Recent 6 months news in Defence

Group Captain KK Venugopal (Retired) from the Executive Group of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) has become the first Indian test pilot to be elected as a Fellow of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots (SETP) in the United States of America (USA).

It is to be noted that he was previously decorated with the Vayu Sena Medal (VSM) in 2004.

The aerospace division of Bharat Forge Ltd (BFL) has signed an MoU with the Andhra Pradesh government to establish the first private-sector Marine Gas Turbine (MGT) Repair, Overhaul, and Indigenous Development Complex of India in Visakhapatnam.

The facility will span 80 acres within the AP Defence Manufacturing Corridor developed by the aerospace division of BFL. The complex will be co-located with the Naval Dockyard, Indian Naval Ship (INS) Eksila, and the Eastern Naval Command (ENC) Headquarters in Visakhapatnam.

Tonbo Imaging has secured a contract from the Indian Navy under the ADITI 3.0 innovation framework to integrate and commission a High Power Microwave (HPM) system for naval platforms.

The project aims to develop and integrate HPM-based directed-energy capabilities for maritime warfare to effectively counter electronic and unmanned threats.

Flying Wedge Defence & Aerospace (FWDA), a deep-tech defence company, has announced that its flagship AI-powered Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle (UCAV) named ‘Kaal Bhairava’ will be manufactured at its first international production facility in Portugal.

The initiative is a part of ‘Operation 777’ which aims to establish seven global headquarters across 77 countries. The project is being developed in collaboration with SKETCHPIXEL, a European company specializing in advanced fighter jet simulation systems (including those for F-16 aircraft).

India has successfully conducted consecutive trials of the “Suryastra” Universal Rocket Launcher system from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Chandipur, Odisha. The system is developed by Pune-based NIBE Ltd (NIBE) in collaboration with Elbit Systems, Israel.

The demonstration was carried out as part of a ₹293 crore Indian Army (IA) procurement order under the Emergency Procurement window. The Tactical Variant of the system has a range of 150 km and achieved a Circular Error Probable (CEP) of 1.5 m, while the Strategic Variant has a range of 300 km and achieved a CEP of 2 m.

India has successfully test-fired the Agni-1 missile from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Chandipur, Odisha. The test was conducted under the Strategic Forces Command (SFC) to validate all operational and technical parameters of the system.

Agni-1 is an indigenous, single-stage, surface-to-surface Short Range Ballistic Missile (SRBM) powered by solid propellants. Designed for rapid deployment via road or rail mobile launchers, the missile has an operational strike range of 700-900 km and is capable of delivering both conventional and nuclear warheads.

The Indian Navy (IN) has launched ‘Sanghmitra’ (Yard 3039), its first Next Generation Offshore Patrol Vessel (NGOPV), at the Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE) facility in Kolkata.

The construction of 11 NGOPVs is being carried out across two domestic shipyards to enhance the naval presence of India in multi-domain operations. These indigenously designed vessels have a displacement of 3,000 tonnes, measure 113 metres in length and 14.6 metres in width, and can achieve a maximum speed of 23 knots.

The United States has approved two Foreign Military Sales (FMS) sustainment packages for India, worth a total of $428.2 million. The first package, valued at $198.2 million, provides support for AH-64E Apache attack helicopters, while the second package, worth $230 million, is for the sustainment support of M777A2 ultra-light howitzers.

The Indian Army and the Indian Navy have signed a Memorandum of Association (MoA) on Affiliation in New Delhi. The agreement aims to strengthen inter-service cooperation, operational cohesion, and jointness among the armed forces.

It seeks to institutionalise structured professional exchanges, operational familiarisation, joint activities, and coordinated multi-domain operations between the two services.

The inaugural edition of the multilateral military exercise named ‘Partnership of Regional Armies for Growth and Transformation in the Indian Ocean Region (PRAGATI) 2026’ commenced at the Umroi Military Station in Meghalaya.

