Cavalier India Defence Training Academy

Lloyd Austin said he will continue elevating the US's defence partnership with India. Lloyd Austin. Photo: Reuters Washington: The objective of the incoming Joe Biden administration is to continue elevating the US’s defence partnership with India, the new defence secretary nominee told lawmakers. “If confirmed, my overarching objective for our defence relationship with India would be to continue elevating the partnership,” retired General Lloyd Austin told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee during his confirmation hearing on Tuesday. President-elect Joe Biden has nominated him as his defence secretary. “I would further operationalise India’s ‘major defence partner’ status and continue to build upon existing strong defence cooperation to ensure the US and Indian militaries can collaborate to address shared interests,” Austin said in response to a question submitted before his confirmation hearing. He said he would also seek to deepen and broaden the defence cooperation b...

INS Mysore, which made stellar contributions during the Western Fleet Operations of 1971 War. The Southern Naval Command (SNC) headquartered at Kochi, in Kerala will kick start a series of events in the following weeks to commemorate the 50th anniversary of India’s victory in the 1971 War against Pakistan. This year is being celebrated as the "Swarnim Vijay Varsh" (Golden anniversary year) as the SNC's is set to roll out several events that are lined up between December 4 to December 16. According to a Naval Command release, the series of events lined up for December 4 – Navy Day have been collectively titled as ‘Navy Week 2020 with the theme ‘Indian Navy – Combat ready, Credible and Cohesive’ Navy Week 2020, started with an environment and afforestation drive as it has ‘Navy to Earth 2020’ as its theme. The Indian Navy Day, which is celebrated on December 4 to commemorate " Operation Trident", launched by the Indian Navy in the Bay of Bengal , the Arabian ...

India had earmarked 200 military personnel, including 180 soldiers from an infantry battalion and observers from the IAF and the Navy, to take part in the exercise, Kavkaz-2020.    ( Representative image | Zee News) India on Saturday withdrew from a multilateral military exercise — Kavkaz-2020 — that was scheduled to be held in southern Russia next month as it did not want to perform drills with Chinese soldiers amid tensions at the Line of Actual Control (LAC), ThePrint has learnt. The decision was taken after a high-level military and diplomatic meeting, sources in the defence and security establishment said.  India had planned to send 200 military personnel, including 180 soldiers from an infantry battalion and observers from the IAF and the Navy, to take part in the exercise, also known as Caucasus-20.   The exercise is to be held in the Astrakhan province of southern Russia between 15 and 27 September, and other participants include Pakistan, among other me...

Jammu and Kashmir Police and security forces on Wednesday gunned down two terrorists, including LeT commander Naseer-u-din Lone, in an encounter in Ganipora Kralgund area of Kashmir's Handwara district. Represent ative  A day after security forces gunned down a top Lashkar-e-Toiba commander in Baramulla, another terrorist of the Pakistan-based outfit has been killed. Jammu and Kashmir Police and security forces on Wednesday gunned down two terrorists, including LeT commander Naseer-u-din Lone, in an encounter in Ganipora Kralgund area of Kashmir's Handwara district. Naseer-u-din Lone was involved in the killing of three CRPF jawans at Sopore on April 18 and three CRPF jawans at Handwara on May 4, earlier this year, IGP Kashmir Vijay Kumar said. Wednesday's encounter had broken out at around 9.30 pm. A joint team of J&K Police and security forces gunned down two terrorists by 10.15 pm, one of whom was later identified as LeT commander Naseer-u-din Lone. "LeT comman...

For the first time in history, Indian Army has deployed female soldiers for internal security and combat duties near the line of control with Pakistan, reports TOI.    Zee News   The women platoon is from paramilitary force Assam Rifles and has been stationed in the Tangdhar sector of north Kashmir. These 30 woman soldiers are led by Captain Gursimran Kaur of the Army Service Corps (ASC), who is a third-generation military officer of her family. “Deployed at security checkpoints leading to the LoC, the women soldiers are also being used for crowd control and frisking of women because there are intelligence inputs of weapons and drugs being smuggled across,” TOI quoted the officer as saying. The Indian Army has been recruiting women in small numbers but only as officers till now. Women are also not a part of ‘fighting arms’ of infantry, armoured corps, mechanised infantry and artillery. Incredible! Indian Army Riflewomen deployed for the first time along Line of Control be...

India’s last outpost at Daulet Beg Oldi DBO lies at a height of 16,000 feet just south of Karakoram pass and on banks of Chip-Chap river, north of the Galwan-Shyok confluence. India has moved 12 T-90 tanks, armoured personnel carriers and 4,000 soldiers to Daulat Beg Oldi to prevent any Chinese aggression With the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) deploying close to 50,000 troops in Aksai Chin, the Indian Army for the first time has deployed a squadron (12) T-90 missile firing tanks, armoured personnel carriers (APCs) and a full troop brigade (4,000 men) at Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO) to prevent any Chinese aggression from the Shaksgam-Karakoram pass axis, according to top military commanders familiar with the matter. India’s last outpost at Daulet Beg Oldi DBO lies at a height of 16,000 feet just south of Karakoram pass and on banks of Chip-Chap river, north of the Galwan-Shyok confluence. As some bridges on the Darbuk-Shyok-DBO road cannot handle the weight of a 46 ton T-90 tank, the ...

As part of a broader offensive against India and Western rivals, Pakistan and China have entered a secret three-year agreement to expand potential bio-warfare capabilities, including several research projects related to the deadly agent anthrax, the Klaxon reported citing multiple intelligence sources. China has been criticised for handling of coronavirus pandemic with speculations that disease could have emerged from Wuhan Institute of Virology, though most experts have discounted the theory. According to the report authored by Anthony Klan, the same lab has signed the covert deal with Pakistan military's Defense Science and Technology Organization (DESTO), to collaborate research in "emerging infectious diseases" and advance studies on the biological control of transmitted diseases.  Representative Image As per the intelligence sources cited by The Klaxon, they have serious concerns about the covert project which involves China testing biological agents outside its bord...

