New Delhi:

Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan on Thursday said the form of war is transforming rapidly due to technological advancements and the country’s armed forces will have to be ready to accept this change.

He made the remarks while addressing a gathering of Army officers, junior commissioned officers (JCOs) and soldiers drawn from 18 Grenadiers to mark 25 years of the battles of Tololing and Tiger Hill fought during the Kargil war in 1999.

Tiger Hill top was captured by the Indian Army on July 4, 1999. The 18 Grenadiers battalion played a pivotal role in the Kargil conflict. ‘Vijay Diwas’ is celebrated on July 26 every year to mark India’s victory over Pakistan in the 1999 Kargil war.

“People of the country have faith in our capabilities and due to that, we have this immense prestige. The legacy that has been bequeathed to you has been earned by our ancestors. We may not have made a direct contribution but we are reaping its fruits,” Gen Chauhan told the gathering.

This also “entrusts on us responsibilities”, both individually and as a community, he said. One cannot make a mistake as a soldier and as a community, the trust can never be lowered, the chief of defence staff (CDS) added.

In his address, Gen Chauhan said, “We are going through an age of transformation. In today’s era, the form of a war is rapidly changing. Therefore, we will always have to be ready to accept this change.” “We want to become a professional armed force and a superpower… India. It is our desire. This can happen only if we work with new energy, new zeal and new thoughts”.

Quoting scientists and philosophers, the CDS underlined that change is the only constant and the Indian armed forces “cannot stay away from this change” “Due to rapid technological developments, the form of the war is changing rapidly. In the past, it was found that valour was an essential element in winning a battle. But in future wars, valour alone is not enough… We will have to be flexible and imaginative and keep an open mind,” he added.

As many weapons get upgraded with better technology, tactics and strategies also change and it is very rapid now, the CDS told the gathering.

“Today we are talking of a multi-domain warfare. Instead of just conventional domains like land, sea, maritime and air, the cyber, electromagnetic spectrum and space domains are also added to augment our military strength,” he said.

The CDS said that people love and trust the armed forces and if “we have to maintain it, we will have to bring change. “We cannot fail in a war,” he asserted, adding that unlike sports, there are no runners-up in war as winner takes it all.

“To maintain that trust, you will have to understand and adapt to these new things. This is the main reason why the government has made the post of a CDS and it is part of reforms that we are endeavouring to implement,” Gen Chauhan said.

He said that as CDS, his mandate is to bring jointness and integration among the three Services, that all must work in consonance. “A unit works like a human body where any ailment impacts overall health,” he said.

Gen Chauhan extended his greetings to members of the 18 Grenadiers battalion and also the Veer Nari, whose sons or husbands made the supreme sacrifice for the nation.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Indian army has inducted the first-ever indigenous chip-based 4G mobile base station, which it procured from Bangalore-based firm Signaltron through the government e-marketplace portal, a top company official said.

Signaltron founder Himamshu Khasnis told PTI that the chip used in the Sahyadri LTE base stations has been developed by Signalchip.

Earlier in 2010, Mr Khasnis and his team founded a fabless semiconductor company Signalchip to make chips for 4G and 5G networks.

“Signaltron has built the entire system indigenously using India’s first chips for 4G and 5G networks developed by Signalchip. This is the first time an Indian system running on an Indian chip for complex communication technology has been inducted into the army. Using indigenous chips gives a high degree of control on the security of the system in its operation,” Mr Khasnis said.

He said the Indian Army had posted a bid on GeM (Government e-Marketplace) for the supply of 4G LTE NIB (Network In a Box) solution last year.

“Signaltron proposed the Sahyadri NIB solution and came out successful in stringent technical trials. Subsequently, Signaltron also won the competitive bid to supply the equipment. Weighing just 7 kgs, Sahyadri Network In a Box (NIB) systems provide high-quality secure wireless communication for audio, video and data applications,” Mr Khasnis said.

He said the Sahyadri NIB is capable of working in both standalone and cellular modes and capable of seamless inter-operation with legacy analogue and IP telephony systems.

The majority of the base stations deployed in India are not made in India. Even the few that are made in India do not have indigenous chips inside, which is the most strategic and important component of modern electronic devices and equipment.

Signaltron has supplied 20 units to the army and the deployment of the base stations depends on their strategic requirement, Mr Khasnis said.

