India Accounts For Nearly 10% Of Total Defence Imports, Now India Is Stepping Up Its Defence Exports Too It's a fact that India is one of the largest arms importers in the world. In fact, India accounts for 10% of total global arms imports. But in the last few years, India is stepping up its defence exports too. Palki charts New Delhi's push to boost defence exports and the significance of the focus on exports.

Gravitas: India's defence exports get a boost

India As A Defence Power: Then & Now On #WionEdit, Palki charts India's rise as a defence exporter. 20 years ago, several countries gave India a diplomatic cold shoulder after the Pokhran-II nuclear test. Now, India's stock has risen by leaps and bounds both as buyer and seller.

WION Edit: Charting India's rise as a Defence exporter

Boost For Made-In-Weapons As Exports Soar. Rise in defence exports is a proof to India's efforts to become a major defence exporter. In fact, India's defence exports have doubled to nearly Rs. 11,000 cr. What led to the surge in export figures? Who are India's biggest customers? Palki explains

Gravitas: India's defence exports double to Rs 11,000 crore in a year

With the threat perception changing from land, sea and air into the cyber world, India's Defence Cyber Agency has started taking shape.

The initial proposal of the Defence Cyber Agency will have close to 200-strong staff from the tri-services - Indian Army, Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force, to be headed by the Headquarter of Integrated Defence Staff (IDS). They will serve under the command of the Chairman, Chief of Staff Committee and work closely with the National Cyber Security Advisor.

“We are alive to the threat on cyber front. To that end, we are thinking of making a cyber agency. It would not be a quite full-fledged command as we have in the army. As conscious of the fact that the threat exists, we are going in for the cyber agency. It will be headed by a two-star rank officer. It will be an inter-service agency, not purely army, functioning under the Integrated Defence Staff. They will be looking after the threats in the cyber domain,” said Lt. General MM Naravane, GOC-in-C, Army Eastern Command.

To begin with, the Defence Cyber Agency will be based out of the IDS Headquarters and later dedicated units will come up with the Army commands.

“The entire proposal is still under the formulation. Of course, units will be spread all over the country. One person sitting in Delhi cannot be expected to do all these jobs. There will be units in every Headquarters with dedicated officers to deal with the cybersecurity,” added Naravane.

Last year, the Cabinet Committee on Security had cleared the formation of three agencies - Defence Cyber Agency is one of them, the two others are - Defence Space Agency and Special Operations Division.

With the threat perception changing from land, sea and air into the cyber world, India's Defence Cyber Agency has started taking shape. The initial proposal of the Defence Cyber Agency will have close to 200-strong staff from the tri-services - Indian Army, Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force, to be headed by the Headquarter of Integrated Defence Staff (IDS).

With the threat perception changing from land, sea and air into the cyber world, India's Defence Cyber Agency has started taking shape. The initial proposal of the Defence Cyber Agency will have close to 200-strong staff from the tri-services - Indian Army, Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force, to be headed by the Headquarter of Integrated Defence Staff (IDS). They will serve under the command of the Chairman, Chief of Staff Committee and work closely with the National Cyber Security Advisor. “We are alive to the threat on cyber front. To that end, we are thinking of making a cyber agency. It would not be a quite full-fledged command as we have in the army. As conscious of the fact that the threat exists, we are going in for the cyber agency. It will be headed by a two-star rank officer. It will be an inter-service agency, not purely army, functioning under the Integrated Defence Staff. They will be looking after the threats in the cyber domain,” said Lt. General MM Naravane, GOC-in-C, Army Eastern Command. To begin with, the Defence Cyber Agency will be based out of the IDS Headquarters and later dedicated units will come up with the Army commands. “The entire proposal is still under the formulation. Of course, units will be spread all over the country. One person sitting in Delhi cannot be expected to do all these jobs. There will be units in every Headquarters with dedicated officers to deal with the cybersecurity,” added Naravane. Last year, the Cabinet Committee on Security had cleared the formation of three agencies - Defence Cyber Agency is one of them, the two others are - Defence Space Agency and Special Operations Division.

India to come up with Defence Cyber Agency

India today test-fired Agni-V missile from launch pad no 4 of integrated test range (ITR) at Abdul Kalam island off Odisha coast.

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The missile -&nbsp;the most advanced missile in the Agni series - has a range of 5000 km. It is a surface-to-surface nuclear capable ballistic missile.

