Defence Current Affairs 2019

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Defence Current Affairs 2019 - 2018 - 2017
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Defence Current Affairs January 2017
• Israeli Air Force Receives First Anti-Missile Interceptors for Arrow

3 System
• SF launches operation ‘SardHawa’ at Rajasthan border
• Pakistan Navy Receives Two Ships From China to Ensure Security
along Gwadar Port
• NS Khanderi, Second Scorpene Class Submarine Launched in
Mumbai
• Chinese Navy Commissions Sophisticated Ship CNS Kaiyangxing
into its Fleet
• Guided Pinaka Rocket Successfully Test-Fired by India
• Indian Navy’s Theatre Level Exercise, TROPEX 17 Begins
• INS Vikramaditya Becomes India’s First Warship to Have ATM
Onboard
• China Commissions its 31st Stealth Warship
• Guided Pinaka test fired successfully again
• Pakistan Successfully Conducts First Flight Test of N- Capable
Ababeel Missile
• Whatsapp helpline Luanched by Army Chief Gen. Bipin Rawat
launches to Address grievances of Army personnel
• Indian Navy Issues RFI to procure 57 Carrier-Borne Fighter Jets
• India Successfully Test Fires Agni IV Ballistic Missile off Odisha
Coast. Agni IV is a two-stage solid-propelled, surface-to-surface
ballistic missile which is designed to carry a payload of 1-tonne up
to a distance of 4,000 km.
• Pakistan Successfully Test-Fires Submarine-Launched Nuclear-
Capable Missile. The missile Babur-3 which was fired from an
underwater, mobile platform, hit the target with precise accuracy.
• Indian Army conducted trials of Indigenous Artillery Gun System
Dhanush in the Himalayas
• Ministry of Defence to Set up Rs 1500 cr Defence Unit in Morena
district of Madhya Pradesh
• Reliance Defence Signs Contract with Ministry of Defence to
Construct 14 Fast patrol Vessels for Indian Coast Guard
Defence Current Affairs February 2017
• China tests missile DF-5C with 10 nuclear warheads

• Integrated Underwater Harbour Defence & Surveillance System
Launched in Mumbai
• Multinational Naval Drill Aman-17 Begins in Karachi
• 2017 Cobra Gold Exercise Begins in Thailand
• India Successfully Test-Fires Home Grown Interceptor Missile in
Odisha coast
• INS Sarvekshak Becomes India’s First Ship to be Installed with
Solar Power System
• Sailboat INSV Tarini Inducted into Indian Navy on 18 February
2017
• Fast Patrol Vessel of Indian Coast Guard Ship ICGS AYUSH
Commissioned at Kochi
• Pakistan Army Launches Military Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad to
Eliminate Terrorism
Defence Current Affairs March 2017
• India Successfully Test-Fires Indigenously Developed Supersonic

Interceptor Missile
• Navy successfully test-fires anti-ship missile from Kalvari
submarine
• DRDO Hands Over 3 of its Developed Products Weapon Locating
Radar (WLR) SWATHI, NBC Recce Vehicle, NBC Drugs to Indian
Army
• Indian Navy’s Oldest Warship INS Viraat, Decommissions on
March 6 After 30-Year Service
• Vice Admiral Girish Luthra Commissions INS Tillanchang at Karwar
• South Korea and United States Begin Annual Military Drill Foal
Eagle
• India to train Myanmar Navy to boost strategic cooperation under
the ‘Act East’ policy
• Indo-Nepal joint Military exercise ‘Surya Kiran-Xi’ begins in
Uttarakhand
• Joint Military Exercise AL NAGAH-II Begins Between India-Oman in
Himachal Pradesh
• India Successfully Conducts Maiden Tests of Extended Version of
BrahMos Supersonic Cruise Missile
• Pakistan successfully test-fires land based anti-ship missile
• Three New Naval System To Indian Navy By DRDO i.e. 1USHUS –II
SUBMARINE SONOR. 2. DIRECTING GEAR FOR HULL-MOUNTED
SONAR ARRAY, 3. INTERNAL NAVIGATION SYSTEM FOR SHIP
APPLICATION
• Indian Navy Conducts Successful Test-Firing of Surface-to-Air
Barak Missile from INS Vikramaditya
• INLCU L51 commissioned into Indian Navy at Port Blair
• De-Induction Of Indian Navy’s TU142M Aircraft and Induction of
Boeing P8I Into INAS 312
Defence Current Affairs April 2017
• India Mongolia Military Exercise Exercise Nomadic Elephant- XII

kicks off in Mizoram
• US conducts successful field test of new B61-12 nuclear bomb
• Coast Guard decommissions ICGS Varad after 27 years
• Nepal and China to Conduct Sagarmatha Friendship
• Joint Indian-French naval exercise 'Varuna' begins at the
Mediterranean Sea
• INS Chennai dedicated, Chennai to become hub of Naval activities
• Navy successfully tests land-attack BrahMos supersonic missile
• IAF Inducts Su-30 MKI into Frontline 221 Squadron
• Joint operational doctrine for army, navy, air force unveiled
• India successfully test-fires Agni-III ballistic missile
Defence Current Affairs May 2017
• INS Ganga placed in non-operational category

• Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense
system now operational in South Korea
• Indian Army successfully test-fires advanced Block-III version of
Brahmos cruise missile
• India test-fires Agni-II ballistic Missile from Wheeler Island, off
Odisha coast
• Cordon and Search Operations (CASO) reintroduced as part of
counter-terror ops in Kashmir
• Indian Navy Decommissions Minesweepers - INS Karwar and INS
Kakinada
• Bilateral exercise between Indian Republic of Singapore Navy
Simbex 17 commences
• 29th India- Indonesia Co-Ordinated Patrol (Corpat) Commences
• Philippines, US begin smaller-scale joint military exercises
• "Jordan, US launch major military exercises “Eager Lion”
• India's INS Tarkash marks 'UK India Year of Culture'
• Joint Hadr Exercise commences at Naval Station Karwar
• Indian Army gets its first two modern artillery gun M777 Ultra
Lightweight Howitzer artillery guns from BAE Systems, US almost
30 years after BoforsFor Current Affairs
Defence Current Affairs June 2017
• Prithvi-II missile successfully test-fired from Odisha

• India successfully test-fires 1st all weather tracked-chassis Quick
Reaction Surface-to-Air Missile (QR-SAM)
• Indian Warships reach Australia to take part in Bilateral Maritime
Exercise AUSINDEX-17
• DRDO successfully test fires anti-tank guided missile 'Nag' in
desert ranges of Rajasthan
Defence Current Affairs July 2017
• Indo-Thai joint military exercise Ex Maitree 2017 begins in

Himachal Pradesh
• Trilateral Malabar exercise begins in Chennai
• NATO military drills in Eastern Europe begin in Bulgaria
• China-Russia naval exercise Joint Sea 2017 begins in Baltic Sea.
• Australia and US test-fires multimillion hypersonic missile -
Hypersonic International Flight Research Experimentation
Program (HIFiRE)
• US Navy tests world’s first Laser Weapons System LaWS
• GRSE hands over 2nd LCU Mark IV vessel to Indian Navy
• World's largest supercarrier USS Gerald R Ford commissioned in
USA
• Reliance Defence launches first two naval patrol vessels Shachi
and Shruti
• Muntra - country's first unmanned tank, rolls out from the
Chennai lab
Defence Current Affairs August 2017
• Sri Lankan Navy commissions India-built AOPV

• Indian Coast Guard ship ‘Shaurya’ commissioned in Goa
• First tri-service “Indra” exercise to be conducted by India and
Russia in Oct 2017
• IMMSAREX: India, China to join Indian Ocean exercise in
November
• Defence acquisition council (DAC) approves Army to Get 6 Apache
Attack Helicopters in Deal worth Rs 4,168 Crore
• Central govt approves nearly Rs.32k crore plan for boosting Coast
Guard capabilities
• Ministry of Defence approves delegation of Powers to Border
Roads Organisation (BRO)
• Jagdish Mukhi commissioned IN LCU L52, Second Ship of Landing
Craft Utility into the Indian Navy at Port Blair
• US-South Korea begin annual “The Ulchi Freedom Guardian
“military
• Indian student develops Nano Missile for Indian Army
• Arun Jaitley hands over Long-Range Surface-to-Air Missile
(LRSAM) to Indian Navy jointly developed by India and Israel
• Coast Guard ship ‘Varuna’ decommissioned
• American Ship USS Pearl Harbor arrived India as part of Defense
cooperation
• Government approves first phase of Army reforms of
recommendations of Shekatkar Committee with an aim to
increase “teeth to tail ratio”
Defence Current Affairs September 2017
• India hands over off-shore patrol vessel Varuna to Sri Lanka

• India and Sri Lanka begin Joint Naval Exercise SLINEX 2017 at
Visakhapatnam
• Joint India-Nepal army exercise begins in Saljhandi, Nepal
• Ashok Leyland, ELCOM ink defence pact with Russian firm
• Swedish defence giant Saab, Adani join hands for defence
manufacturing
• DRDO successfully flight tested Anti Tank Guided Missile – NAG
• SpaceX launches US Air Force’s super-secret mini-shuttle
• Reliance Energy launched digital assistance robot-ELEKTRA
• In accordance with the India’s ‘Act East Policy’, two Indian Naval
Ships departed for deployment to East and South-East Asia.
• Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharam flags off INSV Tarini at INS
Mandovi
• “Sweden hosts huge war games exercise “Aurora” with NATO
• China, Pakistan air forces launch joint exercise Shaheen VI
• IAF completes development trials of Astra air-to-air missile Astra –
Beyond Visual Range Air to Air Missile (BVRAAM) were
successfully
• Indigenous artillery gun Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System
(ATAGS) sets new record in range – 48KM
• Indian Naval units of Western Naval Command on Long Range
Deployment
• IDF, US Army inaugurates first American military base in Israel
• India & US armies begin ‘Yudh Abhyas 2017’ military exercise in
Joint Base Lewis McChord, Washington
• Iron Union 5: Joint military exercise of US and UAE started in Abu
Dhabi
• Joint Sea-2017: China, Russia joint naval drills in Russian port city,
Vladivostok
• Exercise Panda-Kangaroo 2017: Chinese, Australian conducted 1st
joint drills in China
• Turkey hosts NATO naval exercise” Dynamic Monarch”
• Indian Navy commissions INS Tarasa, a Water Jet Fast Attack Craft
at Mumbai
• New interceptor boat V-409 launched
• DRUZBA 2017: Pak, Russia holds joint military drill in Minralney
Vody, Russia
• Pakistani Navy successfully tests anti-ship missile
• Coast Guard commissions 2 high speed interceptor boats
Defence Current Affairs October 2017
• Mitra Shakti 2017: India-Sri Lanka Joint Military Exercise held in

