The fourth phase of Sea Trials for IAC has been successfully completed on July 10, 2022, during which integrated trials of majority of equipment and systems onboard including some of the Aviation Facilities Complex equipment were undertaken. The ship’s delivery is being targeted in end July 2022, followed by commissioning of the ship in August 2022 to commemorate ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’. The Indigenous design and construction of Aircraft Carrier by Indian Navy and Cochin Shipyard Ltd is a shining example in the Nation’s quest for ‘Aatma Nirbhar Bharat’ and ‘Make in India Initiative’ with more than 76 per cent indigenous content. Maiden Sea Trials of IAC were successfully completed in August 2021. This was followed by second and third phases of Sea Trials in October 2021 and January 2022 respectively.
ISRO DEVELOPS SATELLITE FOR BHUTAN
ISRO Chairman said that the engineers of India’s premier space agency and Bhutan government have developed a small satellite and Bhutanese engineers are being trained for using it. India has been working closely with the government of Bhutan in the area of space cooperation, and in August 2019 both Prime Ministers had inaugurated the Ground Earth Station of South Asia Satellite (SAS) in Thimphu jointly. In 2017, the SAS was launched by India as a gift to the countries in South Asia Region including Afghanistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives and the Ground Earth Station has been constructed with the support of ISRO. The SAS is expected to have a positive impact on the socio-economic development of Bhutan in areas including communication and disaster management. Therefore, as a special gift to the people of that country, India has offered to increase bandwidth on an additional transponder as per Bhutan’s requirements.
ARMY TO CONDUCT TRIALS OF AI ENABLED UNMANNED ALL-TERRAIN VEHICLES IN LADAKH
Army will be conducting trials of indigenously developed AI-enabled, unmanned all-terrain vehicles in Ladakh for surveillance and logistics operations. Trials will also be held in deserts in Rajasthan before the final product is selected. One of the vehicles under consideration has been developed by the Kalyani Group that runs on both batteries and motors. The vehicle was one of the 75 products that were on display at the defence ministry’s first AI symposium in Delhi Monday.
ARMY RAISES ITS FIRST LIGHT COMBAT HELICOPTER SQUADRON
On June 1, 2022, Army raised its first Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) squadron at Bangalore. Seven LCH units are planned, each having 10 helicopters for combat roles in the mountains.
‘SAIF SEAS’ DELIVERS 50
Remote-Operated Buoy TO NAVY
According to inputs provided by Taher Calcuttawala, co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of ‘SAIF Seas’ to Janes during the East Tech 2022 held in Kolkata, ‘SAIF Seas’ has delivered 50 “remote-operated buoys” to the Indian Navy, which can be used for rescue and surveillance operations. 50 more will be delivered by the end of this year. It is designed for rescue and can be customised for various other missions by fitting it with additional equipment. n
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