The Ministry of Defence is looking to procure 76 naval utility helicopters — 51 for the Indian Navy and 25 for the Coast Guard.
These helicopters will be used for maritime surveillance, utility tasks, disaster management, and low-intensity maritime operations.
The MoD has issued a Request for Information (RFI) — the first step in the tendering process — to identify vendors capable of manufacturing the helicopters in India.
The ministry has specified that the helicopters should be capable of performing multiple roles by day and night, including maritime search and rescue, casualty evacuation, and transportation of troops and cargo.
The requirement is for twin-engine helicopters with a payload capacity of 5.5 tonnes, capable of operating from ship decks and sea.
At present, the Navy and Coast Guard use a mix of helicopters for these roles. This includes the Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) produced by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), and Cheetah/Chetak helicopters, which are based on the French-designed Aérospatiale Alouette III and Aérospatiale SA 315B Lama, produced in India.
This RFI is the second issued by the MoD this month to procure helicopters. Earlier, the MoD had floated an RFI to procure 200 helicopters — 120 for reconnaissance and surveillance for the Indian Army’s aviation corps and 80 for the Indian Air Force.
The growing demand to phase out ageing helicopters has intensified in recent years following a series of accidents, including several fatal ones.
EXPLAINER: Growing military ties with Germany, a collaborator in India’s latest submarine project
The negotiations between the Ministry of Defence, MDL and TKMS are expected to begin by the end of this month
About six months after Germany’s Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) and India’s public sector Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) cleared a bid to jointly build six submarines for the Indian Navy, the Central Government has given the go ahead to begin formal negotiations to carry the acquisition process forward.
The TKMS-MDL joint venture was the only one to clear the Navy’s field trials, coming ahead of Navantia, a Spanish state-owned company associated with military and civilian shipbuilding and advanced defense systems, which had joined hands with India’s Larsen and Toubro.
As part of Project-75 (India), valued at Rs 70,000 crore, TKMS — a group engaged in the construction of ships and submarines that was founded when industrial conglomerate ThyssenKrupp acquired Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (HDW) in January 2005 — will collaborate to manufacture the submarines in India. HDW, incidentally, is the same company that had supplied four Type-209 Sishumar Class submarines to the Indian Navy in the 1980s.
The negotiations between the Ministry of Defence, MDL and TKMS are expected to begin by the end of this month and are expected to take 6-8 months, after which, on receiving final government approval, a contract will be signed for the works to commence.
A peep inside Project 15 (I)
The project was originally conceived way back in 1997, with the aim to procure six conventionally-powered attack submarines to replace the Indian Navy’s ageing Soviet-origin Kilo Class boats, also known locally as the Sindhughosh Class.
The programme has experienced considerable delay due to bureaucratic red tape, inadequate planning and a lack of corporate competitiveness. The six submarines, which were originally planned to become operational in the mid-2020s, are now expected to enter service by the mid-2030s.
In 1997, the Cabinet Committee on Security had approved the construction of two Type-209 attack submarines at MDL with the assistance of a foreign naval firm. Thomson-CSF (TCSF) of France was the only firm willing to collaborate in the project.
Two years later, the MoD approved a two-phase plan to construct 24 submarines domestically over a 30-year period. In the first phase involving the construction of two Type-209s, two options were proposed. One was construction of Type-209s at MDL in collaboration with TCSF and the other was construction of submarines based on the newer Scorpène design.
The Indian Navy opted for the second proposal on the grounds that the Scorpène was more advanced than the Type-209 and also had the benefit of transfer of technology. The move to collaborate with TCSF was shelved in April 2001 and negotiations for the procurement of the Scorpène design under the first phase, christened Project-75 (P-75), began in November 2001.
The second phase, named Project-75 (India) or P-75(I), was to be undertaken simultaneously with P-75, with both projects envisioned to deliver 18 attack submarines by 2030. However, due to financial constraints, only P-75 was then sanctioned.
In July 2010, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) accorded the Acceptance of Necessity (AoN), that is in-principle agreement, for the P-75(I). But delays over selection of collaborators, official clearances, changes in regulations and revisions in specifications continued to dodge the programme. There was even a complaint by a competitor about irregularities and ambiguity in the entire selection process.
If the stipulated timeline is adhered to, the first P-75(I) submarine would be delivered about seven years after the contract is signed, that is in 2032-33, and with a total project cost that is 27,000 crore higher than the original estimation of Rs 43,000 crore.
