PTI

Udhampur/Jammu, October 22

Asserting that the morale of the Army was very high, Minister of State (Defence) Ajay Bhatt on Saturday said the soldiers were always ready to tackle any situation at any given point of time. He said troops always gave a befitting reply in troubled situations.

The minister visited the Northern Command headquarters at Udhampur where he was briefed on the security and operational situation, a defence spokesman said.

He commended the Northern Command for always being in combat while securing the borders and keeping the internal security situation stable in the Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh.

He interacted with senior officers and deliberated on various defence-related issues. Earlier, he laid a wreath at the Dhruva War Memorial at Northern Command, paying homage to the bravehearts who sacrificed their lives for the nation

Bhatt also flagged off the ‘Shaurya Diwas (Infantry day) motorcycle rally’ in presence of Northern Command chief Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi. The Bike rally has been organised to commemorate 75 years of historic landings at Srinagar during the 1947-48 war. The rally will culminate at the National War Memorial here on October 27. The minister later interacted with NCC girl cadets.

Meanwhile, the Union minister handed over appointment letters to 25 youths recruited in the Northern Railway at an event in Udhampur as part of the Rozgar Mela launched by PM Narendra Modi on Saturday. Officials said the railway selection process had been simplified and tech enabled to expedite recruitments.

PTI

Itanagar, October 23

The Army has launched a search operation to find out the black box of the Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) that crashed in Arunachal Pradesh on Friday killing five personnel, officials said.

The black box is an instrument that records all flight information which could help ascertain the reason for the crash.

Personnel of 21 Para (Special Force) from Jorhat in Assam, were airdropped at the crash site near Migging, around 35 kilometres from the border with China, on Saturday to recover the Black Box.

“The area is thickly wooded which is creating hindrances in searching for the Black Box,” an official said on Sunday.

The ALH, carrying five Army personnel including two pilots, was on regular sorties when it crashed at 10.43 am on Friday.

The bodies of four personnel were recovered on Friday evening from the crash site in a densely wooded mountainous area, while the fifth body was found the next day.

Prior to the crash, the Air Traffic Control (ATC) had received a mayday call from the pilots of the ALH suggesting a technical or mechanical failure, defence spokesperson Lt Col A S Walia said

‘Mayday’ is the word used across the world to make a distress call over radio communication in case of emergency, usually on a ship or aircraft.

The Army headquarters ordered a Court of Inquiry to investigate the cause of the crash.

According to officials, the weather was good for flying operations on Friday and the two pilots had a combined experience of flying for more than 1,800 hours.

The Army helicopter, also known as HAL Rudra, had taken off from Likabali in Lower Siang district.

The HAL Rudra is an attack helicopter manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Indian Army. It is a weapon system integrated (WSI) Mk-IV variant of the Dhruv ALH and is the first armed helicopter produced indigenously in India.

This is the second accident involving an Army helicopter in Arunachal Pradesh this month.

A Cheetah helicopter crashed in Tawang district on October 5 and claimed the life of one of its two pilots.

According to official records, Arunachal Pradesh has witnessed 13 crashes since 1995, and 47 people were killed in them.

Chandigarh, October 23

Movement of drones for airdropping drugs, arms and ammunition continues to pose a big challenge to security agencies with over 150 such activities noticed this year so far at several points along the India-Pakistan border in Punjab, said officials.

They said the use of drones for the smuggling narcotics, arms and ammunition first came to notice in 2019 in Punjab.

The Border Security Force, which is guarding the 553 km stretch of border with Pakistan, has this year shot down 10 drones—three in the last week—besides thwarting intrusion of many unmanned aerial vehicles, the officials said.

“More than 150 drone activities have been spotted so far,” said a senior official of the BSF (Punjab Frontier).

One drone was shot down near the Shahpur border outpost in Amritsar on October 14, two were gunned down on October 16 and 17 in the Amritsar sector, said the officials.

The officials said smugglers backed by Pakistan’s spy agency ISI are using sophisticated and high-end Chinese drones, with minimum sound and capable of flying at higher level.

A drone which was shot down on October 14 was a quadcopter (DJI Matrice) and a holding and releasing mechanism also found with this drone.https://c15ffeb1ed94962fd0a8da94574ff2e9.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html

Most drone activities have been concentrated in areas along the international border in Amritsar and Tarn Taran districts, said the officials.

However, drone movements have also been spotted in Ferozepur and Gurdaspur areas, they added.

The BSF had coordinated with the Punjab Police in busting a gang involved in smuggling of narcotics and weapons from across the border in Tarn Taran area this year, said the senior BSF official.

Last month, the BSF had decided to shoot Indian smugglers who come to collect narcotics and weapons, smuggled from Pakistan, near the international border.

“If a smuggler comes to receive the consignment or attacks, the law permits us to fire at the smuggler,” said the BSF official.

The BSF has also decided to reward its personnel who gun down a drone sneaking into Indian territory.

In April this year, the BSF had announced to give Rs 1 lakh reward to a person who provides information leading to the arrest of persons using drones for smuggling of narcotics, arms and ammunition from Pakistan.

