Boidevezi. “The Rafale was perfectly integrated with the US carriers and has shown its capability to work with non-French platforms.”

Both the F/A 18 and Rafale Marine fighter jets have been operating from aircraft carriers but are rigged for catapult launches. This may pose problems for India as the navy uses the skijump system, which involves a runway that curves upward. Sources said that extensive tests and software analysis have been conducted by the French side on the Rafale to show that it can operate with a meaningful load from ski-jump carriers.

This data has also been shared with the Indian Navy that is currently drafting technical requirements for the new fighter competition.

Boeing, which makes the Super Hornet, has also shared this data with the Indian Navy.

Once the requirements are firmed up and permissions obtained from the ministry of defence, tenders will be issued. It is still unclear how the Indian side will categorise the purchase — as a direct foreign purchase or with an offset clause that mandates a proportion of the manufacturing will have to be domestic. The MiG 29 Ks were bought fully built from Russia as the relatively small number would have made domestic production too expensive.

Courtesy: ET

Sep 24, 2018

Press Trust of India 

Indian Navy Ace Sailor Abhilash Tomy who was injured and incapacitated day before has been tracked by the Indian Navy Reconnaissance aircraft. As seen, Boat Mast broken and hanging on the side, said Navy. (ANI/Twitter)

In its efforts to rescue Indian Navy Commander Abhilash Tomy, who currently lies injured in his sailing vessel in the south of Indian Ocean, defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman Sunday said the officer would be rescued French vessel Osiris in the next 16 hours.

Tomy, representing India in the Golden Globe Race 2018 (GGR) on an indigenously built sailing vessel ‘Thuriya’, was dismasted and suffered a back injury on Friday.

He is in the south Indian Ocean, approximately 1900 nautical miles from Perth, Australia and about 2700 nautical miles from Cape Comorin.

All out efforts are being made to rescue Tomy and the Australian Rescue Coordination Centre at Canberra is coordinating the rescue mission in conjunction with many agencies including the Australian Defence Department and the Indian Navy, the Navy said in a statement.

“Spoke to VCNS VAdm Ajit Kumar P, AVSM, VSM regarding the condition of injured navy officer @abhilashtomy. The Rescue Mission is being coordinated with the Australian Navy.The injured officer shall be picked up in the next 16 hrs by a French vessel Osiris,” the defence minister tweeted.

The Navy said its P-8I aircraft sighted the SV Thuriya at 7:50 am on Sunday.

The Indian Navy sources said the capability of the P8i has been a “humongous force multiplier” who has given it and the Australian MRCC a huge input into the state of Thuriya for planning purposes.

An Indian Naval defence attache’ in Australia is camping in regional Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC), the navy sources said.

“Continuous watch over the boat is being maintained by Indian Navy and RAAF (Royal Australian Air Force) aircraft till rescue is completed.

“Indian Naval stealth frigate, INS Satpura with a Chetak Helicopter and tanker INS Jyoti operating in the Indian Ocean have been dispatched for the rescue mission. The officer in his last text message has indicated that he is safe on the boat; however is immobile due to back injury,” the statement added.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)

Courtesy:HT

Abhilash Tomy’s boat ‘Thuriya’ in Les Sables d’Olonne Harbour, on June 29, 2018, ahead of the solo around-the-world sailing race for the ‘Golden Globe Race’ ocean race in which sailors compete without high technology aides such as GPS or computers.(AFP)

Sep 23, 2018

The Indian Navy on Saturday dispatched two warships and an aircraft to rescue one of its finest sailors lying incapacitated on a bunk inside a small sailing vessel in one of the loneliest places in the Indian Ocean, with 14-metre high waves and 130 kmph winds battering his boat.

Commander Abhilash Tomy’s satellite phone is down, the batteries on his emergency texting unit are draining fast and the nearest warships are at least five days away.

His coordinates are known as of now but may not be for long as the external tracking unit giving position data may go flat due to a power failure.

There’s a reserve sat phone, a back-up texting unit and a handheld VHF radio in his emergency kit. But Tomy just can’t move because of severe back injuries he suffered after his indigenously built sailing vessel Thuriya was dismasted in stormy seas on Friday.

