
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Army Chief Calls Some Media Reports 'Appalling'

The seminar, organised by Indian Army's Simla-based Artrac, is on tomorrow also at the DRDO Bhawan's Kothari auditorium in New Delhi. Prominent and senior media personalities have been invited to speak on both days, along with army officers (retired and serving). Tomorrow Times Now's Arnab Goswami is one of the speakers.
First Indian Defence Minister To Visit South Korea, As Part Of Look East Policy

Antony’s visit has been planned as a follow-up of the declaration issued by both countries during the State visit of the South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak to New Delhi in January, this year, when it was decided to elevate the bilateral relationship to a ‘strategic partnership’. It may be recalled that the foundation for India - South Korea defence relations was laid in 2005, when the two countries signed a MoU on Cooperation in Defence, Industry and Logistics. Yet another MoU for Cooperation between the Coast Guards of the two countries was signed in March 2006.
China In PoK
Monday, August 30, 2010
MoD Increases Ration Entitlement Of PBORs At Par With Officers:2 Eggs, 230 Gms Fresh Fruit Everyday In Peace-Field
Earlier those posted at high altitude (9000 feet and above), were entitled to one egg and no egg in peace locations and 230 grams fresh fruits thrice a week in high alti areas and 110 gms fresh fruit in peace.
The new order says that officers and PBORs will all be entitled to two eggs a day and 230 gms fresh fruit everyday both in peace and field.
Comes right after the CAG report on stale rations for troops. A major egg scam surfaced in the Army's Northern Command in 2007.Around 50 Colonels and Lieutenant Colonels were asked to explain the irregularities in the procurement and supply of eggs to officers.
Normally an officer is authorized an egg weighing 48 grams as part of his ration, but the eggs being supplied to officers posted in the Northern Command weighed 40 grams.
Beijing Mum On Visa Denial
R I P Lt Cdr Firdaus D Moghal
The submarine on a planned exercise had developed a defect which necessitated the maintenance crew to come out on the casing and attempt repairs. Whilst coming out for effecting repairs, the maintenance team was washed overboard due to very rough sea state.
A team of five officers and sailors led by Lt Cdr Firdaus started the rescue operations immediately and managed to recover all the sailors who were washed overboard. During the operation, Lt Cdr Firdaus was also washed overboard and suffered concussions on his forehead. He was subsequently rescued by a helicopter which was dispatched from INS Shikra (Naval Air Station) at Mumbai. The officer was administered first aid in the helicopter, but could not be revived. The post mortem report has indicated death by drowning due to an injury.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Friday, August 27, 2010
Army Proposes Re-definition Of Operational Areas Of Engagement
Done almost three decades back, the need for re-definition was felt as the Army's operational engagements like counter insurgency and counter terrorism (CICT) were not existent thirty years back. Since these roles also have similar rules of engagement and operational areas like that of conventional field, it was important to re-define them, so that if there was a loss of life the deceased soldier or his next-of-kin could be categorised as per his operational commitment, for monetary benefits.
After insurgency began in 1989, the Army tried to re-define areas of operation in the mid-90s but was not able to do it. MoD is yet to take a decision on this.
A source said that since earlier in a conventional operational scenario, it was the area along the border coming in close contact with the enemy which was categorised as field, now since those in counter insurgency are also in close contact with the enemy, therefore despite being hinterland, it would still be called field or modified field, for practical purposes.
Though the army reviews its operational areas every six months, but strict definition has not been carried out for almost thirty years.
Army Officers Seek Stay On Movie Lamhaa
Thursday, August 26, 2010
India Third In Nuclear Legal Liability Limit
Xclusive : MoD Directs Army To Hold Out Of Turn Promotion Board For A Major General
Presently serving in the Chandimandir-based Western Command as Major General Army Ordnance Corps (MGAOC), Major General S P Sinha, had approached the army headquarters as he had missed his selection board for promotion, not once but twice. Twice his complaint had been rejected after which the officer approached the armed forces tribunal, where he lost his case. Maj Gen Sinha is then said to have approached the Ministry of Defence with his complaint, who directed the Army to hold his board before he retires on August 31 this year.
A source said, "The officer missed his promotion earlier twice based on his performance and merit, by the same set of nine top officers of the Indian Army, and now the same officers have been directed by the MoD to take up his case and hold a special board just for him, out of turn, 10 days before his retirement."
The top nine officers who preside over promotion boards for senior ranks, twice a year, are General Officer Commanding in Chief of the seven Commands and the Army Chief and Vice Chief, all of whom meet during Army Commanders Conference to clear senior promotions.
Maj Gen Sinha refused to comment, when DNA contacted him.
The two top posts of the Ordnance Corps held by Lieutenant General ranking officers are that of DGOS (Director General Ordnance Services) and the Commandant of the Jabalpur-based College of Material Management (CMM).
The post of CMM Commandant has been vacant from January 1, 2008 till date, while the post of DGOS was vacant from October 31, 2008 till July this year, when Lt Gen Pradeep Bhalla was appointed in July 2010 as DGOS after his promotion as Lt Gen. He was MGAOC Kolkata, before this, and if Maj Gen Sinha becomes Lt Gen, he would be senior to Lt Gen Bhalla.
The top post of the Ordnance Corps of the army is a coveted post, and has an allocation of more than Rs 2000 crore every year. The Ordnance Corps is responsible for the provisioning and procurements of clothing, ammunition, spare parts, for the entire Indian Army.
Other officers who could not make it to the rank of a Lt Gen from the batch of those commissioned in 1972, are Maj Gen G.S.Narula and Maj Gen Anil Sarup. Maj Gen Sarup retired from CMM Jabalpur in July 2009, while Narula retired as ADG-OS in May 2010. Maj Gen A K Kapur, senior to all these officers, retired in November 2009, and despite being empannelled could not become a Lt Gen, due to the CBI inquiry for his assets disproportionate to his income, for which the officer approached the Delhi High Court. The High Court has cleared Maj Gen Kapur, but the Army has gone to the Supreme Court against the HC order.
Sources have indicated to DNA that in all probability the officer will be made Lt Gen, as a special board is being held for him, and being senior to Bhalla, he might even be appointed as DGOS, which is the seniormost post for Ordnance officers, while Bhalla might be sent to CMM Jabalpur.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
LtCol Kapil Dev To Plant Trees In Territorial Army's Eco Battalion Tomorrow!