The user associate test-flight of the missile has further boosted indigenous missile capabilities and deterrence strength of the country.

All radars, tracking systems and range stations monitored the flight performance, defence sources said.

Agni-V is capable of carrying nuclear warhead of about 1.5 tonnes.

The sleek missile was test-fired from a canister launcher at 9:53am (local time). Describing the trial as &quot;fully successful&quot;, the sources said, the sophisticated missile travelled for 19 minutes and covered 4,900 km.

After four successful developmental trials, this was the first user associate test of Agni-5 missile, sources added.

The missile has been developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

The missile is so programmed that after reaching the peak of its trajectory it will turn towards Earth to continue its journey towards the intended target with an increased speed due to the attraction of the earth&#39;s gravitational pull, a DRDO official said.

Its path is precisely directed by the advanced on-board computer and inertial navigation system, the official added.

The first two successful flights of Agni-5 in 2012 and 2013 were in open configuration.

India has at present in its armoury of Agni series, Agni-1 with 700 km range, Agni-2 with 2,000 km range, Agni-3 and Agni-4 with 2,500 km to more than 3,500km range.

The first test of Agni-5 was conducted on April 19, 2012, the second on September 15, 2013, the third on January 31, 2015 and fourth trial on December 26, 2016 from the same base.

(With inputs from PTI)

The missile was launched from Abdul Kalam island off Odisha coast.

India today test-fired Agni-V missile from launch pad no 4 of integrated test range (ITR) at Abdul Kalam island off Odisha coast. × The missile - the most advanced missile in the Agni series - has a range of 5000 km. It is a surface-to-surface nuclear capable ballistic missile. The user associate test-flight of the missile has further boosted indigenous missile capabilities and deterrence strength of the country. All radars, tracking systems and range stations monitored the flight performance, defence sources said. Agni-V is capable of carrying nuclear warhead of about 1.5 tonnes. The sleek missile was test-fired from a canister launcher at 9:53am (local time). Describing the trial as "fully successful", the sources said, the sophisticated missile travelled for 19 minutes and covered 4,900 km. After four successful developmental trials, this was the first user associate test of Agni-5 missile, sources added. The missile has been developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). The missile is so programmed that after reaching the peak of its trajectory it will turn towards Earth to continue its journey towards the intended target with an increased speed due to the attraction of the earth's gravitational pull, a DRDO official said. Its path is precisely directed by the advanced on-board computer and inertial navigation system, the official added. The first two successful flights of Agni-5 in 2012 and 2013 were in open configuration. India has at present in its armoury of Agni series, Agni-1 with 700 km range, Agni-2 with 2,000 km range, Agni-3 and Agni-4 with 2,500 km to more than 3,500km range. The first test of Agni-5 was conducted on April 19, 2012, the second on September 15, 2013, the third on January 31, 2015 and fourth trial on December 26, 2016 from the same base. (With inputs from PTI)

India successfully test-fires nuclear-capable Agni-V missile

Indian defence forces and defence production would be &quot;open to scrutiny&quot; and &quot;control&quot; by the United States, which will make India its &quot;junior ally&quot; following finalisation of the &quot;Major Defense Partner&quot;&nbsp;designation, CPI(M) has alleged.

Noting that the US has placed the details of &quot;Major Defense Partner&quot;&nbsp;designation for Senate approval as part of FY 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the party said the Narendra Modi government &quot;has not even made a statement in Parliament about such a significant deal&quot;.

&quot;The country can see the US side of the deal by reading the 2017 NDAA, but remains ignorant of the Indian commitment as a &#39;Major Defense Partner&#39; of the United States,&quot; CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury said.

In a letter to the Prime Minister, he referred to Paragraph (E) of Section 1292 of 2017 NDAA, &quot;which talks of &#39;mechanisms to verify the security of defense articles, defense services, and related technology, such as appropriate cyber security and end user monitoring agreements&#39; for items and technologies sold to India.

