REVIEW MEETING OF GOG WAS ORGANISED AT PATHANKOT BY BRIG PRAHALAD SINGH ON 08 MARCH 2018.
ALL THE GOD OF DISTT WERE BRIEFED BY LT GEN TS SHERGILL,PVSM ,SENIOR VICE CHAIRMAN GOG CUM Sr ADVISOR OF CM ,PUNJAB
AND
MAJ GEN SPS GREWAL VICE-CHAIRMAN OF GOG CUM CMD PESCO ALSO BRIEFED THE CONSTRUCTIVE AND POSITIVE ROLE THE GOG HAS TO PLAY FOR PUNJAB ADMINISTRATION.
BEIJING: China’s decision to increase its defence outlay by 8.1% has more do with the situation in the South China Sea, the volatile Korean peninsula and modernising its armed forces than the threat perception from India, experts said on Monday.
Beijing announced the increase against the backdrop of a “large reduction” of non-battle personnel and the streamlining of the number of group armies from 18 to 13.
“The 2018 defence budget will be 1.11 trillion yuan ($175 billion),” said a statement released before the opening of the 13th National People’s Congress .
China’s defence budget is now three times India’s and against the backdrop of last year’s military standoff at Doklam near the Sikkim border, it raised questions about how much Beijing sees New Delhi as a threat.
Shanghai-based military expert Ni Leixong argued the increase was because of several security threats faced by China.
“It is not surprising that China’s defence budget is more than three times that of India’s. China’s military threats are several times more than India’s, such as the development of Taiwan independence groups, the South China Sea dispute, the dispute with Japan over Diaoyu Islands and the situation in the Korean Peninsula,” Ni said.
“The increase in China’s defence budget sends a signal of living in peace and avoiding military conflicts with neighbours like India,” Ni added.
File photo of F-16 fighter plane. PTI
Washington, March 19
F-16 jets give India a unique opportunity to be at the centre of the world’s largest fighter aircraft ecosystem and it is the only programme with proven performance to meet its operational needs and ‘Make in India’ priorities, according to an American defence company.
As India continues to shop around to add new fighter jets into its air force, Lockheed, which is the world’s largest defence company which has offered to relocate its entire production line to India has said that it intends to create far more an F-16 “assembly line” in India.
“We plan to introduce two new words into the lexicon of international fighter aircraft manufacturing: “India” and “exclusive.” F-16 production in India will be exclusive—something that has never before been presented by any other fighter aircraft manufacturer, past or present,” Vivek Lall, vice president, Strategy and Business Development, Lockheed Martin told PTI in an interview.
“The F-16 gives Indian industry a unique opportunity to be at the centre of the world’s largest fighter aircraft ecosystem,” Lall said.
“The F-16 provides unprecedented manufacturing, sustainment, upgrade and export opportunities to Indian industry well into the future. Only Lockheed Martin and its Indian partners can deliver the capabilities and industrial benefits to truly propel India’s military and defense industrial base into the future, Lall said.
He has played a key role in some of the big ticket American military sales to India, including the General Atomics-built Guardian Predator Drones announced by the US last year. Known as a renowned global aerospace leader, Lall recently joined Lockheed after spending a few years in General Atomics.
“The F-16 is the only aircraft programme in this competition with the proven performance and industrial scale to meet India’s operational needs and Make in India priorities,” he said, claiming that that no competing aircraft comes close to matching the F-16’s operational effectiveness and industrial success.
“The success of the F-16—3,000 F-16s flying today with 25 leading air forces—is a testament to the cost-effective, combat-proven capabilities the F-16 delivers. That combination of cost and capabilities is why F-16 production opportunities today total more than 400 aircraft, including India,” he said.
Lockheed is offering F-16 Block 70, which is the most advanced version of the aircraft.
“The F-16 continues to aerodynamically outperform its competitors and advanced technologies are continually integrated into the F-16. Block 70 mission systems are completely new and leverage technologies from the F-35,” Lall said.
The F-16 remains the backbone of the US Air Force, the world’s most capable air force, he said.
Structural and avionic upgrades to the US F-16 fleet will extend service life to 2045, while the F-16 becomes even more capable as technology enhancements from the F-22 and F-35 are continuously integrated across all three platforms, he added.
Responding to a question, Lall said the offer from Lockheed is cost advantage for India.
The single-engine F-16 has a 30-40 per cent lower operation and maintenance cost per flying hour than twin-engine aircraft in its class, according to figures published by the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense, he said.
“Whether you’re talking about battlefields or budgets, the F-16 is the clear choice for India,” he said.
Lall, however, refused to reply questions on F-35.
“Any discussions regarding potential new F-35 customers begin at the government-to-government level. It is not our place to speak on behalf of the US government or the government of India,” he said.
Notably the US Pacific Command Commander Admiral Harry Harris during his two recent Congressional testimonies have supported selling F-35 to India.
“At the moment, India is considering a number of US systems for purchase, all of which USPACOM fully supports: the F-16 for India’s large single-engine, multi-role fighter acquisition programme, Harris told the Congressional committees last week.
