Under the #AtmaNirbharBharat, India is growing in its capabilities of manufacturing wide variety of Defence platforms & missiles.

The Cabinet chaired by PM @narendramodi ji today approved the export of Akash Missile System and a Committee for faster Approvals has been created.

— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) December 30, 2020

The minister said the export version of Akash Missile System will be different from the system that has been deployed with Indian armed forces. The Cabinet also approved the setting up of a committee for faster approvals.

Developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), it is India’s first indigenously designed missile system and can target fighter jets, cruise missiles, drones and other aerial assets.

The Defence Minister said that the Akash Missile system is an important defence asset for the country with over 96 percent indigenisation. He also noted that the Akash is a surface-to-air missile with a range of 25 kilometers. Earlier these missiles were testfired by India a few weeks ago.

The Defence Minister further added that the government intends on exporting high-value defence platforms to achieve a target of $5 billion of defence export and also improve strategic relations with friendly nations.

The minister added that the export of the Akash missile system will open door for increasing the number of big platform defence exports.

The post India to export indigenous Akash missile system appeared first on The Gulf Indians.

The report states that the IAI gained undue benefits of Rs 3.16 crore from the contract.
It says that the IAF concluded a contract in March 2010 with IAI for five 914 F (certified) UAV Rotax engines for Rs 87.45 lakh per engine even as Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), a DRDO laboratory, had procured the same variant of the engine at Rs 24.30 lakh per engine in April 2012.

The average price of the engine in the international market is between Rs 21-25 lakh, the report says.

“As a result, the vendor gained an undue benefit of Rs 3.16 crore as it supplied the five contracted UAV engines at more than three times the market price or the price offered to the DRDO unit,” reads the report.

The auditor also accused the vendor for mislabelling and supplying uncertified engines to the IAF which reportedly led to several accidents, including loss of one UAV in a crash.

The CAG report also noted that the upgradation of Medium Lift Mi-17 Helicopters, proposed in 2002 to overcome their “operational limitation”, could not be achieved even after 18 years.
“As a result, these helicopters were flying with limited capability, thus compromising operational preparedness during these years,” it said.

The CAG further said that due to poor planning by the Ministry of Defence and indecision at various stages of procurement, it took 15 years to enter into the upgradation contract of 90 Mi-17 helicopters with an Israeli company — in January 2017.

The audit also states that while the contracted delivery of these upgraded helicopters had to begin July 2018 and was to be completed by 2024, 56 of these helicopters, even after upgradation, would be left with less than two years of life and would be phased out by 2024.

The CAG report also came down heavily on the government’s offset policy for defence procurement. The national auditor cited the example of the 36 Rafale fighter jets bought from Dassault Aviation and said that the French manufacturer has not delivered on its promises regarding transfer of technology.

The post Irregularities in the purchase of aero engines from Israel Aerospace Industries, CAG appeared first on The Gulf Indians.

Indian Coast Guard has commenced Joint Coastal Patrol (JCP) by embarking Marine Police personnel onboard ICG ships to develop synergy and provide sea training to Marine Police personnel for enhanced coastal security.

JCP is being instituted to enable implementation of Coastal Security Scheme (CSS) through capacity building of Marine Police in the overall Coastal Security Construct. JCP would also enable in addressing issues of communication, inter-operability, attaining sea-legs and joint investigation procedures by Marine Police. The endeavour includes class room instructions and On Job Training onboard ICG ships. ICG would provide hands-on experience to Marine Police personnel on various aspects of safety, navigation, maintenance, law enforcement, surveillance and investigation at sea within territorial waters that fall under the jurisdiction of respective States.

With the implementation of joint patrol, Marine Police personnel will consolidate adequate trained staff enhancing their overall operational efficiency. The effort is aimed at developing the existing capabilities of the Marine Police towards Coastal Security.

ICG ships are closely monitoring and checking each and every vessel passing off the coast including vessels coming for crew changing during heightened security during Independence Day

The post Coast Guard, State Marine Police start joint patrol appeared first on The Gulf Indians.