According to reports, TKMS had offered a customised design based on the Type 214 submarine, also developed by HDW and a more advanced variant of the Type-209. With an estimated displacement of 3,000 tonnes, the new Indian submarines are expected to have a longer and more imposing hull designed to reduce acoustic footprint.
Reports also suggest that the submarine will be armed with 18 heavyweight torpedoes and 12 land attack or anti-ship cruise missiles. It will also feature air-independent propulsion and diesel-electric propulsion, enabling it to remain submerged for up to three weeks at a stretch, significantly boosting the Indian Navy’s operational capability.
The submarine’s design and technology could also assist feature in Project-76, a programme to design and construct an entirely indigenous next-generation conventional diesel-electric submarine. The programme envisions 12 such submarines. Alongside conventional boats, construction of two nuclear-powered attack submarines is also underway at Indian shipyards.
India – Germany military cooperation
The Indian Navy launched its submarine fleet in December 1967 with the Soviet Origin Foxtrot class submarines and for long Soviet/Russian submarines were the mainstay of its underwater capability. When INS Shishumar, the first of the four Type-209 boats from Germany was commissioned in September 1986, it was the first western submarine to be inducted. The second type of western origin submarines are the six French Scorpenes and the third western type being proposed is again of German origin.
While Indo-German bilateral relations spanning commercial, cultural and technological domains have traditionally been strong, military cooperation between the two countries has till recently remained limited due to geo-political factors. The acquisition of the Type-209s in the 1980s was the first major, albeit rare military deal with Germany.
Forming the frontline between NATO and Warsaw Pact during the post World War-II Cold-War era, Germany had largely remained focused on European security with no strategic footprint in the Asia–Pacific region, while India depended upon the Soviet Union for military supplies. Even in the 1971 India-Pakistan war, Germany was critical of India’s intervention to liberate Bangladesh and in 1998, had flayed India’s nuclear tests.
Geopolitical shifts and global reordering, particularly Russia’s war in Ukraine and China’s growing assertiveness in the Asia-Pacific region, and other common areas of concern like terrorism and cyber security are now driving transformation in military ties.
Both countries consult each other and coordinate positions in multilateral forums, including the G20 and the UN, on global issues. Given its key role in the European Union, India considers Germany among its most important partners in Europe. Germany now sees India as a key partner to counter some of the strategic challenges it faces.
In September 2006, India and Germany signed the Bilateral Defence Cooperation Agreement, followed by the Agreement on Mutual Protection of Classified Information in October 2007, which provide the framework for bilateral defence ties.
The Indian and the German Navy conducted joint-exercises in 2008 for the first time, following an anti-piracy co-operation agreement between the two nations signed in 2006. High level visits at the level of defence minister, service chiefs, participation in bilateral and multi-lateral exercises and port calls by naval ships have since followed.
To further enhance the defence industry and defence cooperation between Germany and India, the Arrangement on Implementation of the Agreement of 2006 concerning Bilateral Defence Cooperation was signed in February 2019 in Berlin.
Policy Initiatives:
In 2024, the German Cabinet adopted the “Focus on India” paper, emphasising stronger defense ties to ensure stability in the Indo-Pacific. It aims for cooperation in arms, joint military presence and logistical support.
The same year, India and Germany also proposed to sign a memorandum of arrangement for mutual logistical support to strengthen military cooperation, particularly in the Asia Pacific region. Germany will post a permanent liaison officer to India’s Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean Region.
First in 13 years: Pakistan FM visits Bangladesh to reset ties
Visa exemption, cultural exchange among several MoUs finalised
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar arrived in Dhaka on Saturday for a rare two-day visit, aimed at rebuilding ties with Bangladesh following the ouster of longtime Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
A special flight carrying Dar — the most senior Pakistani leader to visit Bangladesh since 2012 — landed in Dhaka, with Islamabad describing the trip as a “significant milestone” in bilateral relations. Bangladesh’s Foreign Secretary Asad Alam Siam received him at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.
Hina Rabbani Khar was the last Pakistani foreign minister to visit Dhaka, in November 2012, when she invited then premier Hasina to a summit in Islamabad.
Bangladesh Foreign Ministry officials said Dar would hold bilateral talks on Sunday with Foreign Affairs Adviser Touhid Hossain, where up to half a dozen agreements and memoranda of understanding (MoUs) could be signed.