He also said the purchase includes, F/A-18E for India’s multi-engine, carrier-based fighter purchase; a reorder of 12-15 P-8Is; a potential purchase of SeaGuardian UAS; MH-60R multi-role sea-based helicopter; and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. PTI
Ajay Banerjee
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, March 18
In what could be a deliberate move, China’s state-owned shipbuilder has revealed, and then removed from its website, plans for a massive naval scale-up, including a nuclear-powered sea-going aircraft carrier of 1 lakh tonnes and a new set of nuclear submarines that would be more silent while operating underwater.The state-owned China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC), which runs Dalian shipyard where China builds its aircraft carriers, revealed future plans with models last week only to later remove the same from its website. This could possibly be a deliberate move to tell the world what’s coming, especially as India expands to dominate greater parts of the Indian Ocean while Japan is adding to its naval fleet and the US has increased its naval presence in South-East Asia.The CSIC is a major shipbuilder for the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) and its biggest item could be China’s first nuclear-powered carrier. In strategic circles, this is identified as “Type 003”. Till now, there were only estimates on its size, structures and operations. Now, it seems, this will be the largest non-American warship in the world. China already has two diesel-electric powered carriers—the Ukraine-built “Liaoning” and the domestically built carrier, CV-17, launched in 2017.Only the US and France, operate nuclear-powered carriers. The Chinese one is expected to displace between 90,000-100,000 tonnes and have electromagnetically assisted launch system (EMALS) for fighter jets (only the US has tried these, so far). It will possibly carry J-15 fighters, J-31 stealth fighters, airborne early warning and control aircraft, anti-submarine warfare helicopters, and stealth attack drones.A nuclear-powered carrier will give China unlimited endurance at sea as the ship will not need to stop for fuel, and water is nowadays recycled from sea.The CSIC website also said it would build a new nuclear-powered submarine, likely to be called Type 095 nuclear-attack submarine (SSN). Compared to the existing Shang Class nuclear submarines, the 095 SSN will include new noise-reduction measures. The CSIC said it was also working on a separate “quiet” submarine, autonomous robot submarines or what are called the armed unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs). Autonomous UUVs, armed with torpedoes and missiles, could undertake missions that manned vessels cannot.Separately, the US Department of Defence, in its annual report to the Congress titled “Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China 2017”, warned: “The PLAN lays high priority on the modernisation of its submarine force. It currently possesses 63. By 2020, this force is likely to grow to 78.”
Una, March 14
A war memorial at the Municipal Park here will be formally inaugurated on March 23.In a press note issued here today, chairman of the district Ex-Servicemen Welfare Council Yashpal Thakur said members of 87 martyrs’ families would be honoured. The memorial, which displays the names of all martyrs, has been constructed with contributions from ex-serviceman, the Municipal Committee, the district administration, social organisations and public funds. — OC
The photogenic and politically correct French President Emmanuel Macron waltzed through his India state visit with the customary Parisian sophistication and panache by playing on South Block’s insecurities to set the stage for offloading more defence equipment on India. In brass tacks, the French signalled their intentions to supply two more squadrons of Rafale fighters; reopened conversations on a mega French nuclear power project; and won orders for their companies equal to one year of Indo-French trade. In return, India got a French offer to checkmate China in the Indian Ocean by the liberal use of each other’s naval facilities. The French astutely played on Indian susceptibilities and worries vis-a-vis a rising China to project themselves as India’s best allies. But will a French President, whose maiden overseas State visit was to Beijing, watch India’s back in a square up with China? Or when the Sino-French bilateral commerce is 10 times Indo-French annual trade? Paris, anyway, lost interest in South China Sea after being drummed out of Vietnam and Cambodia decades back. The second billing, after the joint Indo-French maritime alliance, was taken by the reopening of talks for French nuclear plants, rejected the world-over for their unproven technology and steep tariff. We are none the wiser about whether the French have patched up the security vulnerabilities in Scorpene submarines after 20,000 pages of its classified data was leaked to the media. The silver lining of Macron’s visit was the simultaneous staging of the first summit of the International Solar Alliance (ISA). France’s co-promotion of the ISA (along with India) brought in several heads of state from the mineral-rich Francophonic Africa where the Indian diplomatic footprint has been traditionally weak. The best challenge to China should be on land rather than in the oceans. India can do this in Africa by dovetailing the India-Japan led Africa Growth Corridor with an India-France trade centred foray in West Africa by riding on the opportunity given by the ISA. This approach will meet India’s prime aim of opening new trade avenues to compensate for the loss of existing ones due to the coming trade war.