Pune
• INS Satpura, Kadmatt participates in Passage Exercise in Japan
• Sixteen planes of the Indian Air Force performed breathtaking
landings and touch-and-go manoeuvres on a stretch of the
Lucknow-Agra Expressway today. A 35,000 kg C-130J Super
Hercules aircraft landed first with Garud Special Forces
commandos to secure the landing zone as part of the drill.
• Defence Ministry to raise three new tri-service agencies 1.
Defence Cyber Agency 2.Defence Space Agency 3.Special
Operations Division
• INS Kiltan commissioned into Indian Navy in Visakhapatnam.
• 4th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus to be held in
Philippines
• INDRA 2017: First tri-services military exercise between India-
Russia begins
• All-women crew of Navika Sagar Parikrama expedition reaches
Fremantle.
• Sri Lankan Coast Guard commissions OPV SURAKSHA gifted by
India.
• 27 October: Infantry Day.
• Indian Navy approves new mission-based deployment plan.
• Indian Army finalises plan to modernise weapons.Around 7 lakh
rifles, 44,000 LMGs and nearly 44,600 carbines will be acquired
for infantry modernisation.
• OPV Vikram: L&T hand overs first defence vessel built in private
shipyard to Coast Guard.
Defence Current Affairs November 2017
• Indra-2017: Joint Indo-Russia Tri-Services Exercise successfully

conducted.
• Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) clears mega project to acquire
111 helicopters for Indian Navy.
• Indian Army releases Integrated Quarter Master Package Software
Application.
• PRABAL DOSTYK 2017: Indo – Kazakhstan Joint Exercise begins.
• Smart Anti Airfield Weapon: DRDO successfully tests light weight
glide bomb Smart Anti Airfield Weapon (SAAW).
• India offers to share real-time maritime data with 10 Indian Ocean
littoral states.
• NIRBHAY Sub-Sonic Cruise Missile successfully flight tested.
• CATOBAR: India Navy to use US aircraft launch system in ship.
• EX BLUE FLAG-17’ kicked off along with air forces from nine
countries - the largest aerial exercise ever held by the Israel
Defense Forces. For the first time, the Indian Air Force or IAF is
participating in Blue Flag 2017.
• Indian Army will soon get new generation, state-of-the-art tanks
called the Future Ready Combat Vehicle (FRCV), numbering over
1700, to replace the ageing Soviet-era T-72 tanks.
• Indian Air Force's ‘flying daggers’ squadron expected to shift from
Bengaluru to Tamil Nadu's Coimbatore.
• Joint Indo-Bangladesh Training Exercise SAMPRITI 2017 was
culminated at Counter Insurgency & Jungle Warfare School,
Vairengte in Mizoram.
• The Governments of Odisha and neighboring West Bengal
conducted joint security exercise named ‘Sagar Kavach’ to further
tighten the existing coastal security mechanism along the 630 km
long coastline.
• The first India-Myanmar Bilateral Military Exercise 2017 (IMBAX
2017) was held at Joint Warfare Centre at the Umroi Joint Training
Node in Meghalaya.
• The 42nd World Congress of the International Committee of
Military Medicine (ICMM) was held in New Delhi. It was organised
by Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS), Ministry of Defence
(MoD).
• The Defence of Andaman and Nicobar Islands Exercise (DANX-
2017) was conducted under aegis of Andaman & Nicobar
Command from 20 to 24 November 2017.
• The world’s fastest supersonic cruise missile BrahMos was
successfully test fired from Indian Air Force’s (IAF) Sukhoi-30MKI
fighter jet for the first.
• The Union Defence Ministry has approved procurement of 260
Software Defined Radios (SDR), a naval communication sets for
Indian Navy at cost of Rs. 490 crore to ramp up surveillance on the
high seas.
• The 2017 International Multilateral Maritime Search and Rescue
Exercise (IMMSAREX) was held under the aegis of Indian Ocean
Naval Symposium (IONS) in Bangladesh from November 26 to
28, 2017.
• Indian Coast Guard (ICG) conducted the Regional Level Marine Oil
Pollution Response Exercise named ‘Clean Sea-2017’ at sea off
Port Blair, Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
• India and Singapore have signed Bilateral Agreement for Navy
Cooperation that will allow Indian Navy ships logistical support,
including refueling at Singapore’s Changi Naval Base located near
disputed South China Sea (SCS).
Defence Current Affairs December 2017
• Indian Navy Day is observed every year on 4 December to

celebrate achievements and role of the naval force to the country.
This year is 46th Navy Day.
• The Combined Military exercise ‘Ajeya Warrior- 2017’ between
India and the UK was held at Mahajan Field Firing Range near
Bikaner of Rajasthan. It was third joint military exercise between
India and UK. The first exercise was conducted in 2013 at
Belgaum, Karnataka and second exercise was held in 2015 in UK.
• The Surface to Air Missile (SAM) AKASH was successfully tested
with indigenous radio frequency seeker against target UAV
Banshee. It was successfully launched from Launch Complex-III at
ITR Chandipur.
• South Korea and United States have launched Vigilant Ace, their
largest-ever joint aerial drills. The exercise comes after North
Korea tested Hwasong-15, its most advanced and powerful Inter
Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) as part of its weapons
programme.
• The Indian Armed Forces Flag Day is observed every year on
December 7 to honour the soldiers, airmen and sailors of India
who fought on the borders to safeguard country’s honour.
• Godrej Aerospace has won order from BrahMos Aerospace Pvt.
Ltd. (BAPL) for supply of additional 100 units airframe fuel
management systems for BrahMos Air-Launched Cruise
Missile. Godrej Aerospace is unit of Godrej & Boyce Mfg. Co. Ltd.
It has been associated with BrahMos since 2000 and most
recently it had completed supply of its 100th airframe for the
missile.
• The eight edition of India, Maldives bilateral military exercise
EKUVERIN 2017 was held in India in Belagavi, Karnataka. The aim
of the exercise was to conduct military training between armies of
both countries with emphasis on counter insurgency, counter
terrorism operations (CICT Ops).
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has commissioned scorpene-class
submarine INS Kalvari into the Indian Navy in Mumbai,
Maharashtra. It is first of the six Scorpene-class submarines built
under the strategic Project 75 built by Mazagon Dock Limited
(MDL) with assistance and technology transfer from France’s
DCNS. The commissioning comes days after Indian Navy observed
the golden jubilee of its submarine wing.
• Indian Navy in collaboration with Sri Lankan counterpart has
successfully completed second phase of joint oceanographic
survey conducted off the South Western Coast of Sri Lanka. The
Indian side has handed over the survey charts to the Commander
of the Sri Lankan Navy. The survey had commenced in October
with the arrival of Indian Naval Ship Sutlej in Sri Lanka.
• The Southern Command of Indian Army conducted major army
exercise called ‘Hamesha Vijayee’ in deserts of Rajasthan from
December 16 to 22, 2017. The purpose of the exercise was to
evaluate capability of armed forces to strike deep into enemy
territory in an integrated air-land battle.
• An Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) named ICGS Sujay was recently
commissioned into Indian Coast Guard (ICG). It is sixth and last in
the series of six 105m OPV built indigenously by Goa Shipyard
Limited for ICG.
• The 11th edition of Naseem-Al-Bahr (Sea Breeze) 2017 Naval
exercise between India and Oman was held at Said Bin Sultan
Naval Base, Wudam in Oman.
• Indigenously developed Prithvi Advanced Air Defence (AAD)
supersonic interceptor missile was successfully test-fired from a
test range in Chandipur in Odisha. It is capable of destroying any
incoming ballistic missile in low altitude.
• The Defence Ministry has given its final approvals for the
procurement of 131 Barak missiles for Indian Navy and 240
precision-guided munitions (PGM) for Indian Air Force (IAF)
together estimated at Rs.1,714 crore. The proposals were cleared
by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. It is a regular
procurement through the revenue expenditure.
• China has successfully developed new underwater surveillance
network to help its submarines get stronger lock on targets while
protecting nation’s interests along maritime Silk Road, which also
includes Indian Ocean. The project is part of unprecedented
military expansion fuelled by China’s desire to challenge United
States in world’s oceans.
• On January 10, 2018, the Corps of Army Air Defence celebrated its
25th raising day. Corps of Army Air Defence is one of the active
corps of Indian army tasked with protection of Indian air spaces
from enemy aircrafts and missiles, specially below 5000 feet.
• The Union Ministry of Defence (MoD) has approved procurement
of P-8I Training Solution for Indian Navy and Low Intensity Conflict
Electronic Warfare System (LICEWS) for Indian Army at total cost
of Rs 2419.32 crore.
• Indian Navy has decommissioned INS Nirbhik and INS Nirghat
warships at Naval Dockyard, Mumbai (Maharashtra), after a
glorious 30 and 28 years respectively in the service of the nation.
• The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) has commissioned a state-of-the-art
patrol vessel at Karaikal in the Union Territory of Puducherry. It
was commissioned by Puducherry Chief Minister V
Narayanasamy. With the commissioning of the Coast Guard
station at Karaikal now has five vessels.
• The biennial search and rescue exercise between Indian Coast
Guard (ICG) and Japan Coast Guard (JCG) was held near Chennai,
Tamil Nadu in Bay of Bengal. This was eighth such in series of
‘National Maritime Search and Rescue Workshop and Exercise’.
Ships and aircraft of Coast Guards from India and Japan, Indian
Navy and Indian Air Force (IAF) and National Institute of Ocean
Technology (NIOT) took part in it.
• China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy has commissioned Rizhao,
a new missile frigate, in a naval port in Dalian, China. It is China’s
indigenous missile frigate named after Rizhao city in Shandong
Province of China.
• Indigenously developed long-range surface-to-surface Agni-5
ballistic missile was successfully test fired successfully from Abdul
Kalam Wheeler Island, Odisha.
• The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) chaired by Union Defence
Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has cleared procurement proposal of
72,400 assault rifles and 93,895 carbines on fast track basis for Rs
3,547 crore.
• Alpha Design Technologies Ltd. has signed Rs. 45-crore deal with
Ministry of Defence to supply indigenous simulators for gunnery
and missile firing from BMP II vehicles to Indian Army.
• The second indigenously built offshore patrol vessel (OPV) named
built by Larsen and Toubro (L&T) Shipyard for Indian Coast Guard
(ICG) was launched at Kattupalli Shipyard, Tamil Nadu. It is
expected to be inducted into service by September 2018 after
trials on the equipment.
• Indian Navy has launched Scorpene submarine INS Karanj at the
Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd (MDL), Mumbai, Maharashtra. It
the third Scorpene class submarine built by MDL under ambitious
Project 75 of the Indian Navy.
• The India-Vietnam Bilateral Army Exercise (VINBAX-2018) was
conducted at Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh. It is the first military
exercise between the two countries. The six day-long military
exercise (from January 29 to February 3, 2018) was conducted as
part of joint training undertaken with friendly foreign countries by
Indian Army.
• The Maratha Light Infantry celebrated 250 years of its existence