Monday, August 23, 2010
A Retired Aviator Remembers Maj Nikhil, Who Died In Last Week's Cheetah Crash


Major Nikhil Prakash was LtCol Singh's neighbour in the colony located at Deolali Cantonment. Major Nikhil died in the Cheetah crash on August 18 in the northeast, along with two more officers.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
NCW Acknowledges Chindits As A Champion Of Women's Empowerment In India, And Places Me In Their Advert On Rajiv Gandhi's B'day In All Leading Papers!!
Friday, August 20, 2010
And Now CAG Slams MoD For Sukhoi's Recce Pods, Not As Per DPP, Pods Failed Trials!
CAG in today's report tabled in Parliament.
Military's Own Games Tainted : CAG

The Andhra Government was paid in advance with no formal agreement, resulting in the AP State government being unable to provide any bills or details of services provided .The CAG observes that an amount of Rs 4.76 crore received on account of charges realised from extra CISM contingents was diverted to non-public funds between September 2007 and June 2008.
Despite two years of intense planning and preparation, with numerous committees being formed and funds being allocated to each committee well on time, the gross mismanagement was a serious matter of concern at the MWG-2007. The Ecuador contingent were delayed in obtaining clearance for their sports rifles, brought for the shooting event. The two defence officers from Ecuador of which one was a three-star Army General were held up in the national capital as the contingent was carrying six Turner rifles. Besides Ecuador, Slovenia and North Korea personnel also faced similar problems. A lady officer from the Greece contingent is believed to have complained, in the question answer round after the opening day's conference that, the accommodation was in a shabby state and that there were mice in the rooms. She also complained that the mice had eaten up the clothes of many players, including their swimsuits which was causing problems for the players to participate in swimming events in proper attire.
Players were apparently stuck up in hotels due to lack of transportation, and also complained about food. Participating countries were required to put forth their request for the kind of food that they wanted for their players, and the organizers were supposed to have five kinds of meals, said a source, but the food was reported to be substandard. Another common problem that has come to light is the lack of interpreters, which players from non-English speaking countries apparently faced.
Navy Re-categorises Its Medical Categories To Include Maximum Personnel For Sea-time, Leading To Subsequent Promotions


A source said that this new policy would benefit atleast 50 percent middle-aged officers and sailors in the navy. S-3 category also has HIV included in it, in which there are about 40-50 cases in the Indian navy, which includes an officer also.
In the Indian Navy S-4 category is when a personnel is hospitalised and unable to move, and S-5 A-5, which is the last category is when someone is boarded out of service, an example of which is alcohol dependence syndrome.
Personnel in the armed forces undergo an annual medical examination each year, which determines their medical fitness leading to their postings and promotions. In the Army the fittest category is SHAPE-1 Alpha. A lot of high altitude related diseases prevent army officers from going to certain places for command, but recently a shift in policy came in the army too, wherein officers falling in SHAPE-1 Bravo category were being considered for promotions, unlike before where they had to be in the fittest category which was SHAPE-1 Alpha. SHAPE-1 Bravo is a personnel suffering from an ailment which can be controlled through medication.
In the Indian Air Force (IAF) personnel are checked for Air and Ground fitness, in which the most stringent medical examination is for fighter pilots.The fittest category in the IAF is A-1G-1 and lowest on fitness being A-5 G-5.
DNA
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Sukhoi Upgrade To Cost Rs 10,920 Cr