“We have supplied 20 units to the army. The Army takes its own call on when and where to deploy base station. Since they are light and mobile units, it gives them the flexibility to change the location as per their requirement,” he added.

At present, there is no fabrication facility in India for modern semiconductor chips. Signalchip has designed the chip indigenously and owns the entire technology that the chips deliver. In a model similar to leading semiconductor companies like Nvidia, Qualcomm, Mediatek etc, Signalchip also gets its chips fabricated through third-party wafer fabs.

Mr Khasnis said the Indian base station market is expected to be about USD 24 billion by 2029.

“With the use of indigenous systems, there could be significant savings to forex and also boost GDP. There are sizeable market volumes available in India and worldwide. Modernisation targets of different sectors like defence, railways etc. are excellent opportunities for indigenous solutions,” he said.

Mr Khasnis said that the CNPN (Captive Network-Private Network) 4G/5G market worldwide is expected to cross USD 30 billion by 2030, which will enable large possibilities for the local chip-based base stations, thereby providing economies of scale. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

The Indian Army has launched a first-of-its-kind skin bank facility that aims to revolutionise the treatment of severe burn injuries and other skin-related conditions for service personnel and their families.

The defence ministry in a statement on Tuesday said the skin bank will be staffed by a team of highly-trained medical professionals, including plastic surgeons, tissue engineers and specialised technicians.

The Army Hospital (Research and Referral) here announced the opening of the skin bank facility, a first-of-its-kind to be established within the Armed Forces Medical Services, it said.

Army Hospital (R&R), New Delhi opened a state-of-the-art skin bank, the first within the Armed Forces Medical Services. This facility aims to revolutionize treatment for severe burns & skin conditions among service members and their families. (1/2)@giridhararamanepic.twitter.com/C6gdSr88ys

— A. Bharat Bhushan Babu (@SpokespersonMoD) June 18, 2024

“This landmark initiative aims to revolutionise the treatment of severe burn injuries and other skin-related conditions among service members and their families,” the statement said.

This bank will serve as a centralised hub for the collection, processing, storage and distribution of skin grafts, providing a “critical resource” for military medical centres across the country, officials said.

By establishing this facility, the armed forces are ensuring that personnel and their families have access to the most advanced skin replacement therapies, they said.

The facility will adhere to the highest standards of quality control and safety, ensuring the integrity and reliability of the skin grafts, the statement said.

DGMS (Army) and Col Comdt Lt Gen Arindam Chatterjee termed the launch of this skin bank as “a testament to the unwavering commitment to the health and well-being of service members”.

He added that the facility will not only enhance the quality of care but also strengthen the ability to support those who have been affected by serious injuries.

“By having a dedicated resource for skin tissue, we can provide our patients with the most effective and personalised treatments, ultimately improving their chances of recovery and rehabilitation,” Commandant, Army Hospital (R&R) Lt Gen Ajith Nilakantan, was quote as saying in the statement.

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 Indian Army Major Radhika Sen has been selected to receive a UN award recognising her advocacy for women and girls while serving as a peacekeeper, Stephane Dujarric, the Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, announced here.

Dujarric said that Guterres will present Ms Sen with the 2023 Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award on Thursday, which is observed as the International Day of UN Peacekeepers.

The award recognises the efforts of a military peacekeeper in promoting the principles of the 2000 Security Council resolution that calls for protecting women and girls from conflict-related sexual violence and sets gender-related responsibilities for the UN.

Congratulating her, Guterres called her “a true leader and role model. Her service was a true credit to the United Nations as a whole”.

Ms Sen served with the Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) where she helped create the Community Alert Networks in North Kivu as a platform that brought in community leaders, young people, and women “to voice their security and humanitarian concerns”, according to the UN.

With her MONUSCO colleagues, she worked to address those concerns.

Guterres said that “with humility, compassion and dedication”, she earned the trust of “conflict-affected communities, including women and girls” as her troops engaged with them “in an escalating conflict environment in North Kivu”.

Ms Sen said, “Gender-sensitive peacekeeping is everybody’s business – not just us, women. Peace begins with all of us in our beautiful diversity.”

“This award is special to me as it gives a recognition to the hard work put in by all the peacekeepers working in the challenging environment of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and giving their best to bring a positive change in the society,” she added.

