Cavalier India Defence Training Academy

Officials say efforts were made to speed up deal; dismiss CAATSA concerns The delivery schedule for the S-400 long range air defence systems was on track for the end of 2021 despite the COVID-19 pandemic, a senior defence official said.  “The deal is on track and deliveries are expected to begin by November this year,” the official said.  Two officials independently stated that efforts were made to speed up the deal but the Russian side had conveyed this was not possible. Two official sources, also speaking independently, dismissed concerns over possible U.S. sanctions on the deal under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), stating this deal met national security considerations.  In October 2018, India had signed a $5.43 billion deal with Russia for five S-400 regiments despite objections from the U.S., with deliveries scheduled to begin end 2021.  U.S. officials on several occasions raised concerns over the deal as India deepened its d...

The US has urged India to refrain from military transactions with Russia, saying that there is no blanket waiver under its Sanctions Act for the recent S-400 missile system purchase, in the first detailed comments on the tricky issue after the Biden administration has come to power. Speaking ahead of the Aero India summit in Bengaluru, the head of the US delegation has said India is an important and trusted partner for Indo-Pacific security and Washington DC is keen to work with India to develop key capabilities in the quest for self-reliance. On the S-400 issue — India has ordered the Russian surface to air missile system with deliveries expected towards the end of this year — US charged’affaires Don Heflin said there is a provision for case-by-case waiver of sanctions but no assurance has been given to India. “We urge all of our allies and partners to forego transactions with Russia that risk triggering sanctions under the countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act pa...

Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) has published video footage of production and flight of the first serial Su-57 fifth generation multipurpose fighter jet. During the Single commissioning day, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu was told that the plane has already been produced and handed over to the Ministry of Defense within the contract on shipment of 76 machines. The corporation disclosed that the Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Plant continues to prepare and deploy serial production of the plane. Starting in 2021, the corporation intends to increase the production rate of planes of this type.

Russia said Friday it welcomed a proposal by US President Joe Biden to extend New START, a landmark nuclear arms reduction agreement due to expire next month. Representative Image The accord is the last arms control agreement between the former Cold War rivals but negotiations to extend it had faltered under Biden's predecessor Donald Trump. "We can only welcome the political will to extend this document," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. Peskov added however that any decision to extend the pact would depend on "the details of the proposal" from Washington. He said Moscow needed more time to study the US administration's offer. White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Thursday that the US would lobby for a five-year extension to the pact. She said the extension was needed now more than ever given "adversarial" ties between Russia and the United States. Peskov noted that previous conditions for the extension of the accord ...

This batch of Rafale fighters will be the third set of deliveries of the French-origin aircraft to the Indian Air Force. Rafale combat aircraft at the Air Force Station in Ambala The Indian Air Force’s solitary Rafale squadron will add more muscle with the arrival of at least three more fighter jets in January, a shot in the arm for the IAF that is grappling with a shortage of combat planes, people familiar with developments said on Saturday on the condition of anonymity. This batch of Rafale fighters will be the third set of deliveries of the French-origin aircraft to the air force, which has ordered a total of 36 warplanes (equivalent of two squadrons) at a cost of Rs 59,000 crore. “At least three Rafale jets will arrive in India next month. The dates are still being worked out. The planes will be flown to Jamnagar from France without a stopover on the way. Refuelling support will be provided by Indian and French tankers,” the people said. The jets were ordered from France in Septem...

In a major boost for the surveillance capabilities of Indian Air Force along the borders with China and Pakistan, DRDO is making six new ‘Made in India’ planes. These would be built on passenger aircraft flying with Air India. In a major boost for the surveillance capabilities of Indian Air Force along the borders with China and Pakistan, DRDO is making six new ‘Made in India’ planes. These would be built on passenger aircraft flying with Air India. “As per the plans the six new aircraft would be made in India by the DRDO and would be provided to the Air Force in the Rs 10,500 crore project which is expected to be cleared soon at the topmost level.” The six new aircraft would be known as the Airborne Early Warning and Control Block 2 planes that would be better equipped than their predecessor NETRA plane and provide 360-degree coverage deep inside the enemy territory during missions, said officials. To build the AEW&C system on the existing aircraft from the Air India fleet, th...

Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests. CONTEXT Russia has called the four-nation quadrilateral strategic dialogue or Quad as a “devious policy” by western powers to engage India in “anti-China games” . What’s the issue? It expressed concerns about the U.S. Indo-Pacific policy and criticised the Quad. Also, for the first time it has suggested that India-Russia ties could be affected by it. What are Russia’s concerns? India has become an object of the western countries’ persistent, aggressive and devious policy as they are trying to engage it in anti-China games by promoting Indo-Pacific strategies, the so-called “Quad”. At the same time the West is attempting to undermine Russia’s close partnership and privileged relations with India. This is the goal of the U.S.’s very tough pressure on New Delhi in the MTC (Military and Technical Co-operation) area. The incoming Biden administration is also expected to press hard...

