Defence News – July
Indo-Thai joint military exercise begins in Himachal Pradesh
There is a 15-day long joint military training exercise between the Indian and Thai army has begun from 3rd July in Himachal Pradesh.
i. The main aim is to build and promote bilateral Army-to-Army relations and enhance inter-operability between the two armies.
ii. The armies of India and Thailand are conducting the yearly joint training exercise named Ex Maitree 2017 from July 3 to July 17 at Bakloh in Himachal Pradesh.
Trilateral Malabar exercise begins in chennai
The Trilateral Malabar exercise begins in Chennai on 7th July 2017. The U.S., Indian and Japanese maritime forces will be participating in the Malabar Naval Exercise 2017
i. Naval ships, aircraft and personnel from India, Japan and the United States will participate in exercise Malabar 2017.
ii. Malabar naval exercise 2017 will continue till 17th July and will address the variety of shared threats to maritime security in the Indo-Asia Pacific.
iii. The exercise will feature both ashore and at-sea training.
NATO military drills in Eastern Europe begin in Bulgaria
NATO military exercises in Eastern Europe have begun in Bulgaria. It involves 25,000 military personnel from more than 20 allied and partner countries.
i .The drills aim to increase the interoperability of participating countries and display resolve and readiness to act in support of security and stability in the Black Sea region.
ii. The opening ceremony was held 12th July at the Novo Selo military camp in southern Bulgaria.
iii. The Saber Guardian 17 exercises are being led by U.S. Army Europe and run until 20th July.
China-Russia naval exercise begins in Baltic Sea
China and Russia have started their large-scale naval exercise “Joint Sea 2017” in the Baltic Sea. It has been announced on 23rd of July 2017.
i. The exercises will involve jets, helicopters and vessels.
ii. The Chinese Navy is represented by one of its most advanced missile destroyers, the Hefei, as well as missile frigate Yuncheng and the Luomahu supply ship.
Australia and US test-fires multimillion hypersonic missile - HIFiRE
The US and Australia have jointly test-fired a hypersonic missile capable of moving at a speed eight times faster than sound as part of a $54-million research project. The test was part of a project called the Hypersonic International Flight Research Experimentation Program (HIFiRE) involving the US and Australian militaries, Queensland University, Australia’s Defence Science and Technology Group and private companies, including Boeing and BAE
Systems.
i. The hypersonic missile is capable of travelling at Mach 8 - eight times faster than the speed of sound, from between 3,836mph (6,200kmh) to almost 8,000mph (13,000kmh).
ii. The very first launch of a HIFiRE flight vehicle, which simply validated the basic design, occurred in May 2009.
US Navy tests world’s first Laser Weapons System LaWS
U.S. Navy recently tested the world’s first-ever active Laser Weapons System (LaWS). It is $40 million system which is currently deployed on board the USS Ponce amphibious transport ship in the Persian Gulf.
About Laser Weapons System LaWS:
The system has special materials that release photons at the speed of light that silently hits a target, burning it to a temperature of thousands of degrees.
GRSE hands over 2nd LCU Mark IV vessel to Indian Navy
The second of the eight Mark IV LCU vessels was formally handed over to the Indian Navy at a ceremony in Kolkata on 19th of July 2017. It is built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited (GRSE), Kolkata.
i. The LCU Mark IV ship is designed for multipurpose amphibious operations.
ii. It jointly carried out the Navy and Army to ensure maritime security of the Andamans and Lakshadweep. The ship has 90% indigenous content.
iii. The L52 ship was handed over by Rear Admiral V K Saxena, IN (Retd) CMD, GRSE, to the Commanding Officer of the ship Cdr Kaushik Chatterjee.
World's largest supercarrier USS Gerald R Ford commissioned in USA
On July 22, 2017, US Navy commissioned world's largest aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R Ford into the fleet. The commissioning ceremony was held at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia in presence of US President Donald Trump.
i. The ship is named after the 38th President of the United States Gerald Ford and has been built by Newport News Ship Building Company.
ii. The keel for the US$12.8 billion USS Gerald R Ford was laid down in 2009.
Reliance Defence launches first two naval patrol vessels Shachi and Shruti
On July 25, 2017, Reliance Defence and Engineering Limited (subsidiary of Reliance Infrastructure) announced the launch of its first two Naval Offshore Patrol Vessels (NOPVs) – ‘Shachi’ and ‘Shruti’ - at their shipyard in Pipavav, Gujarat.
i. The two NOPVs -- 'Shachi' and 'Shruti' -- are the first warships to be launched by a private sector shipyard in India.
ii. The five NOPVs are patrol ships armed with a 76 mm Super Rapid Gun Mount (SRGM) system along with two 30 mm AK-630 guns, which provide medium range and short range offensive and defensive capabilities.
Muntra - country's first unmanned tank, rolls out from the Chennai lab
Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed an unmanned, remotely operated tank named ‘Muntra’ which has three variants – surveillance, mine detection and reconnaissance in areas with nuclear and bio threats.
More Information pertaining to Muntra:
Muntra has been developed and tested for the Army by Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment (CVRDE) in Avadi, Chennai.
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