A total of 12 friendly foreign nations are participating in the exercise alongside India. These include Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal, and Sri Lanka from the immediate neighbourhood; Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN); and the Maldives and Seychelles from the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

Larsen & Toubro Ltd (L&T) has partnered with the France-based Exail Technologies to supply advanced Unmanned Mine Countermeasure (MCM) systems for the Indian Navy (IN). Under the agreement, L&T will serve as the prime contractor for the Indian Navy’s programme to build 12 Mine Counter Measure Vessels, with Exail Technologies acting as the technology partner.

The Indian Army has inducted two indigenous combat systems named the UAV-Launched Precision Guided Munition (ULPGM) and the AGNIKAA VTOL-1 (Vertical Take-Off and Landing) First-Person View (FPV) Kamikaze Drone. These were procured from Adani Defence & Aerospace Limited under the Emergency Procurement-6 (EP-6).

The induction followed successful high-altitude and Electronic Warfare (EW) trials conducted in the presence of officials from the Western Command of the IA. The ULPGM, co-developed by the DRDO and Adani Defence & Aerospace Ltd, is the first indigenous loitering munition of India, while the AGNIKAA VTOL-1 is the first FPV kamikaze drone of India in its category.

Union Minister Rajnath Singh and Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandrababu Naidu have laid the foundation stone for an infrastructure project to develop the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) in Sri Sathya Sai, Andhra Pradesh. They also inaugurated a core integration and flight testing centre at Puttaparthi to accelerate the development of the 5th-generation AMCA and other future indigenous platforms.

Additionally, the foundation stone for a naval systems manufacturing facility to support advanced underwater weapons and naval combat systems was laid. The AMCA facility is being established at an estimated cost of ₹2,000 crore, while the total expenditure for the AMCA development programme is projected at approximately ₹15,000 crore.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has signed an agreement with the European missile manufacturer MBDA to establish a Maintenance, Repair, and Mid-Life Overhaul (MRO) facility for MICA (Missile d’Interception, de Combat et d’Autodefense) air-to-air missiles in India.

The initiative aims to strengthen domestic defense sustainment and improve operational readiness. Under the agreement, the IAF will manage the setup, operation, and maintenance of the MRO facility, while MBDA will provide technical assistance, machinery, training for personnel, and comprehensive data packages.

The DRDO has inaugurated a Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Field Training and Demonstration Centre at Burari plains in New Delhi.

Operating as a DRDO-CBRN Centre of Excellence (CoE), the facility is designed to bolster national preparedness for radiological and nuclear emergencies. The CoE is equipped with specialized technical infrastructure to facilitate emergency medical and tactical responses.

The DRDO, through the Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL), has successfully conducted a long-duration test of an actively cooled full-scale scramjet combustor.

The test was held at the Scramjet Connect Pipe Test (SCPT) Facility in Hyderabad, Telangana. The combustor demonstrated sustained operational performance by achieving a run-time exceeding 1,200 seconds.

The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) has commissioned the Indian Coast Guard Ship 'Achal', a new-generation “Adamya-class” Fast Patrol Vessel (FPV), at the Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) in Vasco, Goa. The vessel will be stationed at Vadinar, Gujarat.

It is to be noted that the ship is the 5th of the eight FPVs being indigenously built by the GSL for the ICG. The 51 metre long vessel, featuring over 50% indigenous content, is powered by two 3,000 kW diesel engines. It has a maximum speed of 27 knots and an operational endurance of 1,500 nautical miles.

India has successfully conducted the second flight trial of the Agni-5 missile, integrated with Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicle (MIRV) technology.

The test, designated as “Mission Divyastra”, was carried out from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island off the Odisha coast. It is to be noted that Agni-5 is a nuclear-capable ballistic missile with a strike range exceeding 5,000 km.

The DRDO and the Indian Air Force have successfully conducted the maiden flight-trial of the Tactical Advanced Range Augmentation (TARA) weapon off the Odisha coast.

It is to be noted that TARA is the first indigenous glide weapon system of India, designed as a modular range extension kit to convert unguided warheads into precision-guided munitions.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has signed a contract worth ₹1,476 crore with Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) for the procurement of five Ground-Based Mobile Electronic Systems (GBMES) for the Indian Army (IA).

It is to be noted that the procurement is categorized under the Buy Indian-IDDM (Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured) framework, which mandates a minimum indigenous content of 72%.