CONTEXT Vietnam has invited India for ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting-Plus (ADMM Plus) being hosted by Vietnam in December 2020. About ADMM- Plus Consistent with the ADMM guiding principles of open and outward looking, the 2nd ADMM in Singapore in 2007 adopted the Concept Paper to establish the ADMM-Plus. The ADMM-Plus is a platform for ASEAN and its eight Dialogue Partners to strengthen security and defence cooperation for peace, stability, and development in the region. Eight Dialogue Partners are Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Russia and the USA (collectively referred to as the “Plus Countries” ). Agreed five areas of practical cooperation under this mechanism are: Maritime security, counter-terrorism, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, peacekeeping operations and military medicine. In 2013, a new priority area of humanitarian mine action was agreed.

One of the key principles guiding the BRICS since inception is that member countries do not cross each other’s “red lines” and follow the general “club” principle of not publicizing members’ disagreements. The BRICS leaders at the tenth summit held in South Africa in 2018 The main challenge ahead of the BRICS is not procedural nor bureaucratic, but to continue to lead with innovative thinking and practical responses to some of the most pressing development challenges of our time. The 12th BRICS Summit on November 17 will be a test for the grouping under Russia’s helm. Since the creation of the BRICS in 2009, the five countries have strengthened their participation in the world economy. Pushed by China and India, the total BRICS GDP amounted to 25% of global GDP (US$21 trillion) and BRICS share in international trade stood at almost 20% (US$6.7 trillion) in 2020. Over the past five years, intra-BRICS exports grew by 45% and the share of intra-BRICS exports in total BRICS internationa...

As per the new peace deal, both sides will now maintain positions in the areas that they currently hold, which will mean a significant gain for Azerbaijan. Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia have signed an agreement to end military conflict over the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. On November 10,  Russia brokered a new peace deal between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the two countries that have been in a military conflict for over six weeks over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh in the South Caucasus . During the course of the conflict, considered one of the most serious in recent years, over 1200 have lost their lives as per the Nagorno-Karabakh authorities, while thousands have been displaced. The deal, which is meant to end the conflict between the two nations, was signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin , Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev and Armenian prime minister Nikol Pashinyan . Since the conflict started in September, multiple ceasefire agreements have been signe...

The measure is a deliberate, unfriendly step, says Kremlin . Alexei Navalny | Photo Credit: AP The move came a day after Russia’s Foreign Minister warned that Moscow might respond with similar measures The European Union on Thursday imposed sanctions on six Russian officials and one organisation over the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny with a Soviet-era nerve agent . The move came a day after Russia’s Foreign Minister warned that Moscow might respond with similar measures. The decision was agreed upon among the 27 EU envoys to Brussels. The adopted restrictive measures consist of a travel ban to the EU and an asset freeze for individuals, and an asset freeze for the entity,” the EU said in a statement. The list includes two high level officials in the Presidential Executive Office, a director of the federal security service and two deputy ministers in the Russian defense ministry. The EU is also targeting the State Scientific Research Institute for Organic Chemi...

 The Indian Navy has conducted exercises with Russia and ‘Quad’ countries - an informal security forum comprising India (Representative image) The Indian Navy has conducted exercises with Russia and 'Quad' countries - an informal security forum comprising India, the US, Japan and Australia - in a message to China on getting a wider footprint in the Indo-Pacific region. The Indo-Pacific region is seen from the west coast of India to the US. The Indian Navy carried out a three-day bilateral maritime exercise with Japan in the north Arabian Sea from September 26, 2020 to September 28, 2020. It was the fourth edition of India-Japan Maritime bilateral exercise JIMEX, which is conducted biennially. The last edition of JIMEX was conducted in October 2018 off Visakhapatnam in India. Naval cooperation between India and Japan has increased in scope and complexity over the years. Advanced level of operations and exercises took place during three days. It is indicative of the continued ups...

India on Monday entered the elite missile club joining United States, Russia and China after it successfully flight tested hypersonic technology that will pave the way towards development of missiles travelling at six times the speed of sound. DRDO has successfully demonstrated the Hypersonic air-breathing scramjet technology with the flight test of Hypersonic Technology Demonstration Vehicle (HSTDV).( Image Source : DRDO INSTAGRAM ) India on Monday entered the elite missile club joining United States, Russia and China after it successfully flight tested hypersonic technology that will pave the way towards development of missiles travelling at six times the speed of sound. With this successful demonstration, the country has become the member of the hypersonic regime. This is a step towards manufacture of advanced Hypersonic Vehicles. India becomes 4th country to test hypersonic missile technology: All you need to know India has joined United States, Russia and China to test hypersonic ...

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...