&quot;Paragraph (F) thereafter states that India will align its &#39;export control and procurement regimes with those of the United States&#39;.&quot; 
Yechury further said, &quot;Paragraph(I) of Section 1292, 2017 NDAA makes the facts amply clear. It explicitly highlights enhanced &#39;defense and security cooperation with India in order to advance United States interests in South Asia and greater Indo-Asia-Pacific regions&#39;.&quot;

&quot;This is, sadly, a commitment by your government to become a junior ally of the US in our own neighbourhood. This represents the final nail in the coffin of India&#39;s independent foreign policy,&quot; Yechury said in his letter to Modi. He said, &quot;These are significant concessions made by your government which will make Indian defence forces open to American scrutiny, and Indian defence production under the control of the United States of America.&quot;

&quot;Serious apprehensions arise about your government compromising India&#39;s sovereignty and strategic autonomy,&quot; the CPI(M) leader said, quoting the US statement as saying that the &quot;Major Defense Partner&quot;&nbsp;designation was &quot;a status unique to India&quot; and brings &quot;India to a level at par with that of the United States&#39; closest allies and partners&quot;.

&quot;This is a significant departure from India&#39;s long- standing policy on defence relations and it has been done without taking Parliament into confidence,&quot; Yechury said.

 
The finalisation of the &quot;Major Defense Partner&quot;&nbsp;designation to India by the US had followed the signing of the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) between the US and Indian defence ministries earlier this year.

Yechury said, &quot;It is particularly galling that all these commitments, as part of the announcement of the &#39;Major Defense Partner&#39; designation, were made by the Defence Ministry when both Houses of Parliament were, and still are, in session.

&quot;This is in complete contravention of the established norms and practices of our parliamentary system,&quot; he said.

He said he was constrained to state that &quot;your government seems particularly keen on ignoring Parliament, because even the text of LEMOA has so far not been placed before either of the Houses or the Standing Committee on Defence.

&quot;It needs no reminder that Parliament represents the people of this great country and by choosing to willfully ignore Parliament, you are disrespecting 1.3 billion Indians,&quot; he said and demanded that full texts of these documents are tabled in Parliament during the ongoing session and made public immediately.

(PTI)

'This represents the final nail in the coffin of India's independent foreign policy,' CPI(M) general secretary Yechury wrote to PM Modi

Indian defence forces and defence production would be "open to scrutiny" and "control" by the United States, which will make India its "junior ally" following finalisation of the "Major Defense Partner" designation, CPI(M) has alleged. Noting that the US has placed the details of "Major Defense Partner" designation for Senate approval as part of FY 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the party said the Narendra Modi government "has not even made a statement in Parliament about such a significant deal". "The country can see the US side of the deal by reading the 2017 NDAA, but remains ignorant of the Indian commitment as a 'Major Defense Partner' of the United States," CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury said. In a letter to the Prime Minister, he referred to Paragraph (E) of Section 1292 of 2017 NDAA, "which talks of 'mechanisms to verify the security of defense articles, defense services, and related technology, such as appropriate cyber security and end user monitoring agreements' for items and technologies sold to India. "Paragraph (F) thereafter states that India will align its 'export control and procurement regimes with those of the United States'." Yechury further said, "Paragraph(I) of Section 1292, 2017 NDAA makes the facts amply clear. It explicitly highlights enhanced 'defense and security cooperation with India in order to advance United States interests in South Asia and greater Indo-Asia-Pacific regions'." "This is, sadly, a commitment by your government to become a junior ally of the US in our own neighbourhood. This represents the final nail in the coffin of India's independent foreign policy," Yechury said in his letter to Modi. He said, "These are significant concessions made by your government which will make Indian defence forces open to American scrutiny, and Indian defence production under the control of the United States of America." "Serious apprehensions arise about your government compromising India's sovereignty and strategic autonomy," the CPI(M) leader said, quoting the US statement as saying that the "Major Defense Partner" designation was "a status unique to India" and brings "India to a level at par with that of the United States' closest allies and partners". "This is a significant departure from India's long- standing policy on defence relations and it has been done without taking Parliament into confidence," Yechury said. The finalisation of the "Major Defense Partner" designation to India by the US had followed the signing of the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) between the US and Indian defence ministries earlier this year. Yechury said, "It is particularly galling that all these commitments, as part of the announcement of the 'Major Defense Partner' designation, were made by the Defence Ministry when both Houses of Parliament were, and still are, in session. "This is in complete contravention of the established norms and practices of our parliamentary system," he said. He said he was constrained to state that "your government seems particularly keen on ignoring Parliament, because even the text of LEMOA has so far not been placed before either of the Houses or the Standing Committee on Defence. "It needs no reminder that Parliament represents the people of this great country and by choosing to willfully ignore Parliament, you are disrespecting 1.3 billion Indians," he said and demanded that full texts of these documents are tabled in Parliament during the ongoing session and made public immediately. (PTI)

Indian defence forces to be 'Junior ally' of US, says Indian left party

Rustom-II, India&#39;s indigenously developed long-endurance combat-capable drone, on Wednesday, successfully completed its maiden-flight, giving a boost to India&#39;s development programme for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV).