on 4 February 2018. The first battalion of regiment was raised as
‘Second Battalion Bombay Sepoys’ on this day in 1768.
• State-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd for first time has successfully
flown home-made 5.8-tonne Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) with
its own automatic flight control system. The 20 minute maiden
flight of the multirole copter was flawless with the engagement of
the flight control system throughout.
• Indigenously developed short-range nuclear capable ballistic Agni-
1 was successfully test-fired from mobile launcher located at
Integrated Test Range of Dr Abdul Kalam Island (Wheeler Island)
off the Odisha.
• The Chief of US Air Force, General David L Goldfein flew a sortie in
indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas at the Indian Air
Force (IAF) station in Jodhpur, Rajasthan. With this he became
first foreign military chief to fly Tejas aircraft. He was
accompanied by Air Vice Marshal AP Singh as a co-pilot during the
short flight.
• China’s People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) has
commissioned its new generation J-20 fourth-generation stealth
fighter into combat service. With this, China became second
country in world to commissioned domestically developed stealth
aircraft after United States.
• The Union Ministry of Defence (MoD) has constituted 13-member
Raksha Mantri Advisory Committee on Ministry of Defence Capital
Projects (RMCOMP). It will be headed by former secretary Vinay
Sheel Oberoi.
• Indian Army is contributing approximately 2300 personnel to
support United Nations Peacekeeping Missions to South Sudan &
(UNMISS) in order to bring peace and normalcy in the war-torn
country.
• The Indian Navy has unveiled the Integrated Automatic Aviation
Meteorological System (IAAMS) at INS Garuda, naval air station
located in Kochi, Kerala. It is overall fourth air station installed
with this integrated system.
• Tri-service maritime exercise ‘Paschim Lehar’ was held off India’s
western coast with an aim to build interoperability between
Indian Navy, Indian Army, Indian Air Force and Coast Guard.
• The Defence Acquisition Council chaired by Defence Minister has
approved capital acquisition of 7.4 lakh assault rifles, 17,000 light
machine guns, 5,719 sniper rifles and Mareech advanced torpedo
decoy systems for Indian Navy worth Rs. 15,935 crore. DAC is
Defence Ministry’s highest decision-making body on procurement.
• Indian Army is contributing approximately 2300 personnel to

support United Nations Peacekeeping Missions to South Sudan
(UNMISS) in order to bring peace and normalcy in the war-torn
country.
• Agni-II is two-stage nuclear capable surface-to-surface missile
developed indigenously by DRDO. It is 21-metre long and weighs
17 tonnes. It has strike range of 2000 kilometres, which can also
be increased to 3000km by reducing the payload. It is propelled
by the solid rocket propellant system. It can carry a nuclear
payload of 1 thousand kilograms.
• Tri-service maritime exercise ‘Paschim Lehar’ was held off India’s
western coast with an aim to build interoperability between
Indian Navy, Indian Army, Indian Air Force and Coast Guard. This
exercise includes participation of large number of ships,
submarines and aircraft from Western Naval Command of Indian
Navy and units from Eastern Naval Command, Indian Army, Air
Force and Coast Guard.
• Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) chaired by Defence Minister
Nirmala Sitharaman gave approval to procure BMP-2 infantry
combat vehicles for Indian Army and survey training vessel for
Indian Navy at cost of Rs. 1, 850 crores. DAC is Defence Ministry’s
highest decision-making body on procurement.
• Flying officer Avani Chaturvedi (24) created history by becoming
first Indian woman pilot of Indian Air Force (IAF) to complete a
solo flight in a MiG-21 Bison fighter aircraft. She had achieved this
feat by completing half-an-hour long solo flight in Russian-origin
jet in the skies over Jamnagar Air Base, Gujarat. The first solo
flight is just initial step in exhaustive operational syllabus that
transforms rookie pilots into full-fledged fighter pilots capable of
handling high-voltage combat flying.
• Nuclear-capable surface-to-surface Dhanush ballistic missile was
successfully test-fired from naval ship off Odisha near Paradip in
the Bay of Bengal. The missile test was carried out by Strategic
Forces Command (SFC), the tri-services military command that
controls all of India’s nuclear weapons and their associated
delivery systems.
• First night trial of nuclear-capable surface-to-surface short-range
ballistic Prithvi-II missile was successfully conducted from a
defence facility off Odisha coast. The indigenously developed
missile mounted on Mobile Tatra transporter-erector Launcher
(MTL) was test fired from launching complex III (LC-III) of
Integrated Test Range (ITR). It was equipped with state of art
guidance system and was fired in real-time situation.
• The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has
carried out first successful test-flight of unmanned aerial vehicle
(UAV) Rustom-2 in user configuration with higher power engine.
The flight was conducted at its Aeronautical Test Range at
Chitradurga in Karnataka and all its parameters were normal.
• The Indian Navy is going to host 16 countries for multi-national
2018 MILAN exercise at Port Blair in Andaman and Nicobar (A&N)
islands from March 6 to 13, 2018. The eight-day mega naval
exercise will be held under aegis of Andaman and Nicobar
Command with theme of Friendship across the seas.
• The eighth edition Lamitye 2018, bilateral military exercise
between Indian Army and Seychelles People’s Defence Force was
held at Mahe Island in Seychelles archipelago. The Seychelles
archipelago falls on one of most significant and busiest sea
transport routes of the world in Indian Ocean.
Defence Current Affairs March 2018
• The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) chaired by Defence

Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has approved various procurement
proposals for three services estimated at about Rs. 9,435 crore.
The proposals includes purchase of 41,000 light machine guns
(LMGs) and over 3.5 lakh close quarter battle (CQB) carbines,
High-capacity radio relay (HCRR) and two Pollution control vessels
(PCV). DAC is Defence Ministry’s highest decision-making body on
procurement.
• Tri-service maritime exercise Paschim Lehar conducted by Indian
Navy concluded off western coast in Arabian Sea. The objective of
the exercise was to build interoperability between Indian Navy,
Indian Army, Indian Air Force and Coast Guard.
• Indigenously developed Anti-Tank Guided Missiles (ATGM) Nag
was successfully test-fired in desert conditions against two tank
targets at different ranges and timings. With this, the
developmental trials of Nag missile have been completed and it is
now ready for induction.
• Bharati Defence and Infrastructure Ltd (BDIL) delivered high-
speed interceptor boat ICG C-162 to Indian Coast Guard (ICG) at
BDIL jetty in Mangaluru, Karnataka. It is fifth interceptor boat
delivered by BDIL’s Mangaluru shipyard to ICG. The sixth boat will
be delivered after three-and-a-half months of the delivery of the
fifth boat.
• The China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC) has announced
to build its first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Liaoning by the
middle of the next decade. It was announced as part of its list of
ambitions hope to achieve in weaponry and technical
developments for People’s Liberation Army (PLA)-Navy by 2025.
• Joint investigation committee (JIC) comprising US and Indian
officials has test-fired M777 ultra-light howitzers (ULH) at Pokhran
firing range in Rajasthan. The team will review results of this test
soon. The test was conducted in the wake of accident during its
trial in September 2017.
• Indian Navy’s sailboat INSV Tarini, led by all-women crew, reached
Cape Town, South Africa as part of Navika Sagar Parikrama
expedition. This stop is last phase of its maiden voyage to
circumnavigate globe before it depart Cape Town and return to
Goa in April 2018, on completion of the voyage.
• Russia successfully launched high-precision aeroballistic Kinzhal
hypersonic missile from a MiG-31 supersonic interceptor jet.
During the test, the missile launch was normal and it hit preset
target on the test site. It also met its performance characteristics
and time indicators.
• India and France have inked strategic pact providing for use of
each other’s military facilities including opening naval bases to
warships. It was signed during official state visit of French
President Emmanuel Macron to India. The agreement reflects
growing depth between both countries in defence ties and comes
amid China’s growing military expansionism in Indo-Pacific region.
• Samvedna 2018, the first multilateral Humanitarian Assistance
and Disaster Relief (HADR) exercise of Indian Air Force (IAF) in
association with South Asian Region nations was held off the coast
of Kerala. The multilateral exercise was spearheaded by IAF and
conducted by Southern Air Command (SAC) and involved
representatives from air forces of Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal
and UAE.
• The MILES-18, first-ever multi-nation naval exercise at sea was
held at the Andaman sea. The three days exercise was conducted
as part of 10th edition of MILAN 2018. Milan 2018, a multi-
national mega event was organised by Andaman Nicobar naval
command with theme ‘Friendship Across the Seas’ to expand
regional cooperation and combat unlawful activities in critical sea
lanes.
• The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) has commissioned interceptor boat
ICGS C-437 at Porbandar, Gujarat as part of its efforts to
strengthen coastal security. ICGS C-437 shall be based at Jakhau
under administrative and operational control of commander
Coast Guard Region (North West).
• The Indian Air Force (IAF) for first time flawlessly landed its largest
transport US-manufactured aircraft, C-17 Globemaster at strategic
Tuting Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) in Arunachal Pradesh,
which is close to Chinese border. After the trial landing, C17
carried out operations mission and airlifted 18 tons of load.
• The Indo-French joint naval exercise Varuna-18 was held in
Arabian Sea off Goa coast. It was aimed to explore measures to
facilitate operational-level interactions between their armed
forces and increase mutual cooperation, considering the common
global threats.
• The Gulf Shield – 1 military exercise of 23 countries including Gulf
Cooperation Council (GCC) member states was held in Eastern
Region of Saudi Arabia. It was organised by Ministry of Defence of
Saudi Arabia. The one month exercise was largest military drill in
region as it saw participation of participation of ground, naval and
air forces of participating countries.
• Indian Navy’s indigenously built warship INS Ganga (F22) was
decommissioned in Mumbai, Maharashtra after over three
decades of service. The warship was commissioned in December
1985 and had represented big step forward in India’s indigenous
warship building capability. The decommissioning ceremony was
attended by several officers and men, many now retired, who had
served on board ship.
• Supersonic cruise missile BrahMos was successfully flight-tested
for first time with indigenously developed seeker at Pokhran test
range, Rajasthan. So far, seeker, a critical technology in missiles
was imported from Russia. During the test missile with India-
made seeker flew in its designated trajectory and target with pin-
point accuracy.
• The Ministry of Defence has released draft policy on defence
production that aims to make India one of the top five
manufacturers of defence platforms with active participation of
public and private sectors. The ministry has sought comments and
suggestions of experts and stakeholders on policy. At present,
India is one of the world’s largest importer of military platforms
and weapons.
• The Goa Shipyard Ltd (GSL) has delivered second Advanced
Offshore Patrol Vessel (AOPV) to Sri Lanka Navy. This was overall
the fourth Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) delivered in the current
financial year.
Defence Current Affairs April 2018
• Pakistan has successfully test-fired its indigenously designed and