As the 39-year-old endures a sailor’s worst nightmare, the navy sent stealth frigate INS Satpura with an embarked Chetak Helicopter, tanker INS Jyoti and a P-8I aircraft to carry out the challenging rescue mission.

“The Indian Navy has put its might behind this rescue effort. And we will get Tomy,” said navy spokesperson Captain DK Sharma. Tomy, an accomplished sailor and a Kirti Chakra awardee, is representing India in the Golden Globe Race 2018 (GGR).

“He is in the south Indian Ocean, approximately 1,900 nautical miles from Perth, Australia, and 2,700 nm (approx 5020 km on ground) from Cape Comorin (Kanyakumari),” the Indian Navy said in a statement. Tomy became a national hero in 2013 when he became the first Indian to circumnavigate the globe – solo, non-stop and unassisted.

Tomy was in the third position among 11 international participants and had sailed over 10,500 nautical miles in the last 84 days since the race began on July 1.

“Extremely difficult to walk, Might need stretcher, can’t walk, thanks safe inside the boat, Unable to reach 2nd YB3 (texting unit) or anything. Sat phone down,” Tomy said in a message posted on the GGR website. Painting a grim picture of Tomy’s ordeal, the GGR said he was “as far from help as you can possibly be”.

The Australian Rescue Coordination Centre at Canberra is coordinating the rescue mission along with several agencies, including the Australian Defence Department and the Indian Navy.

The GGR website said the external tracking unit on Tomy’s boat was still providing position data to the online GGR tracker but the power link to the boat’s batteries was damaged and it could soon go flat.

“A French fisheries vessel may be headed to the scene, but may not arrive for a few days. An Australian Navy vessel may be considered for assistance, but that may be 5 days or more away. Notice has been sent to any/all ships in the area to check if they can assist the distress situation,” the GGR website said.

“Thank you for your support and concern in these trying times. Abhilash has sustained some serious back injuries, however he says he’s safe inside the boat. Indian Navy is doing their best as they always have. His tracker is working. He has activated the EPIRB (emergency position indicating radio beacon.) Help is on its way,” said a message posted from Tomy’s Twitter account.

Rear Admiral Jonathan Dallas Mead, commander, Australian Fleet, said he had dispatched a ship and it would take six days to reach Tomy’s location in the treacherous conditions. Mead, who attended National Defence College in Delhi, sent a message to his course-mates saying, “We will find your man.”

Courtesy: HT

• Abhilash Tomy was sailing as part of the iconic Golden Globe Race

• He sailed out of the Les Sables d’Olonne, France, on a Goa-built yacht Thuriya on July 1

• His vessel momentarily capsizedand his mast snapped in the remote waters of the Southern

When Indian Navy sailor Abhilash Tomy sailed out of the Les Sables d’Olonne, France, on a Goa-built yacht on July 1, he knew he was taking a risk. As the first Indian to single-handedly sail around the world without a stop in a tiny vessel, Tomy was well-versed with the ocean’s unforgiving nature. But for Tomy, his love for the ocean blue was despite its treacherous nature. While sailing as part of the iconic Golden Globe Race, a 14m-high wave rolled over and left him severely injured. His vessel, Thuriya, momentarily capsized and his mast snapped in the storm in the remote waters of the Southern Indian Ocean.

“The windwane autopilot is destroyed,” said Aquarius fiberglass shipyard managing director Ratnakar Dandekar. “I presume he has hull integrity because he has not reported any water entry. It is worrisome. We have to just hang on till someone reaches him.

” The Thuriya was built at Dandekar’s Divar-based shipyard.

Given the danger and the precarious weather conditions, race organisers are working closely with the Australian Rescue Coordination Center in Canberra. Australian authorities have issued an alert to all ships, said the race’s media co-ordinator, Barry Pickthall.

The Indian Navy has also joined in the rescue effort and has diverted the stealth frigate INS Satapura, which had been forward deployed to the Southern Indian Ocean, to help locate and rescue the commander.