Defence minister says enhanced features will cost exchequer Rs10,920 crore
Suman Sharma NEW DELHI
After admitting an astronomical 155% rise in the price of Sukhoi-30 MKIs, defence minister AK Antony told parliament on Wednesday that there was a proposal to upgrade the Indian Air Force's (IAF's) mainstay heavyweight Russian fighters for Rs10,920 crore.
The upgrade will be carried out by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Russian Federation's Irkutsk, the original equipment manufacturer (OEM), in a phased manner from 2012.
Sukhois entered service in 2000, after being approved in 1997, and have not undergone any upgrade since.
IAF operates approximately 200 Sukhois, all of which would have upgraded data systems and digital glass cockpits after a contract is signed to the effect.
Sukhoi CEO Mikhail Pogosyan had several meetings with vice-chief air marshal PK Barbora during the MAKS air show last year to sort out configuration of the upgraded radar as specified by IAF. By 2018, the number of Sukhois is set to reach 270, making India the largest operator of the twin-engine aircraft in the world.
Asked about the upgrade schedule, a source told DNA, "It's a continuous process beginning 2012. All aircraft will be upgraded eventually."
The upgrade price per piece is reportedly between Rs70 crore and Rs110 crore.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
*Flash* : Indian Mission In Congo Attacked, 3 Jawans killed, 6 Critical, 2 Indian Army Weapons Taken By Congo Cadres !
Indian troops reacted and got in hand to hand fight with the cadres, who fled on sensing the reaction, in the cover of darkness. Six Indian jawans are critically injured and are being treated at Level-1 hospital, three have been killed and two Indian army weapons have been taken away by the cadres.
*Flash* : Indian Army Cheetah Crashes In Northeast, Three Killed
The deceased are Colonel P K Pal, Major Rakesh Sharma and Major Nikhil Prakash.
US Report On China Bothers India
MoD's 100-yr Old Mouthpiece--Sainik Samachar, Goofs Up, Calls Target Missile Interceptor, Issues Corrigendum !!
The fortnightly magazine on defence matters brought out by the MoD, carried in its August 1-15 issue the incorrect caption to the photo of a Prithvi target missile and called it the interceptor missile.
The photo which was released by MoD, along with other photos with captions, has been given a full-page display, with the caption, “The interceptor missile successfully tested by DRDO at Chandipur, Orissa.”
The magazine's Editor, V K Joshi, has regretted the error in the August 16-31 issue of Sainik Samachar. The magazine has six members in its editorial board, and is published by the Ministry's Additional Director General (Media and Communication), Sitanshu Kar, who was out of town on an official engagement.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
IAF's C-130J Takes Its Place On The Flightline In Marietta
Sukhoi--Another Gorshkov In The Making!!
Monday, August 16, 2010
India To Send US Letter of Request For Javelin ATGMs

The third generation anti-tank missile will be bought with transfer of technology, the Minister informed today.
The procurement procedure will follow the request letter for the deal of the missile, which was displayed in Babina last October, to the Indian Army, during a joint armoured exercise, between Indo-US armies.
Since the indigenous third generation anti-tank guided missile, Nag, developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has been delayed and is still undergoing user trials, the American Javelin is being brought in.
The probable date of completion (PDC) of the Nag has been extended to December 2010.
Nag is a third generation anti-tank missile which has a ‘top attack’ and ‘fire and forget’ capability with a range of four kilometers. Its validation trial based on user trial feedback has been completed successfully, and the missile system is ready to enter production and induction phase. Helina, is the helicopter version of the Nagto be mounted and fired from a helicopter and has a range of more than seven kilometers. Launchers for Helina have been cleared for captive carriage trials and handed over to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for carriage trials.
The original cost of the Nag programme was Rs. 388.83 crore, which has been revised to Rs. 1771.43 crore.
Javelin has a lock-on capability before launch and an automatic self-guidance system and is a fire-and-forget missile. Javelin can also adopt a direct attack mode but has a top-attack flight profile against armoured vehicles, and canalso fire at helicopters in the direct-attack mode.