Month: October 2010

Obama in India: No big deal

India is going to be disappointed with President Barack Obama’s visit beginning Saturday after next. The upside of this is that the Indo-US relationship has come a long way in so short a time as to engender expectations that could induce performance anxiety.

Indian Army celebrates Infantry Day

The Indian Army observed its 63rd Infantry Day in New Delhi on Wednesday, commemorating the landing of the first infantry in Srinagar in 1947, after Maharaja Hari Singh of Jammu and Kashmir signed the Instrument of Accession, acceding the kingdom to independent India, after Pakistani irregular forces invaded the kingdom.

No F-35 for India

The Indian Defense Secretary on Wednesday dismissed the possibility of India planning the acquisition of a fifth generation fighter aircraft, alternate to the Russian PAK FA.

IAF-RAF drill begins

Warbirds of the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the British Royal Air Force (RAF) took off on Wednesday to match skills against each other in the joint exercise Indradhanush (Rainbow) at IAF Kalaikunda, in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal.

New runway at IAF Gwalior

The Gwalior Air Base of the India Air Force (IAF) became the first IAF base to get a second operational runway, parallel to the first, on Wednesday. Air Marshal GS Kochar, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Central Air Command inaugurated the second runway at Gwalior which also inducted the Sukhoi-30 MKI aircraft on Wednesday.

Eurocopter sets up India subsidiary

Eurocopter announced its wholly owned India subsidiary, Eurocopter India Private Limited on Wednesday, saying it intends to develop a countrywide MRO network. The Indian unit is Eurocopter’s 25th subsidiary and will be headquartered in New Delhi.

Navy gets new Fast Attack Craft

The Indian Navy commissioned its newest Fast Attack Craft, the INS (Indian Naval Ship) Kalpeni at the Kochi Naval Base on Thursday with the Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court, Justice Jasti Chelameswar doing the honors.

Israel to sell UAVs to Russia

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) CEO, Itzhak Nissan and the Director General of the Oboronprom Russian Industrial Corporation, Andrey Reus, signed an agreement on Tuesday to sell UAV assembly elements and services to Oboronprom from next year.

India to sit in UNSC next year

India has been elected to the United Nations Security Council as a non-permanent member, along with four other countries on Tuesday. In the first round, India got 187 votes, the highest number of the winning candidates, South Africa got 182 and both Pakistan and Swaziland got 01 vote each, presumably their own.