The storm witnessed wind speeds of 70 knots (130kmph) and rough sea conditions of 45 feet.

According to his on-shore support team, race officials received a code red alert from Tomy on September 21 at 5:39pm that his mast had broken off and that he had a “severe back injury and was unable to move”. The joint rescue centre at Australia has alerted nearby vessels to head towards Tomy and help in locating the stricken vessel.

According to race officials, Tomy remains incapacitated on his bunk inside the boat and is using the portable Yellow Brick YB3 texting unit to maintain contact with race officials. The primary satellite phone is damaged. There is a second sat phone and the second YB3 texting unit, but he cannot reach them.

“He is safe in the vessel,” commander Dilip Dhonde, the first Indian to complete a solo circumnavigation, said. “It will take a few days for rescue vessels to reach him.”

According to Indian Navy officials, Tomy had switched on his emergency position-indicating radio beacon to help rescuers locate him.

The 39-year-old is a recipient of the Kirti Chakra and is the only invitee from Asia to participate in the prestigious race that commenced from France.

The Thuriya was in the third position after he sailed over 10,500 nautical miles in the last 84 days as part of the gruelling 30,000-mile solo circumnavigation race.

Courtesy TOI

Officials said launch of satellites will focus on the Indian Ocean, a region that has been witnessing increasing Chinese presence.

Bengaluru: India and France have planned 8-10 satellites as part of a “constellation” for maritime surveillance, French space agency CNES chief Jean-Yves Le Gall has said.

This will be India’s largest space cooperation with any country, officials said.

They added that the launch of 8-10 maritime surveillance satellites will focus on the Indian Ocean, a region that has been witnessing increasing Chinese presence.

France will also share its expertise with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on inter-planetary missions to Mars and Venus, the Indian space agency’s two major missions, Gall said.

“We started (talks) on constellation of new satellites for maritime awareness. Of course, it will take time,” Gall told PTI in an interaction.

Asked how many satellites will be part of the project, he said, “It would be between eight-10.”

The purpose of the constellation is monitoring sea traffic management, a CNES official said, adding that it would take less than five years to launch the satellites.

In March this year, India and France unveiled a joint vision for space, resolving to strengthen cooperation between ISRO and CNES.

“ISRO and CNES would work together for design and development of joint products and techniques, including those involving Automatic Identification System, to monitor and protect assets in land and sea. In particular, both sides will pursue the study of a constellation of satellites for maritime surveillance,” the joint vision statement said.

Several crucial sea lanes of communications pass through the Indian Ocean, a region critical to the strategic interests of India and France.

While the Indian Ocean region is the prime focus for New Delhi, Paris has its territories spread across the Indian Ocean, the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean, officials said.

The robust space cooperation between India and France goes back six decades.

Last week, the two countries signed an agreement to share expertise on ISRO’s human mission programme Gaganyaan. The space agencies of the two countries have also been working on climate monitoring on the joint missions Megha-Tropiques (launched in 2011) and Saral-Altika (launched in 2013).

They are also working on the Trishna satellite for land Infrared monitoring and the Oceansat3-Argos mission. Discussing collaboration for the mission to Venus and Mars and France’s expertise on the matter, Mathieu Weiss, the managing director of CNES’ India liaison office, explained, “The eyes and scientific heart of Curiosity Rover (NASA) on Mars were developed by us. France and Russia have jointly worked for the Venus mission in the past. In both the inter-planetary missions, the French scientific community is very strong and among best in the world,” Weiss told PTI.

In a media briefing at Paris on Friday, Gall said CNES is currently working with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and German space agency DLR on Hayabusa 2/ MASCOT, a mission to asteroid Ryugu. CNES has also scheduled Mission BepiColombo to Mercury.

Source:PTI

The Indian government has cleared the way for one of its biggest purchases from Russia — a $2.2-billion frigates deal, amid tensions with the United States over Delhi’s strengthening of defense ties with Moscow, The International Business Times reports.

