Defence Scan By Air Mshl PK Roy (Retd)

General Officer Commanding of 15 Corps Lieutenant General KJS Dhillon, in a press conference held on April 24, 2019, along with Jammu and Kashmir D G Police Dilbagh Singh intimated that the Indian Army has eliminated 41 terrorists after the February 14, 2019 Pulwama attack—25 of these were from Jaish-E-Mohammad, 13 of them were Pakistanis. Elaborating on the achievements of the year, he also intimated that this year, a total of 69 terrorists have been killed and 12 apprehended. He assured that the operations would continue with full vigour and armed forces would not let terrorism rise up to a level enjoyed by them earlier

Indian Navy’s Commanders’ Conference—2019 was held from April 23 to 25. Defence Minister Smt Nirmala Sitharaman reviewed the security challenges faced by the country. The themes of conference— ‘Functional Reorganisation of Indian Navy towards improving Operational Efficiency’ and ‘Optimal Manning’ formed the core of discussions. The conference under the Chairmanship of the Chief of the Naval Staff reviewed major operational, materiel, logistics, HR, training and administrative activities undertaken during the previous six months and deliberated upon the course to be steered in the ensuing six months.

As per media reports, IAF has recommended Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman for the gallantry award Vir Chakra (war time) for shooting down a Pakistani F-16 aircraft during the aerial combat on February 27, 2019. It is the third highest gallantry award in the armed forces during the times of war.

On April 24, 20019, the Indian Coast Guard commissioned its seventh interceptor vessel ICGS C-441 at the Vizhnjam harbour. The Chief Secretary of Mr Tom Jose, commissioned the vessel in a ceremonial function hosted under the aegis of Regional Commander Western Region, Inspector General Vijay D. Chafekar. The function was witnessed by senior officers from Army, Navy, Air Force, BSF, Police, Airport Authority, Central & State Authorities and National Cadet Corps. This new vessel is expected to enhance the Indian Coast Guard’s search and rescue capabilities in the southern sector. The commissioned ship, ICG C-441 is capable of undertaking a multitude of tasks like close coast surveillance, interdiction, search and rescue, and rendering assistance to boats and crafts under distress at sea. The ship will be commanded by Assistant Commandant Amit K. Choudhary.

To alleviate the challenges and sufferings of some of the critically injured ANA soldiers, Shri Vinay Kumar, Ambassador of India presented 100 motorized wheelchairs to the ANA. Indian commitment towards extending support to the ANA is personnel is borne by the fact that till date it has trained 4880 ANA personnel in various professional, educational and military training programs, including training ANA doctors and medical technicians. The Ministry of Defence press release has said that India remains committed to further strengthening the strategic relationship between the Indian Army and the ANA.

Defence Minister Smt Nirmala Sitharaman, while speaking at the Vivekananda International Foundation recently said that defence attaches in Indian missions abroad have been asked to report and discuss with the defence ministry on the latest defence purchases across the world and potential export opportunities for India in this. She added that such reporting by the attaches will help the officials involved in purchasing new defence equipment. The Defence Minister had already addressed over 40 Defence attaches during the defence expo/ Aero India-2019 on their need to be involved in promoting Make in India in the defence sector.

Media reports indicate that the 255-km long Darbuk-Shayok-Daulat Beg Oldie section of the road from Leh to Karakoram Pass, consisting about 37 bridges has been completed. This strategically located road would provide the Indian Armed Forces with an all-weather road access to north-eastern Ladakh. The road from Darbuk onwards passes through the Karakoram mountain range at an altitude of above 14,000 feet helping the Indian Army to dominate the Line of Actual Control in general area around the Aksai Chin as well as help in its rapid deployment. As per reports the earlier project to build such a road could not be completed as the road alignment along the Shyok river was getting washed away. It had to be re-aligned to avoid being close to the river.

The Portuguese Minister of National Defence, JOÃO GOMES CRAVINHO paid an official visit to India to strengthen defence cooperation, particularly in the fields of training and defence production. The visit began with an homage at the National War Memorial followed by a Guard of Honour wherein the Indian Defence Minister was also present. This was followed by a delegation level meeting to enhance defence and military ties between two countries. The visit ended with a meeting with the Chief of Integrated Defence Staff. In 2017, the two countries have signed a MoU on Co-operation which envisaged their intention to hold high-level meetings, naval exercises, establishment of exchanges in training and research.