Hailing from Himachal Pradesh, Sen is a biotech engineer who was studying for a master’s degree at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay when she decided to join the Army.

She was assigned to MONUSCO in 2023 as the Engagement Platoon Commander with the Indian Rapid Deployment Battalion, and completed her tenure in April 2024.

Sen is the second Indian peacekeeper to receive the honour after Major Suman Gawani, who served with the UN Mission in South Sudan and received the award in 2019.

Of the 6,063 Indian personnel in UN peacekeeping operations, 1,954 serve with MONUSCO, 32 of them women.

The UN said that Sen, who led mixed-gender engagement patrols and activities, became a role model for both men and women by fostering “a safe space for men and women to operate together under her command”.

She also made sure that peacekeepers under her command operated with sensitivity to gender and sociocultural norms in the eastern DRC “to help build trust and thereby increase her team’s chance of success”, the UN said.

Among the activities she launched for women were English language classes for children, and health, gender, and vocational training for adults.

“Her efforts directly inspired women’s solidarity, providing safe spaces for meetings and open dialogue”, the UN said.

She encouraged women in the village of Kashlira, near Rwindi town, to organise themselves to advocate for their rights, particularly in local security and peace discussions.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

The BJP Wednesday urged the Election Commission to take strict action against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his remarks that the Modi government has created two categories of soldiers, one comprising those from poor families and reserved classes, and the other from rich families.

A senior party delegation including External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Union ministers Arjun Ram Meghwal and Rajeev Chandrasekhar approached the Election Commission and lodged a complaint. BJP Rajya Sabha MP and national media incharge Anil Baluni was also part of the delegation.

“A few days ago, Rahul Gandhi said that Narendra Modi has created two types of soldiers, one comprising sons of those who are poor and belong to dalit, adivasi, backwards, economically weaker sections in the general category and minorities, while the other comprising those who are sons of rich,” Mr Jaishankar told reporters after meeting the poll panel officials.

“This is a lie. This is an attack on our armed forces. They want to make it a controversial topic and lower the morale of the armed forces. This is not a topic of elections. This is a matter of national security,” he added.

Mr Gandhi had made the reported remarks at a recent poll rally in Rae Bareli while attacking the Modi government on the Agnipath recruitment scheme for soldiers.

Mr Jaishankar described Gandhi’s remarks as “very serious” and said the BJP delegation brought it to the notice of the Election Commission, and urged it to take “very strict action” against the Congress leader and make him retract his comments.

“If, during elections, such attacks are carried out at the Army, which, deployed at our borders, is using its all might to keep the country safe from Chinese forces and also standing firm against terrorism at the Pakistan border… If you you attack them in such a way without any reason and by spreading lies and say that if they martyr, the government will not do anything for them, then we take serious exception to it,” he added.

Mr Jaishankar said that such attacks against armed forces is “very dangerous” for the country.

“We should never tolerate it. Today we came before the Election Commission (seeking action against Rahul Gandhi) and we want to place it before the country also that this country will not tolerate that such attacks are carried out on our soldiers for political reasons,” he added.

Mr Jaishankar said this is not the first time that the Congress and Rahul Gandhi have attacked soldiers.

“A few years ago, when our soldiers in Arunachal gave a push back to Chinese forces, then Rahul Gandhi said in Parliament that our soldiers were beaten up. We saw this insult when the Balakot surgical strike was carried out, questions were raised. When we took successful action in Uri, on that also these people raised questions. Many things are said against Gen (Bipin) Rawat,” he added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

In a significant boost to its surveillance capabilities along the Pakistan border, the Indian Army is set to receive the first Hermes-900 Starliner drone on June 18.

The Hermes-900 known as the Drishti-10 drone is being supplied to Indian forces including Indian Army and Navy by Adani Defence Systems.

“The first of the two drones to be acquired by the Indian Army would be handed over to the force on June 18 in Hyderabad. The supplies are part of the deal signed under the emergency powers given to forces by the Defence Ministry,” defence officials told ANI.

The Indian Army will deploy the drones at its Bhatinda base from where it can keep an eye on the entire western border with Pakistan, they said.

The first Hermes-900 was delivered to the Indian Navy in January this year. The second drone is being taken by the Army.

Moreover, the third one would now be supplied to the Navy and the fourth one would go to the Army, they said.