“He (Dar) is expected to pay a courtesy call on Chief Adviser (interim government chief) Muhammad Yunus later in the day. In addition, meetings are expected with BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami,” an official familiar with his schedule said.
On Friday, Pakistan’s Foreign Office said “a whole range of bilateral relations and several regional and international issues” would be discussed during these meetings.
Dar’s visit, initially planned for April, was delayed after the Pahalgam terrorist attack heightened tensions with India. However, Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Amna Baloch visited Dhaka in April for consultations, the first such engagement in 15 years.
Dar’s arrival coincided with a visit by Pakistan’s Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan, who has been leading efforts to revive trade and economic ties between the two countries, which fought a war in 1971 that led to the birth of Bangladesh.
Khan earlier held talks with interim government commerce adviser Sheikh Bashir Uddin, focusing on setting up a new Trade and Investment Commission and reviving the long-dormant Joint Economic Commission. Officials said the two sides had finalised several deals, including a visa exemption for diplomatic passport holders, a cultural exchange MoU, cooperation between foreign service academies, a joint trade and investment group and agreements on strategic studies and state news agency cooperation.
Relations between Dhaka and Islamabad had sunk to their lowest ebb during Hasina’s Awami League government, particularly after it initiated trials in 2010 of collaborators of Pakistani troops during the 1971 Liberation War.
The change opened the door to warmer relations with Pakistan, at a time when Dhaka’s ties with New Delhi had grown frosty.
Gaganyaan mission symbol of new chapter in journey of Atmanirbhar Bharat: Rajnath
At an event hosted by the IAF at Subroto Park, Singh felicitates the 4 Gaganyatris
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan and Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal AP Singh with Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair, Group Captain Ajith Krishnan and Group Captain Angad Pratap during the felicitation ceremony of Gaganyatris, in New Delhi, Sunday, Aug. 24, 2025. PTI
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday said Gaganyaan mission symbolises a “new chapter” in the journey of Atmanirbhar Bharat and called astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla and the other three chosen Gaganyatris as “gems”.
At an event hosted by the IAF at Subroto Park here, Singh felicitated the four Gaganyatris.
The ceremony comes after the successful Axiom 4 mission, of which Shukla was a part.
Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair, Group Captain Ajit Krishnan, Group Captain Angad Pratap, and Wing Commander Shubhanshu Shukla are the four chosen Gaganyatris.
Their names were revealed for the first time in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram in February 2024.
The Gaganyaan project, formally announced by Modi in 2018, aims to send a three-member crewed flight into the 400 km-orbit for a three-day mission in 2027.
India tests new air defence system off Odisha coast
The Integrated Air Defence Weapon System is a multi-layered system comprising indigenous Quick Reaction Surface to Air Missile (QRSAM), Advanced Very Short Range Air Defence System (VSHORADS) missiles and a high power laser-based Directed Energy Weapon (DEW)
India, in a step to further bolster its air defence, has successfully conducted the maiden flight tests of an Integrated Air Defence Weapon System (IADWS) on Sunday.
The test was conducted off the coast of Odisha and will add new layers to the Indian air defence system that performed creditably during the recent skirmish with Pakistan (May 7-10). A directed energy weapon is the addition to the system that is otherwise connected seamlessly though a chain of radars and sensors to bring down ariel threats from the enemy.
IADWS is a multi-layered air defence system comprising indigenous Quick Reaction Surface to Air Missile (QRSAM), Advanced Very Short Range Air Defence System (VSHORADS) missiles and a high power laser-based Directed Energy Weapon (DEW).
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated the DRDO, India Armed forces and industry for successful development of IADWS. “This unique flight-test has established the multi-layered air-defence capability of our country and is going to strengthen area defence for important facilities against enemy aerial threats,” he added.
The Vir Chakra awardees are Colonel Koshank Lamba, Lieutenant Colonel Sushil Bisht, Naib Subedar Satish Kumar, Rifleman Sunil Kumar, Group Captain Ranjeet Singh Sidhu, Group Captain Manish Arora, Group Captain Animesh Patni, Group Captain Kunal Kalra, Wing Commander Joy Chandra, Squadron Leader Sarthak Kumar, Squadron
Master Tara Singh, along with Sardar Baldev Singh, warned the Cabinet Mission of evil consequences as the Sikhs might not obtain the same rights as Muslims and Hindus.