There is finally some good news in Eastern Ladakh with the mutual disengagement of Indian and Chinese soldiers from the areas of Galwan and Hot Springs. The contentious areas of Pangong Tso and Depsang are yet to be addressed, but with the stalemate along the border having been broken, the differences between the two sides can be narrowed. Irrespective of how the current crisis plays out, it carries one major lesson. Our strategic differences with China will come into sharper focus as China grows more powerful and assertive, and this competition could increasingly play out along the unsettled Line of Actual Control (LAC). The brutality of the clash at Galwan on June 15 has demolished the existing protocols and agreements that guided the conduct of soldiers, and we could see a hotter LAC in the coming years. Indo Tibetan Border Police Jawans at a parade in Chandigarh Dealing with China in the future will require a comprehensive strategy that combines our diplomatic, economic, and milita...

China is frustrated with India in Ladakh because a journey that used to take 16 to 18 days for the Indian Army to reach the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in 1962 takes just a day today. President of Ex-Services League Ladakh Region, Retired Subedar Major honorary Captain Sonam Murup while recalling his days in Ladakh Scouts Regiment of the Indian Army, told IANS that Indian defence is no longer what it used to be in 1962. Representative Image "There were deficiencies during the 1962 war and we lost our land, but now the Indian Army, Air Force and Navy are now fully trained, armed and equipped. But more than that, now we have roads, bridges and other infrastructure which we did not have earlier," the retired soldier said. Disapproving the "Hindi-Chini bhai bhai" (Indian-Chinese brothers) slogan, which was popular before the 1962 war, Murup said, "We will not say it anymore. Instead, all the soldiers will raise only ''Bharat Mata ki Jai'' (Mother I...

The 13-lakh strong Army has directed all its officers and soldiers to delete their Facebook and Instagram accounts as well as 89 apps from their mobile phones by July 15. Indian Army has asked its personnel to delete 89 apps from their smartphones including Facebook, TikTok, Truecaller and Instagram to plug leakage of information: Indian Army Sources pic.twitter.com/l23Lu5ndNh — ANI (@ANI) July 8, 2020 Citing security considerations and leakage of sensitive data, the Army said those who do not follow the order will face strict action. The outlawed apps include the 59 ones with Chinese links, including TikTok, which were banned by the Union government recently. "The directive has been issued because there has been an exponential increase in the number of military personnel being targeted online by intelligence agencies of Pakistan and China," said an officer. The Army in November last year had also directed its personnel to avoid the use of WhatsApp for official work, while a...

Representative Image China is livid after the US stepped in on Wednesday evening to delay a draft press statement condemning the terrorist attack at the Karachi Stock Exchange at the UN Security Council. The US was the second country after Germany to delay the statement, both silent expressions of solidarity with New Delhi, after the Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and later PM Imran Khan blamed India for the attack. The press statement, drafted by China, in addition to expressing condolence and solidarity with Pakistan government, said, “The members of the Security Council underlined the need to bring perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism to justice and urged all States, in accordance with their obligations under international law and relevant Security Council resolutions, to cooperate actively with the Government of Pakistan and all other relevant authorities in this regard.” China introduced the statement on Tuesday...

China and India have accused each other of provoking fighting in which both sides have suffered severe casualties in a disputed Himalayan area. India and China have been locked in a border dispute for decades The Indian army said that both sides suffered casualties, but there has been no word on numbers from China yet. Tuesday's battle was reportedly fought with rocks and clubs. However, no shots were fired. The Indian army said a number of its troops "were critically injured in the line of duty". The statement goes on to note that the injured soldiers were also "exposed to sub-zero temperatures in the high altitude terrain ". An extraordinary escalation 'with rocks and clubs' Monday's confrontation in the Ladakh region was the first deadly clash in the border area in at least 45 years. India said China had tried to "unilaterally change the status quo". Beijing accused Indian troops of "attacking Chinese personnel". The two armies...

Pakistani fighter jet(File photo) Photo Credit:ANI India is keeping a close eye on the ongoing Pakistan Air Force war games code-named 'High Mark' involving its fighter and other aircraft fleets. The wargames are being held over Pakistan air space and a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) had been issued by the Pakistan Air Force to inform about its aerial drills, government sources told ANI. A close watch is being kept on their activities by the Indian Air Force as the Pakistani jets have been carrying out different manoeuvres including night-time flying by its combat aircraft including Chinese JF-17, F-16s, and Mirage-3s, sources said. The Pakistani aircraft also have been practising drills like defending against night-time raids like the Balakot aerial strikes by the Indian Air Force in February last year, they said. The Pakistani jets also flew extensively over Karachi city last night in practice missions. Last month also, Pakistan had started flying night time sorties anticipating a ...

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....

India celebrates the 106th birth anniversary of Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, one of the greatest military leader of the country, today i.e April 3, 2020. Field Marshal Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw was the eighth chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army. He was the brain behind India’s victory in the 1971 war with Pakistan. Field Marshal Manekshaw is one of the most celebrated generals of the Army. He was the first Field Marshal of the Indian Army.  Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw (Photo Credits: Twitter)  He was born in Amritsar and did his schooling from Sherwood College, Nainital. Manekshaw was one of the pioneers of the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehradun. Field Marshal Manekshaw joined the Indian Military Academy (IMA) on October 1, 1932, and was commissioned into the British Indian Army as the Second Lieutenant in 1934. During the World War II Manekshaw was awarded Military Cross for his gallantry. After independence in 1947, he was reassigned to the 8th Gorkha R...