News Analysis India

Tag: Indian Army

  • Indian Army gun down terrorist in J&K’s Uri, another surrenders

    By ANI

    URI (Jammu & Kashmir): One terrorist was neutralised by the Indian Army in the Uri sector, Jammu and Kashmir, while another surrendered during the operation, said sources on Tuesday.

    Further details are awaited.

    Meanwhile, the Jammu and Kashmir Police arrested two terrorist associates in Pulwama and busted a terrorist hideout in Rajourikadal area in Srinagar district, officials said on Tuesday.

    The Srinagar Police with the assistance of Pulwama Police and Army’s 50 RR also arrested two overground workers (OGWs) of terrorists from South Kashmir’s Pulwama district.

  • LAC standoff: Indian Army plans to put more artillery guns in response to Chinese build-up

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: With the onset of India-China standoff in May 2020, the Indian Army pushed for its Artillery Gun deployments along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). It was the fast pace of road construction by the Border roads Organisation (BRO) which helped these guns reach those designated points.

    Speaking to media on the eve of the 195th Gunners Day Lt Gen TK Chawla, Director General Artillery said that guns have been deployed well but the access to other critical areas continues to be a problem and more guns will be deployed.

    “Border Roads is doing a lot of effort to build the network in far flung areas. I think this effort will continue and we can get guns in more areas.” he added.

    Gunners Day is celebrated to mark the anniversary of the raising of the oldest Indian Mountain Battery (5th Bombay Mountain Battery).

    Till now three regiments of the Ultra Light Howitzers have been raised and the process for the fourth regiment has begun. Keeping the mobility “majority of these guns have been deployed along the Line of Actual Control,” informed Lt Gen Chawla.

    The M777 Howitzer is a 155mm 39 calibre towed gun, highly portable guns and can be easily shifted by the recently inducted Chinook helicopters.

    Adding on the firepower, DG Artillery informed he himself reviewed the status in Eastern Ladakh.

    “The 105mm guns are still very much robust with a very high angle of firing which is very essential in the mountains.” he said.  As and when the other guns move in enough numbers they will be replacing the 105mm guns, the DG added.

    Talking about the induction of indigenous artillery systems, the DG informed that while some projects have fructified some others are facing challenges for which the Indian Army is doing hand holding.

    “A lot of handholding has been done by the Army, both for Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS) and Dhanush. I had a detailed discussion last week with the OFB (Ordnance Factory Board) and ARDE (Armament Research and Development Establishment of DRDO),” said Lt Gen Chawala.

    The project of the K9 Vajra howitzers, manufactured by L&T in collaboration with a South Korean firm, has been completed. Also, US manufactured M-777, assembled by India’s Mahindra Defence, the Director General Artillery is getting delivered with some hiccups arising only due to the Covid Pandemic.

    DRDO has been given inputs wherever qualitative changes are required. DRDO is developing the Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS) and Dhanush Gun Systems.

    Indian Army is going ahead as per its Field Artillery Rationalisation Programme (FARP) approved in 1999. As per the plan a mix of around 3,000-3,600 howitzers were to be procured by 2025-27. But the plan is facing challenges due to tow of its indigenous programmes.

  • Four soldiers injured as Indian Army foils infiltration bid along LoC in J&K’s Baramulla

    By PTI

    SRINAGAR: Four soldiers were injured as the Army foiled an infiltration bid along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir’s Baramulla district, officials said on Monday.

    The Army launched a counter-infiltration operation along the LoC in the Uri sector in north Kashmir on Saturday after noticing suspicious movement, they said.

    “Four soldiers were injured in the exchange of firing with infiltrators from across the LoC in Uri,” the officials said.

    The infiltrators were challenged by the Indian Army soldiers, leading to a gunfight, they said.

    The officials said four soldiers were injured in the exchange of firing between the two sides over the past two days There were unconfirmed reports of one infiltrator being killed in the operation, but there was no official word on it so far.

  • Army team on expedition to Satopanth peak finds frozen remains of mountaineer 

    By PTI

    UTTARKASHI: An Army mountaineering team on a recent expedition to the Satopanth peak in the Garhwal Himalayas stumbled across frozen remains of a person in fatigues, giving rise to speculations it could be a soldier who went missing 16 years ago.

    The body, with mountaineering equipment strewn all around it, was found by the Army team on Thursday, and it was brought to Gangotri and handed over to the police.

    From the clothes, it appears to be a soldier who had gone missing in the course of an expedition to the 7,075-metre-high peak in 2005, Lt Colonel Harshdeep Gehlot said on Sunday.

    Nothing can be said with certainty at the moment, he added.

    The remains will be sent for DNA testing, and only after that can something conclusive be said about it, Uttarkashi Superintendent of Police (SP) Manikant Mishra said.

    If it is confirmed to be a missing soldier, the body will be handed over to his family with full military honours, the SP said.

    Detailed information about the members of the Indian Army’s mountaineering team that had gone on the 2005 expedition is being gathered, he added.