The Indian Army has placed orders for two of these drones from the firm under emergency provisions that mandate that the systems supplied by vendors should be more than 60 per cent indigenous and should be under the ‘Make in India’ in Defence.

The Indian Army is already operating the Heron Mark 1 and Mark 2 drones and has also placed orders for the Drishti-10 or the Hermes-900 drones under the last tranche of the emergency procurements approved by the government for the forces.

Adani Defence had signed a deal with the Israeli firm Elbit for the transfer of technology for the drones and stated that it has indigenized 70 per cent of the birds and will work to increase it further.

The Indian Army has also inducted more satellite communication-enabled birds from Israel, as it has a few Heron Mark 2 birds in direct deals with Israeli Aircraft Industries.

The Indian Navy is going to position them in Porbandar to keep an eye on the maritime boundary with Pakistan as well as the high seas, as the BiRa have the capability to fly for over 30 hours and cover a distance of around 2,000 km in one go.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Dehradun:

The forest fire in Uttarakhand’s Nainital became even more severe on Friday night with the flames reaching the High Court Colony.

In the last 24 hours, 31 new incidents of forest fire were reported from various parts of the state, destroying 33.34 hectares of forest land. Three persons were arrested in Rudraprayag on Friday while trying to set fire to the forests.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has asked the officials to remain on alert and take measures to prevent the fires by coordinating with all departments.

The fire that broke out in the forest near Nainital district headquarters took a horrific form, posing a threat to the residents of High Court Colony located in the Pines area. It also affected the traffic movement in the area.

Along with the forest department employees, army personnel are also trying to control the fire. Authorities may deploy helicopters to put it out.

Anil Joshi, a resident of the area and assistant registrar of the High Court said, “The fire has engulfed an old and vacant house located near The Pines. It has not caused any damage to High Court Colony but it has reached dangerously close to the buildings. Efforts are being made to control the fire since evening.”

In view of the possibility of the fire reaching the sensitive areas of the Indian Army located near the Pines, efforts are being made to extinguish the fire as soon as possible. The district administration has also banned boating in Naini Lake in view of the blaze.

Nainital Divisional Forest Officer Chandrashekhar Joshi said, “We have deployed 40 Manora Range personnel and two forest rangers to extinguish the fire.”

According to the daily bulletin issued by the Forest Department here, 26 incidents of forest fire occurred in the state’s Kumaon region in the last 24 hours, while five incidents occurred in Garhwal region, where 33.34 hectares of forest area was affected.

From November 1 last year till now, a total of 575 incidents of forest fire have been reported in the state, affecting 689.89 hectares of forest area and costing the state than Rs 14 lakh.

Meanwhile, three men were arrested and sent to jail for allegedly starting forest fires in two different areas of Jakholi and Rudraprayag.

Rudraprayag’s Divisional Forest Officer Abhimanyu in a press release said that the action was taken by a team formed to prevent forest fire.

Sheep herder Naresh Bhatt of Tadiyaal village of Jakholi was caught from the spot while setting a fire in the forest, he said.

During interrogation, Naresh Bhatt said he started the fire to grow new grass for grazing his sheep.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Lieutenant Inayat Vats was commissioned into the Indian Army on Saturday, 20 years after her father, Major Navneet Vats, was killed in action in Jammu and Kashmir.

She was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Military Intelligence Corps after undergoing training at the Officers Training Academy in Chennai.

At the passing out parade, Ms Vats donned the same olive green uniform that her father — whom she lost when she was just aged three — once wore.

“Welcome, Army Daughter Lieutenant Inayat Vats,” the Indian Army said on X and posted a picture of Ms Vats in the uniform.

Her mother, Shivani Vats, was also seen standing next to her in the picture.

“ ”#OTAChennai#PassingOutParade

Inayat was barely three years, when she lost her father Major Navneet Vats in a counter insurgency operation.

More than two decades later, she gets commissioned into… pic.twitter.com/AiIBUpfc1J

— Army Training Command, Indian Army (@artrac_ia) March 9, 2024

Major Navneet Vats hailed from Chandigarh and was commissioned into the Fourth Battalion of 3 Gorkha Rifles Regiment.

He was killed in action in a counter-insurgency operation in November 2003 in Srinagar.

He was given the gallantry award, “Sena Medal” for his bravery and supreme sacrifice.

