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Showing posts from May, 2020

Indian Army, IAF helicopters and Indian Army troops evacuated crew in Sikkim

Immediately on receipt of information, on May 7 , Indian Army rescue columns with personnel of ITBPs too, moved on foot, traversing dangerous terrain in bad weather, to the helicopter landing site to evacuate the individuals and provide medical aid, for which a doctor of the ITBP also accompanied.                                          Image Source: IAF release    Guwahati: A combination of Indian Army and IAF helicopters and Indian Army troops were pressed into service to undertake a daring evacuation of the crew of IAF helicopters and Air Dispatch crew, stranded on the icy heights of North Sikkim due to an emergency landing of IAF helicopters in a remote and inaccessible area. P Khongsai Public Relation Officer (Defence) Guwahati stated, “Evacuation of the four IAF crew and Air Dispatch personnel from a super high altitude emergency landing site, braving snow blizzards and undulating ground, which required synergy between the helicopters and ground based rescue parties, stands test

Indian Navy Commissioned Its Seventh MK-IV Landing Craft Utility Ship

Lieutenant General PS Rajeshwar, PVSM, AVSM, VSM, ADC, Commander-in-Chief A&N Command, commissioned INLCU (Indian Navy Landing Craft Utility) L57 into the Indian Navy on 15 May 2020 at Port Blair. Indian Navy commissioned LCU 57. Indian Navy picture. INLCU L57 is the seventh Landing Craft Utility (LCU) MK-IV class to be inducted into the Indian Navy. The ship has been indigenously designed and built by M/s Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata. The commissioning of INLCU L57 is yet another manifestation of the country’s indigenous design and ship building capability.  The LCU MK-IV ship, is an amphibious vessel with a designated primary role of transporting and deploying Main Battle Tanks, Armoured Vehicles, troops and equipment from ship to shore. Based at the Andaman and Nicobar Command, these ships can be deployed for multirole activities like beaching operations, search and rescue, disaster relief operations, supply and replenishment and evacuation from distan

Indian Army Major Suman Gawani, Brazilian Navy officer share UN military gender award for women peacekeepers

This is for the first time that the prestigious United Nations Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award is being shared by two women. Major Suman Gawani and Brazilian Naval Officer Commander Carla Monteiro de Castro Araujo will receive the award during an online ceremony presided over by United Nations Secretary-General Guterres on May 29, the International Day of UN Peacekeepers. An Indian Army officer Major Suman Gawani and a Brazilian woman Commander Carla Monteiro de Castro Araujo have been selected for the prestigious United Nations Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award (2019). The woman peacekeeper were described as "powerful role models" by the UN Chief Antonio Guterres. This is for the first time that the prestigious United Nations Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award is being shared by two women. Major Suman Gawani and Brazilian Naval Officer Commander Carla Monteiro de Castro Araujo will receive the award during an online ceremony presided over by Unite

India-China face-off at Ladakh: Will troop buildup lead to Doklam 2.0?

Indian and Chinese armies rushed in additional troops in areas around Pangong Tso lake and Galwan Valley in Ladakh, signalling hardening of their aggressive posturing two weeks after they were engaged in a fierce face-off, military sources said on Wednesday.  Representative Image  It is learnt that the India's top military brass is constantly monitoring the evolving situation even as the US said the aggressive behaviour by Chinese troops was a reminder of the threat posed by China. "The flare-ups on the border, I think, are a reminder that Chinese aggression is not always just rhetorical. And so whether it's in the South China Sea or whether it's along the border with India, we continue to see provocations and disturbing behaviour by China," said Alice Wells, the outgoing head of the South and Central Asia bureau in the US State Department. Her comments at an online media briefing came even as efforts to de-escalate the tense situation in the sensitive areas conti

Indian Navy benefits from Pentagon paranoia over China

US government in a hurry to get new sub-hunting helicopters into the hands of the Indian Navy. Sailors assigned to the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville (CG 62) attach a training pallet to an MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter from the ship's flight deck during a vertical replenishment training exercise. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Sarah Myers) To say the Pentagon is concerned about China’s military expansion would be an understatement — just ask the Indian Navy. According to a report by Paul McLeary for Breaking Defense, the US government was in such a hurry to get sub-hunting helicopters into the hands of the Indian Navy that the Americans gave up some of their own helicopters to fill a rushed delivery early next year. “This really was one of the higher priorities the [Indian] navy had, to get these aircraft delivered,” Tom Kane, director of Sikorsky’s Naval Helicopter Programs told reporters last week. “I requested that the air

How to nail the NDA / NA exam in a month?