built nuclear-capable, submarine-launched cruise missile (SLCM)
Babur III. The missile was fired from underwater dynamic platform
and successfully engaged its target with precise accuracy, meeting
all the flight parameters.
• Indian Navy conducted multi-agency humanitarian assistance and
disaster relief (HADR) exercise named ‘Chakravat’ meaning
‘cyclone’ with coordination of Kerala Government off Kochi Coast.
The mandate of exercise was to review response mechanism in
the event of a cyclonic storm. It was led by the Southern Naval
Command at BTP Jetty of the Cochin Port.
• The fourth of eight Mark IV LCU vessels – L54, built by Garden
Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited (GRSE), Kolkata was
formally handed over to Indian Navy at GRSE, Kolkata. The first
ship of Mark IV LCU vessels INS LCU 51 was commissioned into
Indian Navy in 2016. Moreover, two more LCU ships L52 & L53
have been already delivered to Indian Navy.
• Indian Air Force (IAF) is going to conduct Exercise Gaganshakti
2018, biggest air combat exercise along Pakistan, China borders
between April 10 to 23, 2018. The aim of this exercise is real time
coordination, deployment and employment of air power in short
and intense battle scenario. Though it is IAF centric exercise, it will
also be executed keeping in mind “Joint Operational Doctrine” so
that requirements of other services are also met.
• The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Malaysia concluded joint
military exercise “Desert Tiger 5” aimed at sharing expertise and
enhancing joint military actions in Dubai, UAE. The military
exercise was implemented within framework of UAE leadership’s
continued desire to support and create unique partnerships
between both countries in all areas.
• India, South Korea joint anti-piracy, search and rescue exercise
‘Sahyog-Hyeoblyeog 2018’ was conducted in Bay of Bengal off the
Chennai coast in Tamil Nadu. The exercise was conducted
between Indian Coast Guard (ICG) and Korean Coast Guard (KCG)
as part of proposed establishment of MoU between them to
improve maritime security in Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated 10th edition of
Defence Expo (DefExpo 2018) in Chennai at Tiruvidanthal, in
Kancheepuram district, Tamil Nadu. The theme of the expo was
“India: The Emerging Defence Manufacturing Hub ”. Under this,
for the first time project India’s Defence manufacturing
capabilities were showcased to the world.
• Boeing India subsidiary of US aerospace manufacturer Boeing,
Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) and Mahindra Defence Systems
entered into agreement to manufacture fighter aircraft F/A-18
Super Hornet in India. Three companies exchanged Memorandum
of Agreement (MoA) for Make in India fighter at on-going
‘DefExpo’ in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
• Pakistan successfully test fired Babur Weapon System-1 (B),
enhanced version of indigenously-built Babur cruise missile. The
cruise missile is important part of Pakistan’s strategic deterrence.
• Indian Army has signed Memorandum of Undertaking (MoU) with
Axis Bank on Defence Salary Package. The first MoU between Axis
Bank and Indian Army was signed in 2011 and was renewed in
March 2015. The current MoU is tailor-made to suit e
requirements of serving soldiers, pensioners and families.
Recently, Indian Army had also signed similar MoU with HDFC
bank.
Defence Current Affairs May 2018
• The first ever bilateral joint military training exercise HARIMAU

SHAKTI 2018 between India and Malaysia began in dense forests
of Sengai Perdik, Hulu Langat, Malaysia. The exercise aims at
bolstering cooperation and coordination between armed forces of
both nations. It also seeks to share expertise of both contingents
in conduct of counter insurgency operations in jungle terrain. This
is for first time joint training exercise of this magnitude between
Indian and Malaysia is being held on Malaysian soil.
• South Western Command of Indian Army is conducting ‘Vijay
Prahar’ exercise in Mahajan area close to Suratgarh in Rajasthan.
In this exercise, over 20,000 troops are participating with fighting
equipment for couple of weeks o fine-tune jointmanship with the
Indian Air Force.
• According to recently released report of Stockholm International
Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), India has emerged as fifth largest
military spender in 2017. India had spent $63.9 billion on defence
in 2017, an increase of 5.5% compared with 2016, when it was in
the sixth spot overall.
• Indian and French navies conducted final and third phase of
Varuna naval exercise 2018 near Reunion Island in Indian Ocean
region (IOR) to enhance their operational coordination. In the
final phase, both navies simulated different possible scenarios
such as asymmetric warfare and tested their air defence
capabilities.
• Border Roads Organisation (BRO) celebrated its 58th Raising Day
on 7 May 2018. BRO is leading government organisation in arena
of infrastructural development in the border areas of the country.
Since its inception in 1960, it has grown from 02 to 19 projects.
The works executed by it have ensured territorial integrity and
socio-economic upliftment of most inaccessible regions of
country.
• NASA launched first-ever InSight (Interior Exploration using
Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport) lander
dedicated to exploring the deep interior of Mars. It was launched
aboard United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket from Space
Launch Complex-3 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The
rocket also launched two mini-spacecraft called Mars Cube One
(MarCO) — MarCO-A and MarCO-B.
• Indian Army’s month long Vijay Prahar exercise concluded in
Suratgarh, Rajasthan. It was conducted by South Western
Command of Indian Army. The month-long exercise was aimed to
orchestrate wide spectrum of threats including.
• The third edition of United Nations Peacekeeping Course for
African Partners (UNPCAP) was held in New Delhi from May 7 to
25, 2018. The course was conducted by Centre for United Nations
Peacekeeping in India (CUNPK) in partnership with United States.
• Indian Army has finalised Rs. 15,000-crore indigenous ammunition
project under which range of ammunition for its critical weapons
and tanks will be produced indigenously. It is claimed to be
biggest ever initiative for indigenisation of ammunition. It aims to
overcome long delays in imports and address problem of
dwindling stockpile.
• China’s first domestically manufactured aircraft carrier known
only as “Type 001A” started sea trials from Dalian port in Liaoning
province. The ship’s engine, propulsion and navigation systems
will be tested at sea for first time, a year after it was officially
launched. The name of the carrier was not revealed at the launch
ceremony, but it is speculated that it will be named Shandong
after province of same name.
• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has given its
approval for enhancement of budget by Rs.11,330 crore for
Network For Spectrum (NFS) project. This is over and above
Rs.13,334 crore already approved by Cabinet Committee on
Infrastructure in July, 2012. With this, total budget for the
network for Defence services has now gone up to Rs. 24,664
crore.
• Indian Army has flagged off Women Officers’ Mountaineering
Expedition to Mt. Bhagirathi-II to explore maximum potential of
women officers in the field of adventure sports. Mt. Bhagirathi-II
(6512 metres) is located in the Garhwal Himalayas in Gangotri
National Park. The peak rises right above the Gangotri glacier.
• BrahMos supersonic cruise missile was successfully test-fired from
mobile launcher from Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Balasore
(Chandipur), Odisha to validate some new features aimed at
increasing its life from 10 to 15 years. The successful test will help
in huge savings of replacement cost of BrahMos missiles held in
inventory of Indian armed forces. It makes it first Indian missile
whose life has been extended from 10 to 15 years.
• Chetak corps of South Western Command of Indian Army
conducted military exercise Gandiv Vijay in Mahajan field firing
ranges of Rajasthan. The exercise was conducted two months to
validate their operational plans of Chetak corps and concluded on
May 23, 2018.
• The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) chaired by Union Defence
Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has approved various measures to
simplify Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP). DAC is Defence
Ministry’s highest decision-making body on capital procurement
of Indian Armed Forces (Army, Navy and Air Force).
• Indian Navy’s six-member all-women Navy crew onboard of INSV
Tarini vessel reached Panaji, Goa after circumnavigating around
globe in 254 days under Navika Sagar Parikrama expedition. It was
first-ever all women Asian and Indian circumnavigation expedition
of globe . The expedition had started on September 10, 2017 in
Goa was aimed at promoting women empowerment aligned with
Government of India’s thrust for ‘Nari Shakti’.
• United States had withdrawn invitation to Chinese navy to
participate in 2018 Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) maritime exercise.
The withdrawal was in response China’s continued illegal
militarisation of islands in disputed South China Sea. RIMPAC 2019
is the 26th exercise of its type, after first being held in 1971. More
than 25,000 naval officers from 29 countries are expected to take
part in it.
• The thirteenth edition of India-Nepal joint military exercise will be
conducted at Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand from 30 May to 12 June
2018. The joint military exercise aims to further enhance and
strengthen level of defence cooperation between the two
neighbouring nations.
• Indigenously developed Rustom-II Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)
by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) will
be delivered to armed forces by 2020 as per the contract. At
present, its basic system is being perfected and attempts are
being made to increase its flight altitude. Its manufacturing will be
done by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd and Bharat Electronics Ltd.
• Indian Navy inducted Landing Craft Utility MK-IV LCU vessel L54 at
Port Blair, Andaman & Nicobar Island. It is fourth of total eighth
Mark IV LCU vessels to be inducted into Indian Navy.
• India and Pakistan held meeting of their coast guard officials
(Indian Coast Guard and Pakistan Maritime Security Agency) held
in New Delhi. They addressed issues pertaining to boundary
violations by fishermen from both sides and enhancing
cooperation in area of maritime search and rescue and combating
pollution at sea.
• India has concluded price negotiations with Russia for deal to
procure S-400 Triumf air defence missile systems for Indian Air
Force (IAF). They also have finalised financial component nearly
Rs 40,000 crore of the deal.
successfully test-fired upgraded guided version of Pinaka Rocket
from Proof & Experiment Establishment (PXE) at Chandipur,
Odisha. During the tests, two rounds were conducted and some
more rounds have been planned.
• United States has renamed its oldest and largest stragically
important military command US Pacific Command (PACOM) to
Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM). The decision was taken in
recognition of growing importance of Indian Ocean in US strategic
thinking. The Trump administration already has renamed Asia
Pacific as Indo-Pacific and identified India as one bookend of the
region.
Defence Current Affairs June 2018
• The world’s largest international maritime warfare exercise Rim of