  • 35 jawans at Army War College in MP test positive in 3 days

    Express News Service

    BHOPAL: A Covid blast has happened at the Army War College (AWC) in Mhow town of Madhya Pradesh’s Indore district. As many as35 Army personnel tested positive for the killer virus in the last three days.

    While five of them tested positive on Tuesday, 30 others tested positive in a single day on Thursday. According to the daily Covid report released late on Thursday night by the Indore district’s chief medical and health officer (CMHO) office, out of the 8,552 samples tested on Thursday, 32 tested positive, 8,512 tested negative, and the remaining 8 samples were found insufficient for processing.

    Out of the 32 positive samples, 30 were from the Military Hospital in Mhow cantonment town. With this, the number of total active Covid patients in Indore jumped to 53 in just 24 hours. Prior to this, a maximum of 34 samples were tested positive for Covid in the Indore district on June 16.

    As per informed sources, while five Army personnel had tested positive on Tuesday, subsequent testing of their contacts samples led to 30 more junior and senior officers testing positive on Thursday for the killer virus.

    ALSO READ | India reports 31,382 new Covid-19 infections, active cases lowest in 188 days

    Meanwhile, the Indore district CMHO Dr BS Setiya said all the 35 positive patients were asymptomatic and fully vaccinated. All of them are being treated in isolation.

    Informed sources said that the 35 Army personnel, who tested positive in three days, included those who had returned from a training exercise in a north Indian state.

    Based on the contract tracing of the 30 Covid positive Army personnel, 40-50 more samples have been sent for testing on Friday, whose reports are likely by late Friday night.

    A strict lock-down has reportedly been enforced in the AWC following 35 personnel testing Covid positive and entry of all civilians (most of them running commercial establishments inside the campus) has been prohibited till further orders.

    Some events forming part of the ongoing celebrations to mark the golden jubilee of India’s victory over Pakistan and subsequent liberation of Bangladesh in the 1971 war too are likely to be put on hold in the AWC.

    The AWC (originally established as the College of Combat at Mhow in April 1971) is a defence service training and research institution of the Indian Army located in Mhow, which develops and evaluates concepts and doctrines for tactics and logistics for the army. The college trains 1,200 officers of the Army as well as paramilitary forces each year.

  • Chennai’s Avadi unit to produce 118 Arjun tanks worth Rs 7.5k crore for Indian Army

    Express News Service

    CHENNAI: The Ministry of Defence (MoD) on Thursday placed an order for supply of 118 Main Battle Tanks (MBTs) Arjun Mk-1A for the Indian Army worth Rs 7,523 crores. This was the first bulk order in several years for the Chennai-based Heavy Vehicles Factory (HVF) in Avadi. 

    MBT Mk-1A was designed and developed by Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment (CVRDE), also located in Avadi, along with other laboratories of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). 

    G Satheesh Reddy, Secretary of Department of Defence (R&D) and Chairman of DRDO, told TNIE, “It’s a major boost to Aatmanirbhar Bharat and will make industries flourish. This would also gear up the ecosystem for the next generation tanks.” 

    Tamil Nadu industry experts say this will give much-needed encouragement to the proposed Tamil Nadu Defence Industrial Corridor, which is slowly beginning to take shape with the State government reportedly identifying suitable land parcels near five nodal cities — Chennai, Coimbatore, Hosur, Salem, and Tiruchy — forming a defence quadrilateral.

    A press release from the defence wing said this production order to HVF opens up a large avenue in defence manufacturing for over 200 Indian vendors, including MSMEs, with employment opportunities to around 8,000 people. This would be a flagship project showcasing the indigenous capability in cutting-edge defence technologies, the release added.

    Meanwhile, CVRDE Director V Balamurgan told TNIE As per the plan, HVF will manufacture five tanks first within 30 months. “There will be one formal user trail and subsequently bulk production will commence. HVF has experience in manufacturing 124 tanks of the earlier variant MBT Mk-1. They know the technology and have the infrastructure. The new variant MBT Mk-1A comes with 72 upgrades. CVRDE will handhold HVF when and where necessary.”

    According to officials, the 118 tanks that will be produced would help operationalise two regiments of the Indian Army Armoured Corps. The state-of-the-art MBT Mk-1A is a new variant of Arjun Tank designed to enhance firepower, mobility, and survivability. Infused with 72 new features and more indigenous content from the Mk-1 variant, the tank would ensure effortless mobility in all terrains, besides precise target engagement during both day and night. 

    The MK-1A is equipped with accurate and superior firepower, all-terrain mobility, and invincible multi-layered protection provided by an array of advanced technology systems. It can take on the enemy in both static and dynamic modes. Under these capabilities, this indigenous MBT proves to be on par with any contemporary in its class across the globe. This tank is particularly configured and designed for Indian conditions, and hence, is suitable for deployment to protect the frontiers effectively, officials said.