Study smart and crack the NDA in 30 days with these preparation hacks. Easy is perhaps the last word to strike one’s mind when thinking about the National Defence Academy exam. It is one of the toughest senior secondary level competitive examinations conducted to select competent individuals for admission into the prestigious National Defence Academy and Indian Naval Academy. Being conducted twice every year, the examination in its expanded form is also referred to as the NDA and NA exam. Union Service Commission (UPSC), the apex recruitment agency behind the NDA and NA examinations, has deferred the national level examination till further notice. The first session of the NDA 2020 examination was earlier scheduled to be held on April 19. Considering that the exam stands postponed due to the COVID-19 crisis, the UPSC might announce the new dates anytime after the lockdown is removed. Once the dates are out, and the NDA admit card is released, the aspirants may not get even a month’s tim

Congratulations Wing Commander Supriya Chaturvedi - a former student of Cavalier India on becoming the first permanently Commissioned Lady Officer in the IAF

It gives us immense pleasure and pride to announce that a former trainee at Cavalier India - Wing Commander Supriya Chaturvedi has made it to the pages of history, becoming the first lady officer in the Indian Air Force to be commissioned on a permanent basis.  The Supreme Court of India had permitted entry of women on the basis of permanent commission in the Indian armed forces.  We congratulate and wish Wing Commander Supriya all the very best for a bright, prosperous and colourful future ahead!!

The Indian Air Force pilot who became Top Gun

The story involves an Indian Air Force Pilot, Americans, Russians and a mystery woman Flying Officer Mervyn Pinto seated in a fighter plane at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada I was on summer vacation at my grandparent’s house in Pune when I first watched ‘Top Gun’. I remember being glued to the television, transfixed by Maverick fearlessly manoeuvring his plane through the sky while ‘Danger Zone’ blasted in the background. My grandmother was sitting by, sipping tea when she laughed and said, “Oh, I remember when your grandfather was Top Gun.” For a second, I thought I heard wrong. Did she just say my grandfather was Top Gun? “Yes, of course,” she said nonchalantly as she glared at Tom Cruise on screen with narrow eyes as if to say, “My husband did it better.”  To my grandfather’s irritation (“It was no big deal,” he grumbled), his old flying logbooks were pulled out and we sat around the dining table pouring over pictures from his days as a fighter pilot with the Indian Air Force.  My gr

Border brawl: China choppers were in air

Indian Air Force's Sukhoi 30 fighter aircraft  (File picture) Two helicopters of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army hovered close to the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh on May 5 and Indian Air Force fighter jets had also been airborne at the same time during a face-off between soldiers near the Pangong lake, sources in the army headquarters said on Tuesday. The latest revelations come at a time there has been an escalation in tension in pockets of the disputed frontier. “The Indian Air Force is regularly carrying out sorties of its Sukhoi 30 fighter aircraft in the Ladakh sector amid the simmering tension with China in the region. During the face-off last week, two Chinese choppers had come close to the border but there was no air space violation. The IAF’s Sukhoi 30 fighter jets were also airborne at the same time but it was routine flying and not in response to Chinese helicopters,” a source said. Chinese PLA Choppers Spotted Near LAC; IAF Rushes Fighter Jets To Ladakh

Indian Navy Continues Citizen Repatriation Operations

Response team preparing for disembarkation, INS Jalashwa, Kochi, May 17 (Indian Navy) The Indian Navy's amphibs are continuing operations to repatriate stranded Indian nationals from abroad, including citizens remaining in the Maldives.  The amphib INS Jalashwa entered Kochi harbour on Sunday morning, concluding her second voyage to bring back Indian citizens from the central port of Male in the Maldives. The ship disembarked 588 Indian citizens, including 70 women (of whom six are pregnant) and 21 children at Cochin Port Trust's Samudrika Cruise Terminal. INS Jalashwa berthed alongside at 1130 hours and was received by personnel from Indian Navy, the port and the state and national governments. Port officials made prior arrangements for streamlining the process of COVID-19 screening and immigration procedures. The civil administration is also providing transportation for the evacuated Indian nationals to their respective districts and states for post-arrival quarantine. INS Ja