the Pacific (RIMPAC-2018) will see participation of 26 countries,
including India. The exercise will be held from June 27 to August 2,
2018 in and around Hawaiian Islands and Southern California. The
theme for this year’s RIMPAC exercise is “Capable, Adaptive,
Partners .” Four countries Brazil, Israel, Sri Lanka and Vietnamare
are participating for first time. US had withdrawn invitation of
Chinese navy in response to China’s continued illegal
militarisation of islands in disputed South China Sea.
• Trilateral Naval Exercise Malabar 2018 between India, Japan and
United States will be held off the coast of Guam in Philippine Sea
from June 6-15, 2018. It will be 22nd edition of the naval
exercise. The exercise comes at time of increased friction
between China and US along with nations bordering resource rich
South China Sea (SCS) as China is militarising reclaimed islands in
it to further strengthen its claim.
• India successfully test fired its indigenously developed Agni- 5
missile on 3rd June. The missile was launched from Dr Abdul
Kalam Island off the Odisha coast. Agni missile is a surface to
surface missile and is launched with the help of mobile launcher
of the Integrated Test Range at Dr Abdul Kalam Island formerly
known as Wheeler Island. This is the 6th test fire of the state-of-
the-art Agni 5 missile. The trial was a great success. The missile hit
its target with great accuracy after covering its full distance. The
entire flight was monitored by radars, tracking instruments and
observation stations.
• The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)
successfully carried out maiden flight test new surface-to-air
missile (yet to get formal name) powered by Solid Fuel Ducted
Ramjet (SFDR) propulsion Technology. The test also successfully
demonstrated technology of nozzle less booster for first time in
the country.
• Indian Naval Ship (INS) Sunayana successfully evacuated 38 Indian
Nationals after it entered Porbandar harbour in Gujarat. They
were rescued from cyclone-hit Socotra island in Yemen under
swift Humanitarian and Disaster Relief Operation (HADR) code
named Operation NISTAR.
• The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) chaired by Defence
Minister Nirmala Sitharaman approved proposal foe procurement
of equipment for Defence Forces worth Rs. 5500 crore. These
proposals were approved in line with Government’s goal of
indigenisation and self-reliance in field of Defence Procurements.
DAC is Defence Ministry’s highest decision-making body on capital
procurement of Indian Armed Forces (Army, Navy and Air Force).
• India’s first indigenous, long-range artillery gun Dhanush has
successfully passed its final test at Pokhran, Rajasthan. This paves
its way for induction into Indian Army. Earlier the gun had passed
tests under severe cold conditions in Sikkim and Leh and in hot
and humid weather in Balasore, Odisha, Babina in Jhansi. Indian
Army has so far not inducted any new artillery guns since Bofors
guns. It has placed an initial order for 114 Dhanush guns and is
expected to order another 400 more.
• Indian Coast Guard (ICG) recently commissioned interceptor ship
ICGS C 439 at Mumbai, Maharashtra. Its induction will help to
further enhance operational capabilities to undertake multifarious
tasks such as surveillance, interdiction, search and rescue and
medical evacuations along western coast.
• India will host first military exercise of the BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal
Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation)
Countries in September 2018 in Pune, Maharashtra. The theme of
the exercise includes counter-terrorism in semi-urban terrain and
cordon and search.
• Trilateral Naval Exercise Malabar 2018 between India, Japan and
United States kicked off the coast of Guam in Philippine Sea. It will
be 22nd edition of the naval exercise, which has now become an
annual feature in deep military ties between India and US. It will
be first naval wargame after US renamed its Hawaii-based Pacific
command (PACOM) as Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) amid
increased Chinese activities of building artificial islands in South
China Sea and sending submarines into Indian Ocean.
• The United States State Department has approved sale of six AH-
64E Apache attack helicopters along with support equioments to
India. The Apache choppers are one of the most advanced multi-
role combat helicopters which have advanced weapons systems
and night-fighting features, manufactured by Boeing.
• The thirteenth edition of India-Nepal joint military exercise was
held at Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand from 30 May to 12 June 2018.
The joint military exercise was aimed at further enhancing and
strengthening level of defence cooperation between the two
neighbouring nations.
• The indigenously upgraded artillery gun Dhanush has successfully
completed final user trials and is ready for induction into Indian
Army. During third and final phase of user exploitation firings
conducted from May 31 to June 7, 2018 at Pokhran field firing
range, six Dhanush guns were fired in battery formation with 301
rounds each. With this test, Dhanush artillery gun has been tested
in all terrains.
converted indigenous Pinaka rocket system into a precision-
guided missile, with enhanced range and accuracy to hit its
targets. The missile has completed its initial trial and now is
undergoing developmental trials. It is expected to be delivered to
Indian Army in two years and complies with its policy of use of
precision weapons.
• The Indian Army has drawn detailed plan to develop Jaisalmer
Military Station in Rajasthan as smart facility patterned on Central
Government’s Smart Cities Mission. The development plan will
provide a major boost to local economy and aid in ecological
conservation.
• Indian Coast Guard (ICG) has commissioned fast patrol vessel
(FPV) ICGS Rani Rashmoni, in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. It
is fifth and last ship to be commissioned in the series of fast patrol
vessel (FPV) project of ICG. The ship will be based at
Visakhapatnam under the administrative and operational control
of Commander, No.6 Coast Guard District Headquarters (Andhra
Pradesh).
• Indian Army is observing year 2018 as “Year of Disabled Soldiers in
Line of Duty” to honour soldiers who have been disabled in line of
duty. The primary focus of this initiative is to alleviate sufferings
of these soldiers, who have done their duty with utmost
dedication to nation and have been disabled for the life.
• The pilot Training of Trainers (ToT) Course on Civilian Protection
and the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) was held at Manekshaw
Centre, New Delhi from June 18 to 22, 2018. It was jointly held by
Centre for United Nations Peacekeeping (CUNPK), India and
Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect.
• The tri-service joint military exercise Indra-2018 between India
and Russia will take place at Indian military base in second half
2018. In this regard, Russian military delegation visited India to
discuss logistics of the exercise. In this edition of exercise,
combined military units of Russian Eastern Military District will
participate in military drills. Members of Indian defence forces
were also involved in planning of the exercise which included
practical operations of units besides consumer services, catering
and medical support for Russian units. In addition, they also
agreed on procedure for receiving and servicing of military
transport aircraft in India.
• India and Bangladesh have agreed to institute Coordinated Patrol
(CORPAT) as an annual exercise between navies of two
neighbouring countries. The first edition of CORPAT between two
navies was inaugurated by Indian Navy’s Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba
• during his visit to Bangladesh. The aim Navy Chief’s visit was to
consolidate bilateral defence relations between India and
Bangladesh and to explore new avenues for naval cooperation.
• The Indian Army contingent comprising of 7 Garhwal Rifles
Infantry Battalion Group was awarded United Nations Medal for
“selfless service”. The contingent is part of the United Nations
Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) in South Sudan. It has been
complimented for carrying out numerous operational tasks with
utmost professionalism and dedication to the UN mandate. It has
played an active and decisive role in ensuring peace and stability
in violence hit Jonglei State of South Sudan.
Defence Current Affairs July 2018
• The Union Ministry of Defence has sanctioned construction of 17

new baffle firing ranges at various Military Stations, Cantonments,
Training Establishments. The proposed baffle shooting ranges can
facilitate firing from 300 to 500 meters.
• Indigenous fighter aircraft Tejas of No 45 Squadron (The Flying
Daggers) of Indian Air Force (IAF) has formally commenced
operations from Sulur Air Force Station in Tamil Nadu. With
deployment of Tejas, its squadron ‘Flying Daggers’ took up active
wartime role towards safeguarding national skies.
• India and Bangladesh have agreed to institute Coordinated Patrol
(CORPAT) as an annual exercise between navies of two
neighbouring countries. The first edition of CORPAT between two
navies was inaugurated by Indian Navy’s Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba
during his visit to Bangladesh. The aim Navy Chief’s visit was to
consolidate bilateral defence relations between India and
Bangladesh and to explore new avenues for naval cooperation.
• Six global aircraft manufacturers have responded Indian Air
Force’s (IAF) Request for Information (RFI) to supply 110 fighter
aircrafts to replace its ageing fleet of MiG-21s and MiG-27s, which
are being phased out of service. Of the six bids received, Lockheed
Martin F-16 and SAAB Gripen are single-engine fighters, while
Dassault Rafale, Boeing F-18, Eurofighter Typhoon and United
Aircraft Corporation MiG-35 are twin-engine fighters.
• State-owned defence electronics company Bharat Electronics Ltd
(BEL) has signed memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Saab
for jointly marketing L-Band 3D air surveillance radar (RAWL-03)
which is co-developed by the companies. Saab is Swedish
aerospace and defence firm that serves global market with world-
leading products, services and solutions in military defence and
civil security.
• Indian Army has singed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
with State bank of India (SBI) on Defence Salary Package. It is
revised version of first MoU between SBI and Indian Army signed
in 2011 and was renewed again in February 2015 to add suited
requirements of serving soldiers, pensioners and families.
• DRDO has successfully test-fired supersonic cruise missile under
extreme weather conditions, as part of the service life extension
programme for Indian Army. The missile was fired from a mobile
autonomous launcher from the Integrated Test Range at Balasore,
Odisha.
• Indian Army is going to resume trials of US-made M777 ultralight
howitzer in the Pokhran firing range, Rajasthan. During the trails
local ammunition will be used and tentatively 100 to 150 rounds
will be fired. The trials will begin after they were suspended in
September 2017 following a barrel burst caused by faulty
ammunition during firing.
• The 19th anniversary of Kargil Vijay Diwas was celebrated across
India on 26 July 2018 to commemorate the success of Operation
Vijay and remember brave sacrifice of Indian soldiers during 1999
India-Pakistan Kargil War.
• Indian Air Force (IAF) for first time will participate in multinational
air exercise Pitch Black – 18 (PB-18) in Australia hosted Royal
Australian Air Force (RAAF). It will be three week multi-national
large force employment exercise (27 July to 17 August 2018)
conducted from RAAF Base Darwin and RAAF Base Tindal.
• Two types of indigenously built high-power multi-fuel engines V-
46-6 and V92S2 were handed over to Indian Army for first time
under Make in India. These engines were manufactured by Engine
Factory Avadi (EFA), a unit of Ordnance Factory Board (OFB).
• Indian Army has awarded Rs. 100-crore contract for 81 high
mobility 10×10 vehicles to India’s leading vehicle manufacturer
Ashok Leyland. This is for first time Indian vehicle manufacturer
will deliver heavy duty, high mobility vehicles for the launchers.
This will reduce dependency on imports.
Nirmala Sitharaman approval proposal for acquisition of 8 Fast
Patrol Vessels (FPVs) for Indian Coast Guard at an approximate
cost of Rs 800 crore. It also approved platform specific guidelines
for procurement of Naval Utility helicopters. Similar guidelines for
the other categories will be issued soon. DAC is Defence Ministry’s
highest decision-making body on capital procurement of Indian
Armed Forces (Army, Navy and Air Force).
• India is in talks with United States to procure National Advanced
Surface-to-Air Missile System-II (NASAMS-II), an advanced air
defence system at $1 billion to defend National Capital Region
(NCR) from aerial attacks. The proposal is in Acceptance of
Necessity (AoN) stage now which was approved by Defence
Acquisition Council (DAC) chaired by Defence Minister Nirmala
Sitharaman.
• Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) chaired by Union Defence
Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has approved implementation of
Strategic Partnership guidelines. It is considered as major step
towards boosting private sector participation in domestic defence
manufacturing. The policy had come into effect in May 2017 but
progress was delayed due to lack of specific guidelines.
Defence Current Affairs August 2018
• China successfully tested its first cutting-edge hypersonic