    CVRDE Director said the development activities of MBT Mk-1A commenced from June 2010 and the tank was fielded for user trials in June 2012. It took only two years to develop and field the MBT Arjun Mk-1A for user trials from the user requirement. 

    Key Highlights

    DRDO developed new variant of MBT to enhance firepower, mobility

    Order worth D7,523 crores placed

    72 new features and  more indigenous content compared to old variant Mk-1

    To open defence manufacturing avenue for 200 Indian vendors and create 8,000 jobs

  • Jammu and Kashmir: Search underway in Uri after Army foils infiltration bid along LoC

    By ANI

    BARAMULLA: A search operation is underway in the Uri sector of Jammu and Kashmir after the Indian Army foiled an infiltration bid along the Line of Control (LoC) on Monday.

    “Search operation is still underway in Uri,” Army said in a statement.

    The search operation is being conducted to ensure that nobody has crossed over the border.

    Earlier, sources told ANI that an infiltration bid was foiled by the Indian Army in Uri sector of Jammu and Kashmir, along the Line of Control (LoC). “However, to make sure that nobody has crossed over, search operations are being carried out in that area,” they said.

    On the intervening night of September 18 and September 19, Army said a suspicious movement was detected along LoC in the Uri area of Baramulla district. 

  • India, Nepal begin 15-day military exercise in Pithoragarh

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: India and Nepal on Monday began a 15-day military exercise in Pithoragarh of Uttarakhand with a focus on counter-terror drills and disaster relief operations.

    The Indian Army said the aim of the 15th India-Nepal military training exercise ‘Surya Kiran’ is to boost overall inter-operability between the two militaries.

    “During the exercise, an Infantry Battalion each from the Indian Army and the Nepali Army will be training together to develop inter-operability and share their experience of counter-terrorism operations and disaster relief operations,” the Indian Army said.

    A traditional opening ceremony was organised to mark the commencement of the exercise which will continue till October 3.

    “Lt Gen SS Mahal, GOC Uttar Bharat Area addressed the gathering and exhorted the contingents to train and strengthen mutual confidence, inter-operability and also to share best practices,” the Army said in a statement.

    Earlier on Saturday, the Nepali Army contingent arrived at Pithoragarh and was accorded a traditional military reception.

  • No ceasefire violation along LoC in Kashmir since February agreement: Indian Army officer

    By PTI

    SRINAGAR: There has been no ceasefire violation along the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir since the reiteration of the agreement between the armies of India and Pakistan in February this year, a top Army official here said on Monday.

    General Officer Commanding (GoC) of the Army’s Srinagar-based 15 Corps or Chinar Corps, Lt Gen D P Pandey, said there have been some infiltration attempts, but unlike previous years they have not been ‘adequately supported’ by ceasefire violations.

    “The ceasefire violations have not increased. This year there has been none (ceasefire violation). At least in the Kashmir Valley, there has been zero,” the GoC told reporters on the sidelines of a function here.

    Lt Gen Pandey said while there has been no instigation from Pakistan, the Indian Army is totally alert and prepared to respond appropriately to any ceasefire violation.

    “We are totally prepared for ceasefire violations, if anything happens, we are all set to respond appropriately. But, frankly, there has been no instigation from across the border,” he said.

    Asked about infiltration attempts made by militants from across the LoC this year, the Army officer said there have hardly been any successful attempts.

    “There have been some attempts. Unlike previous years, these have not been adequately supported (by ceasefire violations). There have hardly been any successful attempts, only about two attempts have succeeded. One was neutralised in Bandipora and we are looking for the second one,” he said.

    Referring to the search operation launched by the Army along the LoC in Uri sector in Baramulla district of north Kashmir, the GoC said the operation has been ongoing for the last 24 hours after “we felt that there is an infiltration attempt which has been made”.

    “We are looking for them….are they on this side or have gone back after making an attempt, that issue has not yet been clarified or verified on the ground,’ he said.

    Lt Gen Pandey, however, said the force was alert to foil any infiltration attempt.

    “I can assure you that we are quite alert . Our troops on the ground are totally alert and we will ensure that minimal infiltration takes place whenever they attempt,” he said.

    India and Pakistan had agreed to the strict observance of all agreements, understandings and ceasefire along the Line of Control and all other sectors with effect from the February 24-25 midnight 2021.

    Earlier, the GOC Chinar Corps felicitated students of the first and second batches of the Army’s Kashmir Super 30 (Medical) course who are now successfully pursuing MBBS and other courses after clearing the NEET.

  • Search operation underway along LoC in J-K’s Uri sector after Army detects suspicious movement

    By PTI

    SRINAGAR: A search operation was launched along the Line of Control (LoC) in Uri sector of Jammu and Kashmir after the Army detected suspicious movement in the area, a defence spokesperson said on Sunday.

    “Suspicious movement was detected along the LoC in Uri sector last night,” PRO Defence Col Emron Musavi said.

    Searches in the area are underway, he said.