Submarine “Kalvari” undocked at Mazagon Dock Limited- First submarine by India

“Kalvari”, the first of the Navy’s six Scorpene class stealth submarines built under Project 75, was undocked at Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL) here on Monday, paving the way for sea trials.

• Six Scorpenes are being built by MDL in collaboration with French firm DCNS.
• The first Scorpene submarine has been named after its predecessor, an erstwhile Russian “Foxtrot” class submarine, Kalvari. 
• It was the first submarine operated by India.

The Scorpene submarines would pack a potent punch. They would be equipped with anti-ship missiles and long range guided torpedoes along with modern sensor suite.

Nuclear capable Prithvi-II Missile with a Strike Range of 350 km Test Fired

With a strike range of 350 km, Prithvi-II is capable of carrying 500 kg to 1,000 kg of warheads and is thrusted by liquid propulsion twine engines.

India successfully test-fired nuclear weapons capable, surface-to-surface Prithvi-II missile for a shortened range of 250 km as against its full range of 350 km from Chandipur in Balasore district, Odisha. The indigenously-developed missile was launched by personnel of Strategic Forces Command (SFC) from a road mobile launcher. Carrying a dummy payload weighing 500 kg, the missile met all the mission objectives. The entire mission was carried out by SFC personnel as part of regular training. Prithvi-II is the first missile to have been developed by the DRDO under the Integrated Guided Missile Development           Programme (IGMDP) and has been inducted into the SFC in 2003.

Indian Air Force to acquire 14 Dornier planes from HAL

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has signed a Rs. 1,090-crore contract for supplying 14 Dornier-228 (Do-228) aircraft’s to the Indian Air Force (IAF).

The contract also includes supplying six reserve engines, a flight simulator and associated equipment to IAF.

These 14 aircraft’s will be manufactured by the HAL’s Transport Aircraft Division at Kanpur.

Key facts about Dornier Do-228 aircraft:

• The Dornier Do-228 was designed and developed by Dornier GmbH in the late 1970s.
• The aircraft cockpit allows for two-person operation and can carry 19 passengers in the commuter version.
• It is reliable, multipurpose and fuel efficient aircraft.
• It has special feature to operate from smaller airfields because of its light weight design and a retractable tricycle landing gear.

HAL Dornier-228 production background

• HAL holds the license to locally produce the Do-228 aircraft. Since 1983, HAL has produced more than 125 Do-228 aircraft.
• Earlier, HAL had supplied this aircraft to Indian Armed Forces and also exported them to Indian Ocean nations of Seychelles and Mauritius.
• In 2014, HAL had supplied one Do-228 aircraft to Bangalore-based Electronics and Radar Development Establishment (LRDE) for testing its new radars on flight.

Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas

First indigenously-built Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas was handed over to the Indian Air Force (IAF) by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar at ceremony held at Bengaluru, Karanataka.

It was handed over after it was granted Initial Operational Clearance (IOC)-II, which signifies that aircraft is airworthy to fly in different conditions.

About Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas

• Tejas is outcome of India’s LCA programme, which began in the 1983 to replace country’s aging MiG-21 fighters.
• It is a lightweight multi-role jet fighter indigenously-built by state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
• It is a tailless and having compound delta wing design. It is powered by a single engine.
• It is mounted with inbuilt MultiMode Radar (MMR), Radar Warning Receiver (RWR) systems.
• As part of LCA programme, 20 aircraft will be built by 2017-2018, to make the first squadron of the aircraft.
• IOC-I was granted to the aircraft in January 2011 after it was built by HAL. While, IOC- II was granted in September 2014, after the aircraft successfully completed its maiden flight.
• It is yet to receive the Final Operational Clearance (FOC) and excepted to receive it by the year-end which includes testing mid-air refuelling and its long-range missiles capabilities.