The agreement, which will allow India to procure from Russia four new warships for the Navy, will be signed during a summit between President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Capital in October, according to officials.

While there were initial discussions to involve the Indian private sector to build two of the ships domestically, the government took a decision to nominate the state-owned Goa Shipyard as it had spare capacity at hand. The Indian-made warships are expected to cost 30-50% more than the direct Russian import due to the cost of building infrastructure and transfer of technology, officials have said.

India and Russia had signed an intergovernmental agreement to proceed with the deal in October 2016, but price negotiations and technical consultations, which also involved the Indian shipyard, have delayed the final clearance, which could be one of the big takeaways from the Modi-Putin summit that is scheduled to take place in Delhi on October 5.

India already operates six of the Talwar-class frigates, but these four to be ordered will be more advanced versions. The warships are to be fitted with the Brahmos missile system and will have significant changes from the older ships as the Navy will have several Indian-made pieces of equipment onboard, including sensors and communications. They will add to India’s muscle in the Indian Ocean region.

Aside from the $2.2 billion frigates deal, the two countries previously agreed on the $5.5 billion purchase of the S-400 Triumf advanced air defense missile system, as well as a $1 billion deal for the supply of Kamov-226 helicopters.

Courtesy: Russia Business Today

Top Indian and US officials on Thursday touted deepening ties that will see greater cooperation between the two countries’ militaries — and will likely result in India buying more American arms.

The US has gone to great lengths to forge a closer bond with India as Washington seeks partners to push back against China’s economic and military rise across the region.

As an example, Indian Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced plans for the US and India to hold major military drills next year.

The drills would be a first of sorts — the two countries’ forces have not previously trained simultaneously in the air, on the land and at sea.

“We have decided to carry out for the first time a tri-services joint exercise with the United States off the eastern coast of India in 2019,” Sitharaman said.

Joining Sitharaman for the talks was Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.

After the summit, Pompeo said it had been “pretty special, historic, a level of relationship that the two countries had not previously had.”

Aside from agreeing to joint drills, the two countries also signed a “Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement.”

Known as COMCASA, this deal will allow the two countries to exchange sensitive military information quickly and securely.

Despite the friendly tone of the summit, there are plenty of issues India and the US do not see eye-to-eye on.

In 2016, Washington designated India as a “major defence partner”, making it easier for the two countries to do arms deals.

India however is finalising a deal with Moscow to buy new systems including its S-400 long-range, surface-to-air missiles.

None of the four officials who spoke to reporters after the summit — but did not take questions — mentioned whether the S-400 issue had come up.

Under current US rules, third countries could face sanctions if they transact with Russian defence or intelligence sectors.

If the S-400 deal is finalised, India has signalled it will ask Washington for a special waiver from sanctions, though a US official last week said there is no guarantee it would do so.

The US wants to wean India off Russian systems and onto American hardware. It already has sold US Apache attack helicopters and other gear, and is negotiating to sell armed drones to India.

– Belt and road –

In an apparent reference to China and its Belt and Road initiative — which floods developing countries with cash for infrastructure projects that sometimes cannot be repaid — Pompeo said the US and India wish to pursue “fundamental rights and liberties and prevent external economic coercion.”

The talks were first meant to be held in April and then in June but both were postponed, triggering speculation of a rift.

After the talks were over, a reporter asked Pompeo if he was involved in a scandal gripping Washington, after the New York Times reported an anonymous editorial penned by a Trump official that depicts the White House in a state of dangerous chaos.

Pompeo denied he had anything to do with the letter.

In May, Trump pulled the US out of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and said other countries, including India, must stop buying oil from Tehran before November 4 or face US sanctions.

India however is highly reliant on Iranian crude imports.

India has a $25 billion trade surplus with the United States, and to reduce that the Trump administration is reportedly pressing India to take more US imports.

A draft agreement put forward by Washington last month committed India to accepting more imports of US in the areas of civilian aircraft and natural gas, taking Indian officials by surprise, the Hindu daily reported on Thursday.

“We will consider waivers where appropriate but … our expectation (is) that the purchases of Iranian crude oil will go to zero from every country or sanctions will be imposed,” Pompeo said.