New Delhi, October 22

Various intelligence agencies have reported that the number of terrorists at terror camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) has increased, with around 150 of them waiting at the launch pads adjacent to the Line of Control (LoC) to infiltrate into India ahead of winter snow.

Surveillance raised

• There are continuous efforts by terror outfits to infiltrate terrorists from across the LoC
• In face of strict surveillance, they are constantly changing their strategies, sources say

Sources said according to a latest report of the Multi-Agency Centre (MAC), agencies have received inputs that a number of trained terrorists have shifted near the LoC. “Around 150 of them are waiting to enter into India before the onset of winter,” a source said. There have been continuous efforts on part of terror outfits like Jaish-e-Mohammad, Lashkar-e-Toiba and Hizbul Mujahideen to infiltrate terrorists from across the LoC, but in the face of strict surveillance on the borders, they are constantly changing their strategies, the sources said.

Central security agencies are keeping a close watch along the LoC and international border with Pakistan as they suspect that terrorists are also trying to infiltrate using tunnels, the sources said, adding a few months ago, the BSF had detected a similar tunnel along the border in Jammu.

The sources said in a recent report to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, the security agencies had informed that drone activities along the Pakistan border had doubled as compared to last year.

While 109 drones were seen last year, by September this year, this number has increased to 214, the report revealed. This year, the BSF has shot down nine drones breaching the Indian border from the Pakistani side in Punjab.

Sahib Singh Virdi recalls an incident when his father defended himself with a basic double-bore gun ammunition against Muslims on horseback while migrating from Pakistan enroute Dera Baba Nanak in India. The family then had to move was made to move towards the Jammu and Kashmir border instead of heading straight for their destination in order to avoid mobs and narrowly escaped being killed a number of times during their journey.

UDHAMPUR, OCTOBER 22 Asserting that the morale of the Indian Army is very high, Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt on Saturday said our soldiers are always ready to tackle any situation at any given point of time. He said Indian troops always gave a befitting reply in troubled situations. “Today, the morale of our soldiers is very high. We are always ready to tackle any situation at any time”, Bhatt said while addressing troops after laying a wreath at the Dhruva War Memorial at Northern Command and paying homage to the bravehearts who sacrificed their lives for the nation. He said that whenever the country faced any situation of trouble or during calamities, troops gave a befitting response. Bhatt said that the situation in the country has changed today. Negative thoughts have turned into positive thoughts in terms of development, he said. He commended the Northern Command for always being in combat while securing the borders and keeping the internal security situation stable in the union territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. The Union minister visited headquarters Northern Command at Udhampur, where he was briefed on the security and operational situation, a defence spokesman said. He interacted with senior officers and deliberated on various defence related issues. Bhatt also flagged off the ‘Shaurya diwas (Infantry day) motorcycle rally’ in presence of Northern Command chief Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi. The Bike Rally has been organised to commemorate 75 years of historic landings at Srinagar in the 1947-48 War. The rally will culminate at National War Memorial here on October 27. The minister later interacted with NCC girl cadets. PTI

K J M VARMA China is expected to boost its nuclear arsenal after President Xi Jinping’s remarks at the key Congress of the ruling Communist Party here for the first time that Beijing will establish strong strategic deterrence, experts have said. “We will establish a strong system of strategic deterrence,” Xi, who is widely expected to be endorsed for a record third five-year term by the Congress of the CPC, told its opening session on October 16. In the 63-page report, Xi, who also heads the Central Military Commission (CMC) – the overall high command of the two million-strong People’s Liberation Army (PLA) – devoted a special section to the military titled Achieving the Central Goal of the PLA and Further Modernising National Defence and Military. He also called for accelerated development of unmanned, intelligent combat capabilities, promotion of coordinated development and application of the network information system. There was no mention of the concept of strategic deterrence in Xi’s last party Congress report in 2017 or in his historical resolution last year. But the country’s 14th five-year plan report released last year emphasised the need to “build a high-standard strategic deterrence”, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported. Analysts said Xi’s mention indicated China would improve its nuclear deterrence capability amid its increasing rivalry with the US, which is a major nuclear power. Song Zhongping, a former People’s Liberation Army instructor, said the statement meant China would “strengthen its development of strategic nuclear forces” to safeguard its national security. Song said the PLA must strengthen its “nuclear triad” forces – its combination of ground-based intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), submarine-launched missiles and air-launched weapons – as well as its second-nuclear strike capability to respond to a nuclear attack. “All of these require the PLA to have a modern nuclear-armed force . and to moderately increase the nuclear arsenal,” he said. The US has warned of the expansion of China’s nuclear weapons in the past, with a report released by the Pentagon in November estimating China could have up to 700 deliverable nuclear warheads by 2027 and at least 1,000 by 2030, the Post report said. Song said the need for strong strategic deterrence had arisen as the US had challenged the bottom line of both China and Russia over the Taiwan issue and the Ukraine war, and “only when China has a strong nuclear capability can it effectively safeguard our national security”. There have been calls in recent years for China to build up its nuclear arsenal. China claims it has the lowest number of nuclear weapons to build up its nuclear arsenal. Zhao Tong, a senior fellow at the Carnegie-Tsinghua Centre for Global Policy in Beijing, told the Post that the new wording pointed to an ongoing, significant change in China’s nuclear policy. In 2021, the country moved from its traditional policy of building a “lean and effective” deterrent to one of constructing a “high-standard strategic deterrent”. Then this year the declaration was to create a “strong strategic deterrent capability”. He said it was significant “especially when considering that for many decades China had maintained a traditionally small nuclear arsenal and a very modest, self-restrained nuclear posture. All of this appears to have become history now.” Zhao said it was very hard to tell how many nuclear weapons China planned to build eventually and the appearance of an open-ended nuclear buildup was what was driving concerns in the United States and other countries. P