The Defence Research and Development Organisation? (DRDO) successfully carried out the maiden-flight of TAPAS 201 (RUSTOM II), a Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) UAV. It has an endurance of 24 hours and can conduct surveillance and reconnaissance missions for the country&#39;s armed forces.

The UAV can also be used as an unmanned armed combat vehicle on the lines of the US&#39;s Predator drone.

The test flight took place from Aeronautical Test Range (ATR), Chitradurga, 250 kilometres&nbsp;from Bangalore, which is a newly developed flight test range for the testing of UAVs and manned aircraft.

The flight accomplished the main objectives of proving the flying platform, such as take-off, bank, level flight and landing among others, a statement by the Defence Ministry said.

TAPAS 201 has been designed and developed by Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), the Bangalore-based lab of DRDO with HAL-BEL as the production partners.

The UAV weighing two tonnes was put into the air by a dedicated team of young scientists of DRDO. It was piloted (external and internal) by the pilots from the armed forces.

It is also the first R&amp;D prototype UAV which has undergone certification and qualification for the first flight from the Center for Military Airworthiness &amp; Certification&nbsp;and Directorate General of Aeronautical Quality Assurance.

TAPAS 201, a multi-mission UAV is being developed to carry out Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) roles for the three armed forces with an endurance of 24 hours.

It is capable of&nbsp;carrying different combinations of payloads like Medium Range Electro Optic, Long Range Electro Optic, Synthetic Aperture Radar, Electronic Intelligence, Communication Intelligence&nbsp;and Situational Awareness Payloads&nbsp;to perform missions during day and night.

Many critical systems such as airframe, landing gear, flight control and avionics sub-systems are being developed in India with the collaboration of private industries.

Rustom-II will undergo further trials for validating the design parameters, before going for User Validation Trials. 
 
(PTI)

This drone can stay in the air for 24 hours to conduct surveillance and reconnaissance, and is itself an unmanned armed combat vehicle

Rustom-II, India's indigenously developed long-endurance combat-capable drone, on Wednesday, successfully completed its maiden-flight, giving a boost to India's development programme for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV). The Defence Research and Development Organisation? (DRDO) successfully carried out the maiden-flight of TAPAS 201 (RUSTOM II), a Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) UAV. It has an endurance of 24 hours and can conduct surveillance and reconnaissance missions for the country's armed forces. The UAV can also be used as an unmanned armed combat vehicle on the lines of the US's Predator drone. The test flight took place from Aeronautical Test Range (ATR), Chitradurga, 250 kilometres from Bangalore, which is a newly developed flight test range for the testing of UAVs and manned aircraft. The flight accomplished the main objectives of proving the flying platform, such as take-off, bank, level flight and landing among others, a statement by the Defence Ministry said. TAPAS 201 has been designed and developed by Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), the Bangalore-based lab of DRDO with HAL-BEL as the production partners. The UAV weighing two tonnes was put into the air by a dedicated team of young scientists of DRDO. It was piloted (external and internal) by the pilots from the armed forces. It is also the first R&D prototype UAV which has undergone certification and qualification for the first flight from the Center for Military Airworthiness & Certification and Directorate General of Aeronautical Quality Assurance. TAPAS 201, a multi-mission UAV is being developed to carry out Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) roles for the three armed forces with an endurance of 24 hours. It is capable of carrying different combinations of payloads like Medium Range Electro Optic, Long Range Electro Optic, Synthetic Aperture Radar, Electronic Intelligence, Communication Intelligence and Situational Awareness Payloads to perform missions during day and night. Many critical systems such as airframe, landing gear, flight control and avionics sub-systems are being developed in India with the collaboration of private industries. Rustom-II will undergo further trials for validating the design parameters, before going for User Validation Trials. (PTI)

India successfully tests combat-capable drone Rustom-II

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