Inayat Vats is a graduate of Delhi University’s Lady Shri Ram College.

She was pursuing her Master’s degree in Political Science at Delhi University’s Hindu College before she joined the Officers’ Training Academy in Chennai in April 2023.

New Delhi:

The Cabinet Committee on Security has cleared a proposal for 34 new Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Dhruv choppers, of which nine will be inducted in the Indian Coast Guard while 25 of them will go to the Indian Army.

The helicopters would be manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.

The Indian Coast Guard is going to get nine of these choppers, while the Indian Army will be inducting 25 of them into their fleets, top government sources told ANI.

Seen as a major push towards indigenization, sources added that the choppers in the Indian Coast Guard are set to replace the old light utility choppers, while the Indian Army would be using the choppers for multiple roles.

Both projects are expected to be worth over Rs 8,000 crore and give a boost to indigenization.

The government has also cleared the project related to upgrading the BMP infantry combat vehicles of the mechanized infantry directorate of the Indian Army.

The Advanced Light Helicopter (Dhruv) is a multi-role, new-generation helicopter in the 5.5-ton weight class, indigenously designed and developed by HAL.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

In a significant development toward self-reliance in defence manufacturing, Carl Gustaf M4, a recoilless multi-role rocket system widely used by the infantry, will be made in India. The manufacturing facility will be located in Haryana’s Jhajjar.

Manufactured by Saab, a Sweden-based company, received a 100 per cent Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) approval from the Centre and will now produce the carl-Gustaf M4 system under Saab FFVO India Private Limited. 

“I am proud to start constructing our first facility outside Sweden for Carl-Gustaf, a product with a long history with the Indian Armed Forces. We look forward to starting production of our excellent product, now engineered and made in India”, says Gorgen Johansson, Senior Vice President and Head of Saab’s business area Dynamics.

“Today is an important milestone for Sweden and India. Saab’s factory will be the first foreign fully-owned defence production facility in India. It is a testament to the strong bilateral relationship between our countries,” says Hakan Jevrell, State Secretary for Foreign Trade, Sweden.

Carl-Gustaf has been in service with the Indian Army since 1976 and has been used extensively in counter-terrorism/insurgency operations. It’s a portable, shoulder-fired, single-shot, rocket system that is used for destroying tanks and built-up structures. It is seen as a game changer in urban combat. The M4 variant, which will be manufactured in India, is the latest variant. The origins of Carl Gustaf can be traced to World War II, the fourth-generation variant is the latest.

“We will partner with Indian suppliers and will fully meet the requirements of “Make in India” for the systems manufactured in the facility. At the new factory, Saab will deploy complex technologies, including the latest sighting technology and advanced carbon fibre-winding to manufacture Carl-Gustaf M4 for the Indian armed forces, and components which may be included in other users’ systems,” Saab said.

One of the components of the Centre’s Aatmanirbhar or self-reliance project is to build a domestic defence infrastructure with public-private participation.

Carl Gustaf – A Choice of Urban Combat

Fighting in Built-up Areas (FIBUA), in other words, an area dense with buildings and structures will entail lethal urban warfare, posing severe challenges for the Israeli ground troops and armoured units. The Indian Army has witnessed urban warfare and troops have been extensively used in Jammu and Kashmir, the northeast, Punjab, etc. Carl Gustaf has been a mainstay of several forces around the world including India.

The system can fire various ammunitions like High Explosive Anti-Tank (HEAT), High Explosive (HE) to anti-structure munition and High Explosive Dual Purpose (HEDP) and multi-target ammo that can be used against tanks and Infantry Fighting Vehicles. The weapon can be switched between anti-tank and anti-personnel roles.

The war in Ukraine and Israel’s offensive in Gaza brought focus on the future of warfare, with the attention on fighting in built-up areas. Ukraine calls Carl Gustaf the “slayer of Russian tanks” after it claimed to have destroyed Russian T-90 tanks.

The HEDP 502 round is a high-explosive, dual-purpose round optimised for fighting in built-up areas. It is as effective against armoured vehicles as it is against enemies protected by structures like sandbags and brick and wooden walls. The round has both an impact and a delay mode.

“It can be used to illuminate battlefields during night-time operations. The ammunition can be used for both full-scale operations and low-intensity conflicts,” Saab said.