Col HP Singh (retd)

AN intrusion by the enemy necessitated our mobilisation, and within 36 hours of notice, we lifted the skids of our helicopters, getting airborne to support troops in the Kargil war. I convinced my three-month-pregnant wife that this was just another routine mission. Newly married to the olive greens, she believed me.

It was only when the war scenes started getting telecast live on television that the enormity of the situation came upon her. While a fighter aircraft and helicopter were downed in quick succession by the enemy, there was a casualty at my home — our would-be first-born succumbed to stress-induced miscarriage.

In spite of heavy flying commitments, my Commanding Officer (CO) managed to spare a helicopter to fly me out to the nearest rail head. As we landed in Jammu, I was handed a ticket by an officer who accompanied me till I boarded a train for Jalandhar, where my wife was admitted. In those stressful times, when sensible decisions were hard to make, these empathetic gestures helped me reach her with minimum delay.

On my return to the war zone, I expressed deep gratitude to my CO. ‘If you really want to thank me, do something similar to someone else in need,’ he said philosophically.

A decade later, while commanding a regiment in Ladakh, I was informed that a Junior Commissioned Officer had collapsed due to high blood pressure. At that moment, I was in conversation with pilots of a helicopter waiting to take off for air maintenance of troops deployed at Siachen. The pilot immediately ordered his helicopter to be unloaded and flew him out to the nearest military hospital.

As his condition deteriorated, doctors advised further evacuation to the Command Hospital. It was afternoon by now and all scheduled flights had departed. Given the post noon air turbulence in the region, the earliest incoming flight would arrive the next morning. The Air Force base, not very far from the hospital, was then commanded by a gentleman who had been my instructor at the Helicopter Training School. I took the liberty of seeking his help.

‘Kuch karta hoon’ — he was not the kind to throw up his hands in despair. Luckily, an aircraft was returning to the plains after para-dropping its load on icy heights. He ordered it to divert to his base forthwith. I felt huge relief when the patient was in safe hands within an hour and lived to see another day. I met him after a few days as he lay partially paralysed on the hospital bed. ‘We shall remain indebted to you, sir,’ spoke his teenaged son. ‘I rather thank your father for helping me clear my long overdue debt of gratitude,’ I replied.

Tribune News Service

Gandhinagar, October 21

The Ministry of Defence on Friday said the Indian Air Force and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited have entered into a contract for 70 HTT-40 indigenous trainer aircraft worth Rs 6,800 crore.

The HTT-40 will be used to train pilots of the Indian Air Force, Navy and Coast Guard.

The MoD said the Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) had handed over 16 agreements for transfer of technology for DRDO-developed technologies to 13 industries during the Bandhan ceremony of the 12th DefExpo in Gandhinagar. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh presided over the ceremony.

The technologies transferred by the DRDO are from the area of electronics, laser technology, armaments, material science, combat vehicles, naval systems, sensors etc.

The MoD said a total of 451 MoUs, transfer of technology agreements and product launches were done at the expo. Of 451, there were 345 MoUs, 42 major announcements, 46 product launches and 18 ToTs, it said.

Upset, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin writes to PM Modi

PTI

Chennai, October 21

A fisherman from Tamil Nadu on Friday sustained a bullet injury when the Navy fired “warning shots” in mid-sea. Upset, Chief Minister MK Stalin sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s intervention to prevent such incidents.

The Navy said its ship intercepted a suspicious boat on the Palk Bay. :”As the vessel did not stop despite repeated warnings, warning shots were fired as per the Standard Operating Procedure to halt it,” a Defence PRO tweeted. A crew member on board sustained an injury and was hospitalised.

The boat was noticed by the Navy ship while on patrol near the India-Sri Lanka International Maritime Boundary Line in the early hours of Friday. An inquiry has been ordered. “The injured person was administered first-aid and evacuated by a Chetak helicopter to INS Parandu at Ramnad and then shifted to Government Hospital, Ramanathapuram, for further medical management. His condition is reported to be stable,” a statement read.The Tamil Nadu Government identified the injured fisherman as K Veeravel of Vanagiri village in Mayiladuthurai district.

Stalin said he was shocked by the incident and that he had asked the state-run Madurai hospital, where he had been shifted, to provide the best treatment to the injured fisherman.