Majid Jahangir
Tribune News Service
Srinagar, March 6
After an Army Major filed a complaint, the police have registered a case of attempt to murder against the persons killed in a shootout in Shopian on Sunday evening.The Army in its docket (complaint) to the police immediately after the incident, which left six persons dead, said apart from a militant, three persons were killed in the initial shootout. It said the three persons were “probably” overground workers (OGWs).In his complaint, Major Parveen Menon of 44 Rashtriya Rifles said the Army had set up a mobile vehicle check-post near a school at Pahnoo on Sunday evening when two cars tried to run through the check-post. “The troops at the check-post challenged the occupants of the cars but they did not stop and instead fired from inside the car on the troops, with the intent to kill them. In the exchange of fire between the Army men and the occupants of the cars, one militant was killed and probably three OGWs were killed and one weapon was recovered,” Major Menon said.The FIR, a copy of which is with The Tribune, says the complaint was verbally corroborated with the contents of the written report.“The contents of report have been read out to the complainant. The written report and verbal disclosure of the complaint attract offences under Section 307 (attempt to murder), Ranbir Ranbir Penal Code, and Sections 7/27 of the Arms Act. Hence an FIR is registered and investigation entrusted to a Sub-Inspector,” the FIR read. It further said the case was of a special nature. A senior police officer said the FIR had been registered in the case. “This is just a first information report. Various versions, including that of the Army, eyewitnesses and relatives of the deceased would be included in the investigation,” he said.Recently, the police was involved in a controversy after it lodged an FIR against an Army unit when three civilians were killed on January 27 in Army firing in Shopian district. On March 5, the J&K Government told the Supreme Court that Major Aditya Kumar had not been named in the FIR in connection with the incident.
Srinagar, March 10
Fifteen teams representing different states and organisations participated at the National Winter Nordic X-Country and National Biathlon Championship which was held at Gulmarg in Baramulla district from March 3-7.The championship was inaugurated by Tangmarg MLA Mohammad Abbas Wani and Maj Gen Atul Kaushik, Commandant, High Altitude Warfare School.Srinagar-based defence spokesman Col Rajesh Kalia said the championship was divided into many events.“A total of 95 athletes (75 men and 20 women) from 15 teams representing different states like Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Haryana participated in the championship. The results were declared on the final day and medals and certificates were awarded to various position-holders by the chief guest,” the spokesman said. Army athletes dominated most of the events, he added.During the closing ceremony, the chief guest appreciated the spirit and zest among the participants and complimented all the athletes for giving their best and participating in the highest spirit of sportsmanship. — TNS
Lt Preeti Chowdhary receives the sword from Lt Gen DR Soni, GOC-in-C, Southern Command. Tribune photo & PTI
Chandigarh cadet first from the city to get Sword of Honour, Haryana’s gets silver medal
Cadets celebrate after a passing-out parade at Officers Training Academy in Chennai on Saturday. Tribune photo & PTI
Vijay Mohan
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, March 10
Lt Preeti Choudhary, an NCC cadet from Chandigarh has created a record of sorts by becoming the first woman officer from the city and third in the Officers Training Academy (OTA) since women were inducted in 1992 to be awarded the coveted Sword of Honour for being the best all-round cadet of her course at the academy in Chennai. Another cadet from Haryana, Senior Under Officer Vreeti, was awarded the silver medal. A B.Tech in mechanical engineering, Vreeti quit a highly paid job in Japan as a design engineer before joining OTA as Lady Cadet. Both the cadets scored over more than 200 Gentlemen Cadets to bag the top two honours.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)Lt Preeti Choudhary received the sword from Lt Gen DR Soni, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Command, who was the reviewing officer of the passing-out parade today. She was among 37 Lady Cadets and 196 Gentlemen Cadets who were commissioned as Lieutenants.She is from the 19th Short Service Commission (Women) Course and she has opted for the Army Air Defence (AAD) corps. As of January 2018, the total strength of women officers in the Army (excluding the medical stream) was 1,561 out of which 63 were in the AAD.Preeti is from the second generation in her family to join the armed forces. Her father, Honorary Captain Inder Singh, served in the Army Medical Corps. Though a native of Haryana, she studied in Chandigarh and graduated from the Government College for Girls, Sector 11. She was also an active NCC air wing cadet.Wg Cdr MR Pandeya, Commanding Officer No. 1 Chandigarh NCC Air Squadron, said Preeti had represented the Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh NCC Directorate at the national level and was adjudged as the Second Best Air Wing Girl Cadet across the country in 2016. She trained with the NCC for three years, after which she applied for NCC special entry and cleared the Service Selection Board interview in the first attempt, he added.
Tribune News Service
Dehradun, March 25
Chief of the Army Staff General Bipin Rawat along with Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat visited Veer Chandra Singh Garhwal Government Institute of Medical Science and Research, Srinagar Garhwal, at Pauri district of Uttarakhand today.The two spent time visiting various sections of the medical college and held a meeting with the management. The visit of the Army Chief to Veer Chandra Singh Garhwal Government Institute of Medical Science and Research holds significance as Army is preparing to take it over. The Army will develop it on the lines of Armed Forces Medical College, Pune.Since its inception some years ago, Srinagar Medical College has been facing manpower shortage. The hospital was set up to cater to the needs of patients from hill areas, who were forced to head to Dehradun or other cities in search of specialised treatment for serious ailments. But the medical college has failed to provide tertiary care to patients hailing from hill areas of the state.
