Important Defence Current Affairs

Security personnel who often face off with stone-pelters and civilians during crucial anti-terror operations in Kashmir will no longer depend on pellet guns to disperse the human obstacles.

The Ministry of Home Affairs has approved the use of ‘sound cannon’, devices that can emit pain-inducing sound waves, on rampaging mobs in the Valley. The move follows criticism of pellet guns that have left several people with eye injuries.

It is also known as Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD), the sonic weapon was used for the first time in Pittsburgh, US.

INDIA HAS scrapped a $500-million deal with Israel for the purchase of Spike anti-tank missiles from defense contractor Rafael Advanced Defense Systems after indigenous developer Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) claimed that it could deliver an alternative within two years.

Operation Sunrise 2 is a coordinated military operation which was carried out between India and Myanmar to target militant groups. The Indian army and Myanmar Army carried out a three-week-long coordinated operation in their respective border areas from May 16. The operation targeted several militant groups operating in Manipur, Nagaland, and Assam.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) conducted the maiden test of an indigenously developed Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle (HSTDV) along with several technologies on 12 June.  The HSTDV missile was successfully launched from Dr. Abdul Kalam Island off the coast of Odisha.

The Cabinet Committee on Security headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the setting up of Defence Space Research Agency (DSRO), a new agency, which will develop sophisticated weapon systems. The approval aimed to To enhance the capabilities of the armed forces to fight wars in space.

Lt Gen PJS Pannu takes over as the Deputy Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (Operations) from Air Marshal Rajeev Sachdeva on June 1. He is currently posted as Deputy Chief Integrated Defence Staff (Doctrine Organisation and Training). The General Officer is an alumnus of Indian Military Academy and was commissioned into 22nd Battalion, The Maratha Light Infantry (MLI) on December 13, 1980, and commanded the battalion from May 1999 to February 2001 in Uri Sector (Jammu and Kashmir) during Operation VIJAY.

Indian Air Force and French Air Force have planned to carry out Garuda, a two-week-long mega air exercise, beginning on July 1 in France. The aim is to boost the military-to-military ties between the two countries. A fleet of Sukhoi 30 fighter jets of the Indian Air Force will engage in dogfights with France’s Rafale multirole aircraft in simulated scenarios as part of the ‘Garuda’ exercise. Other assets include mid-air refueller will also be sent to France by the IAF.

Go Green’ initiative, a “Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring System (CAAQMS)” at Fort William Military Station. Lt Gen M M Naravane, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Command, commissioned the system, which monitors air pollution on a real-time basis. The CAAQMS at the Eastern Command headquarters will measure air pollution including particulate matter throughout the year.

Indian Navy deployed its P-8I long-range maritime surveillance aircraft for anti-piracy sorties from Salalah in Oman to patrol the Gulf of Aden. This is the second time the P-8I is operated from Salalah for anti-piracy in 2019. It was operated from there first January. It is an expansion of its Mission Based Deployments (MBD) in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

Flight Lt. Mohana Singh becomes the first woman fighter pilot to fly by day on a Hawk advanced jet aircraft. She landed after a grueling 4-aircraft combat sortie at Kalaikunda Air Force station in West Bengal. The other women officers – Bhawana Kanth and Avani Chaturvedi – joined the fighter stream in June 2016. Last week, Flight Lt. Bhawana Kanth became the first daytime woman fighter pilot to fly a MiG-21 Bison.