In 2024, India witnessed some of the most path-breaking achievements, ranging from border disengagement with China along the Line of Actual Control to the first test flight of the new variant Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas Mk1A to the testing of a hypersonic missile. The country’s defence and security apparatus evolved in the land, sea, air, and space sectors.
Here are the top milestones in India’s defence and security apparatus
Border Disengagement With China
In October, the Centre announced that India and China had agreed upon the “last phase of disengagement” regarding patrolling arrangements in the Depsang and Demchok regions. The former is in northern Ladakh, while the latter is in the east. The areas, along with others like the Pangong Tso, Galwan Valley, and Gogra Hotsprings have been points of contention over varying perceptions of the boundary line.
In 2020, the troops of the nuclear-armed countries clashed in the Galwan Valley in which 20 Indian soldiers and an officer were killed in action. The troops disengaged from most of the regions but Depsang and Demchok remained contentious.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar confirmed the big announcement of disengagement at the NDTV World Summit that day and said “We reached an agreement on patrolling, and we have gone back to the 2020 position. With that, we can say the disengagement with China has been completed… There are areas which, for various reasons after 2020, they blocked us, we blocked them. We have now reached an understanding which will allow patrolling as we had been doing till 2020.”
A month later in November, the Indian Army today “successfully completed” patrolling to one of the patrol points in the Depsang region of Ladakh following the consensus.
Mission Divyastra
In March, India successfully conducted the first flight test of Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicles (MIRV) with the Agni-5 Intercontinental Ballistic Missile. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) conducted a successful test of the MIRV technology which was in development for several years, putting India on an elite list of nations that have the capability.
Scientists at DRDO have been working on Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicles (MIRV) technologies for many years. The technology allows a single missile like the Agni-5 to carry multiple warheads and independently target locations. The system developed by DRDO is equipped with indigenous Avionics systems and high-accuracy sensor packages, which ensure that the re-entry vehicles reach the target points within the desired accuracy.
Agni-5 is an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) that goes into space before re-entering the atmosphere.
‘Project Zorawar’ – India’s Response To China In Ladakh
In July, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Larsen & Toubro (L&T) developed a light tank in a record two years, catering to the Army’s need for a high-altitude light tank to counter China’s ZQ-15 in Ladakh.
The tank was put to an advanced stage of trials and will be inducted soon. The light tank Zorawar weighs 25 tonnes. It is the first time, a fresh tank has been designed and made ready for trials in such a short time.
Around 59 of these tanks will be provided to the Army initially and it will be a front runner for the major programme of 295 more of these armoured vehicles.
Tejas MK1A Was Airborne
On March 28, Group Captain K K Venugopal (retired), a Chief Test Pilot with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, took the first aircraft of the Tejas MK1A series, to the skies, staying airborne for 18 minutes. It was a huge milestone in India’s LCA project which seeks to replace the existing fleet of MiGs and other old aircraft in the Indian Air Force
“The Tejas Mk1A will have an advanced electronic RADAR, warfare and communication systems, additional combat capability and improved maintenance features,” the HAL said.
The Indian Air Force has ordered 83 Tejas Mk1A variants in a Rs 36,468 crore deal with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. In November last year, the Defence Acquisition Council cleared the project to acquire 97 more Tejas jets for the Indian Air Force.
Commissioning of INS Arighaat
On August 29, India commissioned INS Arighaat, the second of the Arihant-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine, into service.
The submarine will strengthen India’s nuclear triad, enhance nuclear deterrence, help in establishing strategic balance and peace in the region, and play a decisive role in the security of the country.
The country’s nuclear submarine has the distinction of having indigenous systems and equipment which were conceptualised, designed, manufactured and integrated by Indian scientists, industry and naval personnel, the defence ministry said.
Nuclear Missile Test Firing
A few months later after the commissioning of INS Arighaat, India test-fired a nuclear submarine-launched ballistic missile with a range of 3,500 km. The K-4 missile was launched in November and will provide India with a second-strike capability.
It underpinned India’s nuclear triad capability, putting it in a small group of countries that can fire a nuclear missile from land, air and undersea.
According to reports, it was the first test of the submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) from a submarine.
Hypersonic Missile Test
In November, India successfully test-fired a long-range hypersonic missile from the APJ Abdul Kalam Island off the coast of Odisha.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh described the test-firing of the missile as a historic moment as it put India in the group of select nations having the capabilities to develop such critical technologies.
The @DRDO_India has successfully conducted a flight trial of its long range hypersonic missile on 16th Nov 2024 from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island, off-the-coast of Odisha.
Raksha Mantri Shri @rajnathsingh has congratulated DRDO, Armed Forces and the Industry for successful flight… pic.twitter.com/wq7yM2YS9f
— रक्षा मंत्री कार्यालय/ RMO India (@DefenceMinIndia) November 17, 2024
He congratulated the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the armed forces and the industry for what he described as a “stupendous” achievement.
Commissioning Of Navy’s New Choppers
In March, a squadron of MH-60 Romeo helicopters was commissioned at INS Garuda, a naval air station and also the “cradle of naval aviation” in Kochi. The Indian Naval Air Squadron (INAS) 334 is the latest air squadron of the Navy and home for MH-60R, the submarine hunters. Captain M Abhisheik Ram will be the commanding officer of the INAS 334 squadron.
MH-60R, manufactured by Lockheed Martin and Sikorsky, is the naval variant of the US Blackhawk helicopter, is one of the most potent anti-submarine choppers currently operational in the world and is considered a game changer due to its anti-submarine/surface capabilities and command, and control capabilities.
India ordered 24 MH-60Rs in a $905 million government-to-government deal with the US. Two choppers were formally handed over to the Indian Navy by its US counterpart in 2021.
C295 Aircraft Manufacturing Facility
Prime Minister Modi and his Spanish President Pedro Sanchez jointly inaugurated the TATA Aircraft Complex for manufacturing C-295 transport aircraft at TATA Advanced Systems Limited Campus in Gujarat’s Vadodara in October 2024.
The C-295 is a transport aircraft of 5-10 tonne capacity with contemporary technology that will replace the Indian Air Force’s ageing Avro-748 planes.
In September 2021, India signed a Rs 21,935-crore contract with Airbus Defence and Space SA, Spain for the supply of 56 aircraft – 16 to be brought in fly-away condition from Spain and 40 to be built in India by TASL. Of the 16 aircraft, six have already been inducted into IAF at 11 Sqn based at Vadodara.
The last would be delivered by August 2025. The first Made-in-India C-295 is expected to be rolled out of the Final Assembly Line facility at Vadodara by September 2026 and the remaining by August 2031.
Test Firing Of Rudram-II
In May, India successfully test-fired an air-surface anti-radiation missile from a Su-30MKI fighter jet. The Rudram-II anti-radiation supersonic missile is developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
The Rudram-II is the latest version after the mark-1 version was tested four years ago by Su-30MKI, the backbone of India’s fighter fleet.
The flight test met all the trial objectives, validating the propulsion system and control & guidance algorithm. Rudram missile is the first indigenously developed anti-radiation missile designed to target enemy ground radars (surveillance, tracking) and communication stations in Suppression of Enemy Air Defence (SEAD) missions.
Rudram-II is one of the finest and is meant to neutralise many types of enemy assets. India currently operates the Russian Kh-31, an anti-radiation missile. The Rudram missiles will replace the Kh-31s.
