INDIAN ARMED FORCES CHIEFS ON
OUR RELENTLESS AND FOCUSED PUBLISHING EFFORTS

SP's MAI - Issue No. 1-2 | January 1-31, 2016

Issue Features

• 

  SP'S EXCLUSIVE
  Army gets taste of Airbus A400M

  The Indian Army is getting its first taste of the Airbus A400M multirole transport aircraft at Jaisalmer air force base, with the French Army contingent for Exercise Shakti 2016...

• 

  SP'S EXCLUSIVE
  Saras headed for project cancellation?

  Six years after a fatal crash of the second prototype aircraft, the Saras light civil aircraft programme could be headed for closure if sources are to be believed.

• 

  SP'S EXCLUSIVE
  Indian Army for new 30mm ammunition for infantry vehicles

  In what could be one of the largest recent stock procurements of new generation ammunition, the Army has published fresh interest.

• 

  SP'S EXCLUSIVE
  Stealthy push for nonstealth drones at DRDO

  With DRDO’s Rustom-II MALE UAV still to take to the air, work is currently gathering pace to provide the platform with greater low-observability features.

• 

  SP'S EXCLUSIVE
  New assault rifle push for IAF Garud squads

  The Indian Air Force is learnt to have pegged up interest in its three-year hunt for new assault rifles for its special units (Garud), that should be compact, foldable, easy to carry, handle, operate, simple to maintain and with high range.

• 

  MILITARY / INTERVIEW
  'Our security response system needs to encompass the entire spectrum of conflict'

  On January 6, 2016, Lt General V.K. Kapoor (Retd), Senior Technical Group Editor of SP’s M.A.I., interviewed the Chief of the Army Staff General Dalbir Singh in his office in South Block.

• 

  AEROSPACE / REPORT
  Finalise the Rafale contract
  By Air Marshal B.K. Pandey (Retd)

  Delay in conclusion of the contract for Rafale jets will only lead to delay in the delivery schedule of the aircraft which in turn will aggravate problems for the IAF.

• 

  INTERNAL SECURITY / VIEWPOINT
  Internal security — New department or ministry?
  By Lt General P.C. Katoch (Retd)

  Prime Minister Modi has viewed with concern the failure to act on specific intelligence input about a possible attack on the Pathankot airbase and appalled at the lack of coordination between various government agencies during the attack.

• 

  CORPORATE
  UTC appoints Robert Leduc as President of Pratt & Whitney

  United Technologies Corporation (UTC) recently announced the appointment of Robert Leduc as President of Pratt & Whitney.

• 

  MILITARY / REPORT
  Modernisation Through ‘Make in India’ — COAS
  By Ranjeet Kumar

  The acquisition process has been prioritised and has been divided into three categories: First is Critical, second is Important and third is Essential.

• 

  AEROSPACE
  Russia organising production of Ka-226T in India

  After over a decade of competitions, at least two of which were subsequently cancelled for irregularities, India has signed an agreement with Russia to co-produce at least 200 Kamov Ka-226T light helicopters.

• 

  INTERNAL SECURITY / BREACHES
  Another intruder arrested at Chris Brown's home

  Chris Brown’s home Another crazy fan has been arrested after invading Chris Brown’s $4.5-million mansion in Tarzana, Los Angeles, on December 22...making it the third home intrusion in 2015!

• 

  CORPORATE
  Prime Minister lays foundation stone for HAL's new helicopter manufacturing facility

  The Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for HAL’s new Helicopter Manufacturing Facility at Biderehalla Kaval, Gubbi Taluk...

• 

  MILITARY / VIEWPOINT
  MoD — ‘Bad’ is putting it mildly
  By Lt General P.C. Katoch (Retd)

  MoD is directly and wholly responsible for the pathetic state of the governmental...

• 

  AEROSPACE
  Air Marshal Bhadauria takes over as DCAS of Indian Air Force

  Air Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria took over as Deputy Chief of the Air Staff recently. He is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy and was commissioned in the IAF in June 1980.

• INTERNAL SECURITY / BREACHES
  Police investigating security breach at JFK Airport

  The Port Authority Police are trying to figure out who was behind a security breach at John F. Kennedy International Airport in December 2015.

• 

  MILITARY / VIEWPOINT
  French President Guest of Honour at Republic Day
  By Lt General P.C. Katoch (Retd)

  France is one of the largest suppliers of nuclear fuel to India and a major supplier of military equipment including Mirage 2000 fighter aircraft and Scorpene submarines.

• 

  AEROSPACE
  Central Air Command gets its new AOC-in-C

  Air Marshal S.B.P. Sinha took over as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Central Air Command on January 1, 2016. All the Principal Staff Officers (PSO) of Central Air Command along with spouses were present on the occasion.

• INTERNAL SECURITY / BREACHES
  Celebrities' e-mail accounts hacked

  A 23-year-old Bahamian has been arrested and charged with hacking into the e-mail accounts of 130 celebrities and stealing the unreleased movie and TV scripts, sex tapes, explicit images and even the upcoming album...

• 

  MILITARY / VIEWPOINT
  Critical skies — Anyone bothered?
  By Lt General P.C. Katoch (Retd)

  CAG’s stinging indictment should serve as a much-needed wake-up call for the politico-bureaucratic combine as well as armed forces to undertake long-term strategic planning to build military capabilities in a systematic and cost-effective manner, with timely decision making and proper follow-through.

• AEROSPACE
  Rafale contract in Qatar comes into force

  The contract for the purchase of 24 Rafale aircraft by Qatar came into force on December 17, 2015. Signed in Doha on May 4, 2015, in the company of His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Emir of the State of Qatar...

• 

  MILITARY / VIEWPOINT
  Terrorist attack at Pathankot
  By Air Marshal B.K. Pandey (Retd)

  For Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the latest terrorist attack at Pathankot has emerged as a major challenge to his initiative to revive dialogue with Pakistan.

• 

  MILITARY / SPOTLIGHT
  President of India at Mceme Convocation

  Pranab Mukherjee, the President of India, was the chief guest at the 88th Convocation Ceremony of the Military College of Electronics and Mechanical Engineering (MCEME)...

• 

  MILITARY
  Commissioning of INS Kadmatt

  INS Kadmatt, second ship of Project 28 (P28) class anti-submarine warfare (ASW) corvettes, was commissioned into the Indian Navy by the Chief of Naval Staff at Naval Dockyard, Visakhapatnam.

• MILITARY
  Amendments to offset guidelines

  The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has initiated various policy measures to address the concerns of the industry for ease of doing business.

• MILITARY
  Successful conduct of LRSAM firing by Indian Navy

  The Indian Navy has achieved a significant milestone in enhancing its anti-air warfare capability with the maiden firing of its newly developed long-range surface-to-air missile (LRSAM).