Mattis and Pompeo were due to meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi later on Thursday.

India and the US also vowed closer cooperation in counterterrorism operations.

Courtesy: Spacewar

September 06, 2018

When a US warship or aircraft detects a Chinese warship or submarine, the warships, submarines and aircraft of the Indian Navy operating in the region will get to know instantly about the presence of the Chinese vessels through the transmission of encrypted data shared by the US Navy.

Not only will the Indian Navy get the exact bearing and speed of the Chinese vessels, they may also be able to receive a live video feed of the ‘target’ as well.

The receivers fitted in Indian Navy assets will be a part of America’s Combined Enterprise Regional Information Exchange System or CENTRIXS for short, a system described by the US Navy as a “collection of classified coalition networks” that support combatant commands throughout the world. CENTRIXS is a backbone of secure tactical communication between America’s closest military allies, of which India is one.

And the reason New Delhi will now have access to CENTRIXS is because of its decision to sign the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA), a “foundational agreement” that has the potential of transforming the way in which the intelligence and armed forces of the US and India work together.

In simple terms, this is the next step up for the armed forces of both countries, well beyond the annual set of joint exercises they have been holding for years. From a military technology standpoint, CENTRIXS is one of the systems that enable India and the United States to fight together as military allies in a combat zone since both sides would have access to a common operational picture, a single identical display which shows the position of enemy targets, friendly forces and other critical information which greatly enhances the situational awareness of military commanders.

Indian Navy’s fleet of cutting-edge P-8I anti submarine aircraft are already serviced by engineers and specialists from Boeing.

And that’s not all that signing COMCASA brings with it.

The armed Sea Guardian drones the Navy is likely to acquire will be fitted with some of the most sophisticated American military hardware — the Global Positioning Systems and Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) receivers on board will be anti-spoof and invulnerable to attempts to electronically jam or manipulate their signals. Data transmitted by the Very High Frequency (VHF) emitters will be strongly encrypted and the security-key for the encryption systems will be entirely in Indian hands.

Despite the tangible military gains, signing COMCASA has been deeply problematic for the Indian security establishment and talks between New Delhi and Washington have gone on for years. At the heart of New Delhi’s concerns is the worry that the secure data transmission systems on board US-provided drones may have a channel which allows the US to monitor their precise movement. At the same time, there have been concerns that annual US inspections of these systems, as mandated by COMCASA, infringes on India’s rights as a sovereign nation.

Belatedly, however, both sides have been able to address these concerns amicably. The Indian armed forces have accepted an American explanation that the United States cannot track the real-time movement of drones and aircraft they have provided unless India allows that to happen. The US has made it clear that ground inspections of these systems are required not to snoop on India but only to ensure that some of Washington’s most sophisticated military systems have not been tampered with, reverse engineered or shared with any third country.

In fact, the Indian Navy’s fleet of cutting-edge P-8 anti-submarine aircraft are already serviced by engineers and specialists from Boeing. Some of the most sensitive communication systems on board, however, were replaced by off-the-shelf systems since India had not signed COMCASA when the P-8s began entering service in December 2012. The Navy operates 8 P-8s with four more on order.

Once they enter service, the Predator Sea Guardian manufactured by General Atomics will transform the Indian Navy’s ability to monitor large parts of the Indian Ocean. Capable of flying non-stop for 27 hours at an altitude of 50,000 feet, the Sea Guardian is remotely piloted or can operate fully autonomous missions. Equipped with a multi-mode maritime radar, the drone can engage targets such as enemy ships by firing either Hellfire missiles or smart bombs mounted on its wings.

India’s decision to sign COMCASA comes at a time when the United States has voiced its opposition to India’s acquisition of the Russian S-400 missile shield since this purchase violates CAATSA or the US Countering America’s Adversaries through Sanctions Act, which has recently been passed.

However, New Delhi, while indicating its intention to go forward with COMCASA, has made it clear to Washington that Russia and India have had a historic military equation which cannot be dispensed with.

Courtesy: NDTV