“waverider” flight vehicle (aircraft) Xingkong-2 (Starry Sky-2).
Waverider is flight vehicle that flies in atmosphere and uses
shockwaves generated by its own hypersonic flight with air to
glide at high speed. Currently, United States and Russia have been
carrying out similar experiments.
• Joint military exercise Maitree 2018 between Indian Army and
Royal Thai Army was conducted in Thailand from 6 to 19 August
2018. It contributed immensely in developing mutual
understanding and bonhomie between armies of both countries
in order to counter terrorism.
• The projects for defence industrial corridor in Aligarh, Uttar
Pradesh were launched recently by Union Defence Minister
Nirmala Sitharaman and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi
Adityanath. It was launched as part of the Union Government’s
efforts to develop specialised zones dedicated to defence
production in the state.
• Indian Navy has launched Operation Madad, major rescue and
relief operation in flood-hit Kerala. Indian Army also has launched
Operation Sahyog to rescue people in flood-hit Kerala. Both
operations will support rescue and relief efforts of civil
administration and National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF).
Nirmala Sitharaman approved procurement of six indigenously
designed and manufactured Next Generation Offshore Patrol
Vessels (NGOPVs) for Indian Navy. DAC is Defence Ministry’s
highest decision-making body on capital procurement of Indian
Armed Forces (Army, Navy and Air Force).
• Iran has unveiled Fateh Mobin (Bright Conqueror) next generation
short-range ballistic missile capable of striking targets on land and
sea. The missile has successfully passed its tests. It was unveiled
as part of Iran’s thrust to further boost its defence capabilities at
time of rising tensions with United States.
• Israeli Navy has announced to procure multi-purpose Barak 8
missile defence system, jointly developed by India and Israel. It
will be used by Israeli Navy’s Sa’ar-6 corvettes to expand its
operational capabilities of Israeli navy, including defence of
Israel’s territorial and exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and strategic
facilities from diversified threats.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his addresses to the nation
on occasion of 72nd Independence Day from Red Fort announced
that permanent commission will be granted to serving women
officers of armed forces. Henceforth, women officers who have
been selected through Short Service Commission (SSC) in defence
forces will now have option to take up permanent commission
(PC).
• Indigenously developed Helicopter launched Anti-Tank Guided
Missile (ATGM) ‘HELINA’ was successfully flight tested from Indian
Army Helicopter at Pokhran range. The weapon system was
tested for its full range.
successfully tested indigenously developed light weight glide
bomb Smart Anti Airfield Weapon (SAAW) dropped from an Indian
Air Force (IAF) aircraft. Total of three tests with different release
conditions and ranges were conducted at Chandan range near
Pokhran in Rajasthan.
• Joint platoon level military exercise Maitree 2018 between India
and Thailand was conducted in Thailand from 6 to 19 August
2018. It was platoon level exercise between Indian Army and
Royal Thai Army that comprised of infantry component.
• Pitch Black – 18 (PB-18), biennia multinational air exercise hosted
by Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) concluded recently Darwin,
Australia. It was the largest Pitch Black ever conducted by
Australia, which saw participation of 16 nations and more than
140 aircraft, the current edition.
• Indian Airforce has formally launched The Stores, Proactive,
Efficient and Expeditious Despatch of Extra Size/ Wt Consignment
(SPEEDEX) contract. It was concluded in June 2018 between with
Balmer Lawrie & Co Ltd and Ashok Travel and Tours for air and
surface component respectively.
• Iran has unveiled first domestically manufactured fighter jet
nicknamed Kowsar. It was unveiled at defence show held in the
capital city of Tehran.
• The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Peace Mission 2018
was held in Chebarkul, Russia. Military contingents of the all eight
SCO member nations (China, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan,
Kazakhstan, India and Pakistan) participated in this exercise. The
exercise was aimed at enhancing cooperation between member
states to deal with growing threat of terrorism and extremism. It
was for first time since independence, India and Pakistan
simultaneously took part military exercise, though armies of two
rival neighbouring countries had earlier worked together in
United Nations (UN) peacekeeping missions.
• Indian Air Force (IAF) launched Trans-Himalayan Mountain Terrain
Biking Expedition (THE MTB) as part of its celebration of 86th
Anniversary on 8 October 2018. The expedition was started on 17
Aug 2018 from Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO) in Ladakh for Kibithu in
Arunachal Pradesh. DBO and Kibithu are two forward most
outposts of India in North and in East with DBO being highest
airfield in the world located altitude of 16614 feet.
• Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has approved procurement of
14 Vertically Launched Short Range Missile Systems. Of these, 10
systems will be indigenously developed and remaining four will be
imported. These missile systems will help boost self-defence
capability of ships against anti-ship missiles. DAC is Union Defence
Ministry’s highest decision making body on capital procurement
of Indian Armed Forces (Army, Navy and Air Force). It is chaired by
Defence Minister.
• Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has approved procurement 24
anti-submarine capable multi role helicopters to enhance
capability of Indian Navy at sea. This approval will allow
Government to sign contract US based aviation giant Lockheed
Martin for purchasing 24 MH-60R helicopters for Indian Navy.
Nirmala Sitharaman has approved procurement of 111 utility
helicopters for Indian Navy at cost of over Rs 21,000 crore. DAC is
Union Defence Ministry’s highest decision making body on capital
procurement of Indian Armed Forces (Army, Navy and Air Force).
150 indigenously designed and developed 155 mm Advanced
Towed Artillery Gun Systems for Indian Army at approximate cost
of Rs 3,364.78 crores. This procurement will further quest for
modernisation of Armed forces.
• Russia is going to conduct Vostok-2018 (East-2018) military
exercise in central and eastern Russian military districts from
September 11 to 15, 2018. It will be biggest war games ever
conducted by Russia since Zapad-81 (West-81) exercise conducted
by erstwhile Soviet Union in 1981 which had seen involvement
about 100,000 to 150,000 troops.
• India’s only aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya for the first time will
be fitted with marine hydraulic system to boost the air operations
of the ship. It will be fitted with two marine hydraulic systems
whose technical terms go by “GS-1MF” and “GS-3”.
• Indian Naval Ship Sahyadri has reached Port of Darwin, Australia
to participate in multilateral regional maritime exercise KAKADU
2018 conducted by Australia. The ship was earlier deployed in
South China Sea and Pacific Ocean for over four months and had
represented Indian Navy in multinational exercises MALABAR 18
at Guam and RIMPAC 18 at Hawaii.
• India has inked $346 million loan agreement with Asian
Development Bank (ADB) to finance Karnataka State Highways
Improvement III Project (KSHIP-III) for improvement of over 400
km of state highways in Karnataka. This will help in enhancement
of connectivity and access to economic centres across 12 districts
in Karnataka.
Defence Current Affairs September 2018
• India, Kazakhstan joint army exercise KAZIND will be conducted

between Indian and Kazakhstan Army in Otar region, Kazakhstan
from 10 to 23 September 2018. This will be third joint military
exercise between two countries which have history of extensive
cooperation in defence arena. The second edition of the exercise
was held in India in 2017.
• Ukraine has launched annual joint military exercise named Rapid
Trident with United States and other NATO (North Atlantic Treaty
Organization) member countries. The exercise will place in
western Ukrainian village of Starychi from September 2 to 15,
2018. Its main goal is to practice countering armed aggression in
conditions of the hybrid war. It is being conducted week before
Russia holds its biggest military exercise Vostok-2018 since Cold
War, in eastern part of the country and with participation of China
and Mongolia.
• Cyient Solutions & Systems Pvt. Ltd has bagged order from Indian
Army to supply SpyLite mini UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle)
systems for high altitude aerial surveillance. Cyient Solutions &
Systems Pvt. Ltd is joint venture between IT firm Cyient and
BlueBird Aero Systems of Israel.
• American security and aerospace giant Lockheed Martin has
entered into an agreement with Tata Advanced Systems Limited
(TASL) to manufacture wings of its F-16 fighter jets in India.
Producing F-16 wings in India will support Central Government’s
flagship ‘Make in India’ programme and strengthen Lockheed
Martin’ strategic partnership with TASL.
• State-run Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) has bagged order worth Rs.
9,200 crore for supply of seven Long Range Surface-to-Air Missile
(LRSAM) systems to Indian Navy. In this regard, it has entered into
a contract with Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL) and Garden Reach
Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE). The LRSAM will be fitted
onboard seven ships to be built by these two shipbuilders. This
was highest-ever single value order bagged by BEL. This contract
has pushed order book of BEL beyond Rs 50,000 crore for the first
time in single financial year.
• Indian Air Force (IAF) has successfully carried out first ever midair
refuelling of indigenously developed light combat aircraft (LCA)
Tejas. The midair refuelling test conducted involved dry linkup,
meaning no fuel was actually transferred between IAF Il-78 tanker
and Tejas fighter jet through its air-to-air refuelling probe.
• India and United States will conduct their annual combat exercise
“Yudh Abhyas” at Chaubatia in Uttarakhand from 16 to 29
September, 2018. The exercise will be held soon after both
countries hold their inaugural top-level “2+2” dialogue in New
Delhi.
• India, Sri Lanka joint naval exercise SLINEX-2018 was held at
Trincomalee, Sri Lanka from September 7 to 13, 2018. SLINEX
exercise started in 2005 was previously held once in two years
and now it has been converted to annual event this year onwards.
• India, Mongolia joint exercise Nomadic Elephant 2018
commenced at Mongolian Armed Forces (MAF) Five Hills Training
Area in Ulaanbaatar (capital of Mongolia). Nomadic Elephant is
annual bilateral military exercise started in 2006. It is designed to
strengthen partnership between Indian Army and Mongolian
Armed Forces.
• Indian Air Force (IAF) successfully carried out first ever mid-air
refuelling of indigenously developed Light Combat Aircraft (LCA)
Tejas MK-1 over Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh. With this, India joins
in elite group of countries which have successfully developed air-
to-air refuelling system for military aircraft.
• Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL) is gearing up to undertake sea
trials of India’s first ocean surveillance ship by end of September
2018 or first week of October 2018. This ship is now simply
referred as VC 11184 and will be formally named after its
induction into the Indian Navy.
• The first field training military exercise MILEX-18, as part of the
Bay of Bengal initiative for multi-sectoral technical and economic
cooperation (BIMSTEC) commenced at Foreign Training Node at
Aundh in Pune, Maharashtra. All member BIMSTEC countries,
except Thailand and Nepal will take active part in this exercise.
Thailand and Nepal will only be sending group of observers.
• The second edition of Nepal-China joint military exercise named
Mt Everest Friendship Exercise-2018 (Sagarmatha Friendship-
2018) commenced in China’s southwestern Sichuan province. The
12 day long joint exercise will focus on combating terror and
disaster management trainings. Sagarmatha is the Nepali name
for Mt Everest, which stands in between both the countries.
• Indian Coast Guard (ICG) has commissioned indigenously built
patrol vessel ICGS Vijaya in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It is second in
the series of 98 m offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) commissioned by
ICG.
• India and United States joint military exercise Yudh Abhyas 2018
commenced at Chaubattia, Uttarakhand. It will be fourteenth
edition of exercise in Yudh Abhyas series which was started in
2004 under US Army Pacific Partnership Program. This will be
fourth time exercise will be conducted at Chaubattia in
Uttarakhand.
• Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)
conducted first successful trials of indigenously developed third
generation Man Portable Anti-Tank Guided Missile (MPATGM).
Two rounds of missile were flight tested in operational
configuration in two days from Ahmednagar range in
Maharashtra.
1,000 engines of 1,000 BHP (brake horse power) for fitment in T-
72 tanks of Indian Army. These engines will be procured under
‘Buy & Make’ category at an approximate cost of over Rs 2,300
crore. Most of these engines will be manufactured by Ordnance
Factories Board (OFB). Their fitment will enhance mobility, agility
and acceleration of T-72 tanks making them more versatile and
effective in the battlefield.
• India and Morocco have agreed to enhance bilateral cooperation
in the field of defence and security. Decision in this regard was
taken at meeting between Moroccan Defence Minister Abdeltif
Loudyi and Defence Mnister Nirmala Sitaraman in South Block in
New Delhi. This was first ever visit of Moroccan Defence Minister
to India.
• Second Anniversary of Surgical Strike was celebrated as Parakram
Parv or Surgical Strike Day on September 29 – 30, 2018 by Indian
Army to showcase gallant action of brave Army in the conduct of
Surgical Strikes on September 29, 2016. This day was also marked
to remember sacrifice of soldiers during ‘Uri incident’.
• Indian Air Force (IAF) has successfully test fired indigenously
developed Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile (BVRAAM) Astra
from Su-30 figher aircraft. The missile was tested at Kalaikunda Air
Force Station, West Bengal. During the test, missile successfully
engaged manoeuvring target with high precision meeting mission
objectives.
Defence Current Affairs October 2018
• Indian Air Force (IAF) has successfully undertaken series of flight

trials of Astra Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile (BVR-AAM)
from September 26 to October 3, 2018. The tests were conducted
at Integrated Test Range (ITR), Balasore, Odisha as part of final
development trials of the missile.
• The sixth edition of IBSAMAR, a joint multi–national maritime
exercise between Indian, Brazilian and South African Navies was
held at Simons Town, South Africa. The aim of this maritime
exercise is to undertake collective training for participating navies,
building interoperability and mutual understanding as well as
sharing of best practices.
• The maiden joint exercise of Coast Guards of India and Vietnam
“Sahyog HOP TAC -2018” was held in the Bay of Bengal off the
Chennai coast, Tamil Nadu. It was aimed at strengthening the
working level relationship between coast guards of both navies.
• India has launched massive humanitarian operation Samudra
Maitri to provide assistance to earthquake and tsunami victims in
Indonesia. The operation was launched after telephonic
conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and
Indonesian President Joko Widodo and following Indonesia’s
acceptance of international aid.
• The 3rd edition of Japan-India Maritime Exercise (JIMEX)
commenced at Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. JIMEX-18 is
aimed to enhance interoperability, improve understanding and
imbibe best practices between navies of two countries.
• 86th Indian Air Force (IAF) day was celebrated on 8 October 2018
to commemorate its official foundation day of the force. The
celebration of day seeks to increase the awareness about the
importance of IAF as an important part of the national security. It
also seeks to pay rich tribute to untiring efforts and supreme
sacrifice made by air force veterans.
• Indian Air Force (IAF) has launched ‘MedWatch’ mobile health app
to provide health information to users, including first-aid and
other health and nutritional topics. It was launched on 8 October
on the occasion of IAF’s 85th anniversary. It is first of its kind
mobile health app built by any of the three armed forces.
• Indian Air Force (IAF) has launched ‘MedWatch’ mobile health app
to provide health information to users, including first-aid and
other health and nutritional topics. It was launched on 8 October
on the occasion of IAF’s 85th anniversary. It is first of its kind
mobile health app built by any of the three armed forces.
• Indian Navy has inducted its first Deep Submergence Rescue
Vehicle (DSRV) which is deployed to rescue downed or disaster-
struck submarines at high sea. It will be based in Mumbai,
Maharashtra and enhance Navy’s operational capabilities. With
this, India joined select list of international navies (United States,
China, Russia, Japan, South Korea, Singapore UK, Sweden and
Australia) with ability to search, locate and provide assistance to
downed or disaster-struck or distressed submarines at high sea.
The second DSRV is expected to be inducted at Visakhapatnam in
2019.
• The 32nd edition of India-Indonesia coordinated patrol (IND-INDO
CORPAT) is being held in Belawan, Indonesia from 11 – 27
October 2018. Under it, ships and aircraft from both countries will
undertake patrolling on respective sides of 236 nautical miles long
International Maritime Boundary Line.
• The first joint military exercise named “Dharma Guardian”
between India and Japan will be held at the Army’s Counter-
Insurgency Warfare School at Vairengte (Mizoram) from
November 1 to 14, 2018. The exercise is aimed at developing
mutual understanding and respect between militaries of both
countries, as also facilitate in tracking worldwide phenomenon of
terrorism.
• The first India-United States tri-services exercise is likely to take
place in 2019 in India. It will include all services of both countries
and talks are on to include special forces. US will second country
after Russia with whom India conducts tri-services exercise.
• The joint military exercise Iron Magic 19 between United Arab
Emirates (UAE) and United States (US) kicked off near Dubai. The
two-week military exercise is part of series of joint military
exercises held throughout the year between UAE armed forces
and armed forces of other countries.
• India and US have agreed to elevate their bilateral ‘Cope India’ air
exercise to trilateral format by including Japan. The next edition of
this exercise is scheduled to be held in December 2018 for which
final planning conference to finalise its modalities will held in
Kalaikunda, West Bengal.
• Union Defence Ministry has signed contract worth Rs 2,435.15
crore with public sector Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers
(GRSE), Kolkata for manufacturing of four survey vessels aimed at
boosting to capabilities of Indian Navy. The project completion
time is 54 months from date of signing contract. The first ship will
be delivered within 36 months and remaining within interval of six
months for each vessel.
• The Druzhba 2018 (Friendship 2018) joint bilateral military
exercise between Pakistan and Russian special forces has begun in
Pakistan. This exercise will be organized in north-western hill
region in Nowshera district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa of Pakistan.
The two week long joint military exercise is aimed at bolstering
and building military cooperation between the two countries.
Defence Current Affairs November 2018
• India has successfully carried out night user trial of Agni-I short-
range nuclear-capable ballistic missile. The test flight was
conducted by Indian Army’s Strategic Forces Command off Abdul
Kalam Island in Bay of Bengal, off the coast of the Indian state of
Odisha. The test was second known nighttime trial of Agni-I since
its first such successful test in April 2014.
• The first joint military exercise named “Dharma Guardian”
between India and Japan has begun at Indian Army’s Counter-
Insurgency Warfare School at Vairengte (Mizoram). The exercise is
aimed at developing mutual understanding and respect between
militaries of both countries, as also facilitate in tracking worldwide
phenomenon of terrorism.
• India’s first indigenous nuclear submarine INS Arihant has
successfully completed its first deterrence patrol. The
development signifies that underwater warship has completed its
maiden long-range mission with live nuclear-tipped missiles.
• Indian Coast Guard (ICG) launches new Offshore patrol vessel
(OPV) ICGS Varaha at L&T Kattupalli shipyard near Chennai, Tamil
Nadu. It is fourth in the series of 98 M OPVs designed and built
indigenously by Larsen & Toubro (L&T).
• India and Singapore will hold 25th joint naval exercise SIMBEX,
acronym for Singapore-India Maritime Bilateral Exercise from
November 10 to 21 in India off Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal.
SIMBEX 2018 will mark silver jubilee of exercise and will be largest
edition since 1994 in terms of scale and complexity.
• Union Defence Ministry has enhanced financial powers of three
vice chiefs of the armed forces from Rs 100 crore to Rs 500 crore
i.e. five times. This comes after vice chiefs were granted
additional powers to carry out specific procurement to ensure
operational preparedness in March 2018.
• The inaugural edition India, Indonesia Bilateral Naval Exercise
‘Samudra Shakti’ was held at the port of Surabaya, Indonesia. The
aim of the exercise is to strengthen bilateral relations, expand
maritime co-operation, enhance interoperability and exchange
best practices.
• Indian Army inducted three major globally combat proven artillery
gun system viz. M777 A2 ultra light howitzers (ULH), K-9 Vajra-
tracked self-propelled guns and ‘Composite Gun Towing Vehicle’
at Deolali Field Firing Range in Maharashtra. These are first
artillery gun systems to be inducted by Indian Army in three
decades. Last inducted was Bofors artillery gun system procured
from Sweden in early 1980s.
• Indian Army has picked Russia’s Igla-S missile system as choice for
its multibillion dollar contract for man-portable air defence
systems (MANPADS). Igla-S bid around $1.47 billion from Russia’s
Rosoboronexport had emerged lowest bidder for Indian Army’s
Very Short Range Air Defence (VSHORAD) deal. The other bidders
were MBDA of France (bid of $3.68 billion) and SAAB of Sweden
(bid of $2.6 billion). The deal is expected to be inked when Indian-
Russian Intergovernmental Commission on Military-Technical
cooperation meeting will take place in Moscow in December
2018.
• The joint military exercise between Indian and Russia EXERCISE
INDRA 2018 was conducted at Babina Field Firing Ranges, Babina
Military Station Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh. It was tenth exercise in the
series of Exercise INDRA aimed at increasing interoperability
between Indian and Russian Armies.
Defence Current Affairs December 2018
• The second edition of service specific exercise AVIAINDRA

between Indian Air Force and Russian Federation Aerospace Force
(RFSAF) was held at Air Force Station Jodhpur, Rajasthan. The
inaugural IAF-RFSAF Ex AVIAINDRA was conducted in 2014 and
since then it is conducted bi-annually (twice a year) in both
countries.
• Indian Coast Guard (ICG) has conducted Regional Level Marine Oil
Pollution Response Exercise titled ‘Clean Sea– 2018’ at sea off
Port Blair, Andaman & Nicobar (A&B) Islands. The objective of
exercise was to ascertain preparedness of IGC, resource agencies
and other stakeholders in responding to major oil spill in line with
provisions of National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan (NOS-
DCP). ICG ships Viswasth, Vijith, Rajveer, Rajshri, 4 interceptor
boats and its air assets Dornier and Chetak helicopters
participated in the exercise.
• Nuclear capable surface to surface Agni-5 ballistic missile was
successfully test-fired from Dr Abdul Kalam Island off the Odisha
coast. It was user associated trial of missile undertaken by
strategic force command along with DRDO scientists.
• The seventh edition Hand-in-Hand Military exercise between
India, China began in Chengdu, China. It is being held to improve
capabilities of the two armies in fighting terrorism and promote
mutual understanding. The exercise was held after gap of one
year as both the sides were locked in 73-day standoff in Doklam in
Sikkim sector of the border in 2017. The strained relations
between two sides later improved resulting in informal summit
between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi
Jinping in Chinese city of Wuhan in April 2018.
• Supreme Court has given clean chit to Modi government for
purchase of 36 Rafale fighter Jets. The three Judge bench headed
by Ranjan Gogoi, find nothing wrong on the purchase of 36 fighter
jet instead of 126 from France. The court gave clean chit on three
aspects – Purchasing of 36 Rafale jets instead of 126. Pricing of
Rafale jets and Selection of Indian offset partners.
• Indigenously developed Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) by
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has achieved important
milestone of flying at 6 km altitude in Bengaluru, capital of
Karnataka. The test was critical requirement towards certification
of LUH. Its first flight was carried in September 2016 and second
Prototype was flown in May 2017.
• India celebrated Vijay Diwas on 16th December 2018 marking the
47th anniversary of its victory over Pakistan in the 1971 war. On
this occasion, the Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman along
with the heads of the three armed forces paid tributes to the
martyrs at Amar Jawan Jyoti at the India Gate in New Delhi.
• Indra Navy-18, a bilateral naval exercise, between India and
Russia concluded on 16th December 2018. It was a 4-day
maritime exercise that took place in the Bay of Bengal. INDRA
NAVY or India – Russia Navy Exercise is being conducted since
2003. The first edition of this exercise was conducted in May 2003
in India.
• The Indian government will soon inaugurate the information
fusion centre (IFC) to boost the maritime security and Information
exchange in the for the Indian Ocean Region(IOR). The
Information Fusion Centre (IFC) for the Indian Ocean Region will
be set up by the Indian Navy at the Information Management and
Analysis Centre (IMAC) in Gurugram, Haryana.
• The Defence Minister of India formally inaugurated the
Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) Indian
at the Information Management and Analysis Centre (IMAC) in
Gurugram on 22nd December 2018. The IFC for Indian Ocean
Region has the primary objective of jointly monitoring the vast
Indian Ocean Region.
• India and China concluded the ‘Hand-in-Hand’ military exercise on
22nd December 2018 in China’s Chengdu city. This was the 7th
edition of the ‘Hand-in-Hand’ military exercise. The ‘Hand-in-
Hand’ military exercise did not take place last year due to
prevailing tensions between both sides after 73-day military
standoff at Doklam.
• The Indian Navy has been commissioned a naval hospital ship, the
INHS Sandhani at Naval station Karanja in the Raigad district of
Maharashtra. INHS Sandhani was flagged by Flag Officer
Commanding-in-Chief (FOC-in-C) of the Western Naval Command
Vice Admiral Girish Luthra and the commissioning plaque of the
hospital was unveiled by the Preeti Luthra, President of NWWA
(Navy Wives Welfare Association), Western Region.
• The 55th anniversary of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) was held in
New Delhi on 24th December 2018. Union Minister of State for
Home Affairs, Kiren Rijiju, was the chief guest and he witnessed
the raising day parade along with delegates from Nepal and
Bhutan on the occasion.
• The government has relaxed norms for the manufacturing of the
defence items. As per new norms, manufacturing of items of
defence aerospace and warships will now be covered by
Industries (Development and Regulation) Act and will not require
any licence from the Commerce and Industry Ministry.
• Indian Coast Guards has deployed two new hovercrafts to
enhance its surveillance capabilities and to protect against any
filtration bids from the Pakistan Side. The two hovercrafts would
operate from the Jakhau facility in Gujrat.
• The Defence India Startup Challenge has been launched by the

Defence Innovation Organisation to boost innovations under
the Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) scheme. The
initiative has been launched with support from the Department
of Defence Production, Ministry of Defence, Atal Innovation
Mission and NITI Aayog.
• Saurabh Kumar has been appointed as the Director General of
Ordnance Factories (DGOF) and chairman of the Ordnance
Factory Board (OFB) in Kolkata.
• India-Myanmar bilateral army exercise, IMBEX 2018-19, has
begun at Chandimandir Military Station which houses the
headquarters of the Western Command.
• The appointment of Kumar Rajesh Chandra as the Director
General of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) has been approved by
the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet. As per the
notification, he would continue in the post up to 31.12.2021
i.e. date of his retirement on superannuation or until further
orders, whichever is earlier.
• The Union Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurated
the 426.60 m long Pre Stressed Concrete Box Girder type Diffo
bridge over Diffo river on Roing – Koronu- Paya road in
Arunachal Pradesh. The Diffo bridge will provide for
uninterrupted access between Dibang Valley and Lohit valley
region of Eastern Arunachal Pradesh together with providing
an all-weather road to our troops deployed on the China
border.
• The indigenously designed and developed Light Combat
Helicopter (LCH) of India has successfully carried out air-to-air
missile firing. It was for the first time in India that a helicopter
had carried out air to air missile engagement. The LCH
developed by HAL has completed all weapon integration tests
and is ready for operational induction. The operational trails of
LCH with 20 mm Turret gun and 70 mm rockets had been
completed last year itself.
• The Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Armoured
Systems Complex (ASC), developed by Larsen & Toubro (L&T)
at Hazira near Surat in Gujarat. This Armoured Systems
Complex (ASC) is the country’s first private facility where the K9
Vajra self-propelled Howitzer guns will be manufactured.
• The Union Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has
announced the decision to induct women in Personnel Below
Officer Rank, PBOR, role in Corps of Military Police. The women
will be inducted in a graded manner to eventually comprise
20% of total Corps of Military Police. Accordingly, the Army
chalked out induction of approximately 800 women in military
police with a yearly intake of 52 personnel per year.
• The Union Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurated
the Tamil Nadu Defence Industrial Corridor. During the
inauguration, investments worth over Rs 3,038 crore in this
defence corridor were announced. Lockheed Martin, a global
security giant, also announced its intention to invest in the
corridor.
• National Conference on Self Reliance in Defence Manufacturing
is organised at Hyderabad. The National Conference is being
held by Forum for Integrated National Security in association
with Indigenous Defence Entrepreneurs Association.
• The coast guards of India and Japan undertook disaster control,
search and rescue exercises off the coast of Yokohama in
Japan. India had hosted the Japanese ships for the exercise last
year and this time Japan is hosting the exercise. ICGS Shaunak
is the main Indian ship taking part in the drills.
• Indian Navy undertook a first of its kind multi-agency drill,
covering the entire 7,516 km-long Indian coastline and
exclusive economic zone and involving 13 coastal states and
Union Territories to check the efficacy of maritime security and
surveillance- Sea Vigil.
• Naval Air Station (NAS) Shibpur has been commissioned as INS
Kohassa. It is a step forward in enhancing the operational
capability of Andaman and Nicobar Command. NAS Shibpur
was commissioned as INS Kohassa by Chief of Naval Staff
Admiral Sunil Lanba.
• Indian Africa Field Training Exercise (IAFTX) will be held at
Aundh Military Station and College of Military Engineering,
Pune from 18 March to 27 March 2019. The modalities for the
IAFTEX were discussed in the conference held between 23-24
January 2019. The conference saw attendance from delegates
of Egypt, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, Sudan, South Africa,
Tanzania, Namibia, Mozambique, Uganda, Niger and Zambia.
• The Defence Acquisition Council headed by Defence Minister

Nirmala Sitharaman has approved the acquisition of the Rs
1,200 crore Milan-2T anti-tank missiles. While the requirement
was of 70,000 different types of anti-tank guided missiles
(ATGM) and 850 different launchers, the DAC has approved the
purchase of 5,000 Milan 2T anti-tank guided missiles from
France.
• India has successfully flight tested Long Range Surface-to-Air
Missile (LRSAM) from a warship off Odisha coast. The LRSAM
successfully destroyed a low flying aerial target. This paves way
for its deployment in the armed forces.
• The Interim Budget 2019 has increased the allocations to the
Defence Ministry by 6.87 per cent to Rs 3.18 lakh crore against
last year’s allocation of Rs 2.98 lakh crore.
• PM Narendra Modi laid Foundation Stone for the Sela Tunnel
Project in Arunachal Pradesh across Sela Pass. Sela Pass is a
high-altitude mountain pass located on the border between
the Tawang and West Kameng Districts of Arunachal Pradesh.
The pass connects Tawang for rest of India.
• The US President has approved the sale of two missile defence
systems for Air India One. The two missile defence systems
Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures (LAIRCAM) and Self-
Protection Suites (SPS) will enhance the security of planes
flying the prime minister and the president.
• The first batch of four Chinook military helicopters
manufactured by the American aerospace major Boeing has
arrived at the Mundra port in Gujarat. This first batch
consignment will be ferried to Chandigarh, where they will be
formally inducted into the Indian Air Force in 2019.
• India has successfully undertaken the demonstration of the
indigenously developed propulsion technology. The successful
demonstration of indigenous technology is a step forward in
the development of long-range air-to-air missiles.
• The United States and Thailand are hosting the multi-nation
Cobra military exercise this year. The exercise is taking place in
the northern Thai province of Phitsanulok. 10000 personnel, 29
nations are taking part as participants or observers.
• The Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) framework
under the Defence Ministry is envisaging setting up of
independent Defence Innovation Hubs (DIHs) where innovators
can get information about needs and feedback from the Armed
Services directly and create solutions for India’s major defence
platforms. Defence Innovation Hubs are aimed at attracting
more innovators to work for the defence sector in India.
• A mega exercise, EXERCISE VAYU SHAKTI-2019 involving 140
fighter jets and attack helicopters, in a firepower
demonstration was held close to the border with Pakistan at
Pokhran in Rajasthan.
• Indian Army on 12th February 2019 showcased its artillery
firepower by using ultra light Howitzers and indigenous Swathi
weapon-locating radar at the annual “Exercise Topchi”. The
exercise was held at Deolali Camp near Nashik. The aviation
and surveillance capabilities were also showcased.
• The Indian Air Force (IAF) has received the Final Operational
Clearance (FOC) standard certification for Light Combat Aircraft
(LCA) Tejas from Defence Research and Development
Organisation (DRDO). The DRDO’s FOC certification testifies the
combat-readiness of Tejas.
• The Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) has received clearance from
the Indian Army and the Ministry of Defence for production of
114 ‘Dhanush’ long-range artillery guns.
• US defence giant Lockheed Martin unveiled the F-21 multi-role
fighter jet at Asia’s biggest air show Aero India-2019. Lockheed
Martin will manufacture the plane in collaboration with Tata
Advanced Systems under India’s flagship programme Make in
India.
• The Aero India 2019 was inaugurated by Union Defence
Minister Nirmala Sitharaman at the Yelahanka Air Force Station
in Bengaluru. The Aero India 2019 will be held for 5 days from
February 20 to 24 and each day of the five day air show would
have a special theme. Day one would be Inaugural Day, the
theme for day two and three is Start-Up Day and Technology
Day respectively Day, Day four would be Women’s Day and day
five Public Day.
• Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has awarded French
aerospace and defence company Thales a contract to supply
135 2.75-inch (70-mm) rocket launchers. These certified, field-
proven, competitive rocket launchers are suitable for use on
both light and combat helicopters. The order is aimed to boost
the tactical capabilities of the Indian armed forces.
• The government has issued an order approving the entitlement
of air travel on Delhi-Srinagar, Srinagar-Delhi, Jammu-Srinagar
and Srinagar-Jammu sectors to all the personnel of the Central
Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) which includes their journey for
joining duty, transfer, tour or going on leave.

Defence Current Affairs 2019

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