India, South Korea agree to go for joint production, export of military hardware - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

India, South Korea agree to go for joint production, export of military hardware.

In a significant move, India and South Korea have agreed to go for joint production and export of military hardware, enhance intelligence sharing and boost cooperation in cyber and space domains as part overall expansion of defence and security ties, official sources said on Sunday.

The decisions were taken during delegation-level talks between Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his South Korean counterpart Suh Wook on Friday with both sides resolving to give a major push to ramp up ties in strategically key areas, they said.

The South Korean minister was on a three-day visit to India from Thursday last that was focused on boosting bilateral defence and military cooperation.

In the field of defence industrial cooperation, the sources said the two sides decided to focus on joint research, joint production and joint export.

"There were extensive discussions on it," said a source.

South Korea has been a major supplier of weapons and military equipment to India. In 2019, the two countries finalised a roadmap for cooperation in joint production of various land and naval systems.

In the talks, the South Korean minister also expressed keenness in seizing the opportunities in India's two defence corridors, particularly by investing in joint ventures under the 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' (self-reliant India) initiative.

The government is working on setting up two defence industrial corridors in the country, one in Uttar Pradesh and another in Tamil Nadu, with an aim to ensure connectivity among various defence industrial units.

The sources said issues regarding multilateral and regional cooperation in the emerging regional security scenario were also discussed between Singh and Wook.

It is learnt that China's military assertiveness in the region figured in the talks.

The two sides also agreed to increase focus on cyber and space cooperation besides resolving to continue to focus on streamlining the intelligence exchange mechanism.

In the talks, the two ministers exchanged views on the impact of Covid-19 pandemic on the defence and security engagements as well as best practices followed by the armed forces to deal with the pandemic.

The sources said the Korean minister also highlighted the congruence between India's Act East Policy and his country's Southern Policy.

In light of India's experience in the UN peacekeeping operations, the Indian side conveyed to the South Korean delegation that it will ensure an appropriate participation in the upcoming UN Peacekeeping Ministerial meet in that country in December 2021.

The South Korean minister also visited Agra where he was shown capabilities of India's special forces. He also interacted with top executives of defence public sector undertakings and representatives of industry chamber FICCI. (Source: defencenews.in)

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India, South Korea agree to go for joint production, export of military hardware.

India launches military satellite Microsat-R and Kalamsat(lightest ever satellite) - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

India launches military satellite Microsat-R and Kalamsat(lightest ever satellite).

India successfully launched Microsat-R, a military satellite onboard in its Polar rocket PSLV C44, from the spaceport here on Thursday, in the first mission for ISRO in 2019.

The Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) workhorse Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) blasted off from the first launch pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at 11.37 pm at the end of a 28-hour countdown.

In a textbook launch, the 44-metre tall, four-stage PSLV-C44 soared into the clear and starry night sky majestically and injected the 740-kg Microsat-R into the orbit, precisely 13 minutes and 30 seconds later.
ISRO scientists broke into celebration at the mission control centre here, about 130 km from Chennai, as the Microsat-R was released in a 274-km polar sun-synchronous orbit, marking another success story for the space agency.
Former ISRO chairmen Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan and AS Kiran Kumar were among those who witnessed the launch.
The fourth stage of the rocket with co-passenger Kalamsat, a students’ payload, would now be moved to a higher circular orbit, around 450 km from earth, so as to establish an orbital platform for carrying out experiments.
The ISRO said it would take about 90 minutes for the fourth stage to reach the desired orbit.
Built at a cost of around Rs 12 lakh, the Kalamsat is an experimental satellite for studying the communication system of nanosatellites, which can be useful in many fields, predominantly disaster management.
The PSLV C44 is the first launch for the country’s space agency in 2019.
The PSLV-C44, assembled in 30 days, was the first mission of a new variant of the PSLV, called the PSLV-DL, as it was equipped with two strap-on configurations, the ISRO said.
Usually, PSLVs were launched without any strap-ons (boosters) or were equipped with six strap-ons fixed around the rocket, but the ISRO, for the first time, used only two boosters for the mission, an official of the space agency said.
He added that for the first time, the ISRO placed a satellite Microsat-R in a lower orbit, at around 274 km from earth.
Contributed by college students and the members of a Chennai-based organization Space Kidz India, Kalamsat is the first to use PS4 (the fourth stage of the vehicle) as a platform to orbit around the earth.
“We have been working on the project for over six years now. These students are from various backgrounds and the youngest one is studying B.Sc Physics,” said Space Kidz India CEO Srimathy Kesan
Kesan said Kalamsat was the lightest ever satellite to be launched by India.
Space Kidz India aims to nurture young scientists.
With this, the PSLV, basically a four-stage vehicle with alternating solid and liquid stages has launched 54 Indian and 269 satellites of international customers. (Source:rstv.nic.in)


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India launches military satellite Microsat-R and Kalamsat(lightest ever satellite).

ISRO successfully launches Military Communication Satellite GSAT-7A from Sriharikota - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

ISRO successfully launches Military Communication Satellite GSAT-7A from Sriharikota.

ISRO today launched its military communication satellite GSAT-7A from Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. The satellite GSAT-7A is the 35th Indian communication satellite weighing 2,250 kg. The satellite is expected to add a new space-based dimension to the way Indian Air Force interlinks, operates and communicates with its aircraft as they fly and with command centres on ground.

GSAT-7A will be the first satellite built primarily for the IAF to qualitatively unify its assets and improve combined, common intelligence during operations.
GSAT-7A is designed to expand the communication capabilities of the Indian Air Force (IAF). It will do this by connecting many of the ground radar stations, airbases and aircrafts operated by the IAF, and is also expected to boost some of their network-dependant warfare and drone capabilities.
Hailing the launch, Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa said, GSLV-7A would enhance the networking and communication capabilities of the Air Force.
"We have several platforms (aircrafts) which have capabilities of communication through satellite. The communication to the platform (aircrafts) through the satellite will be made possible with this launch," stated B S Dhanoa.
Satellite using Ku band will enable superior real time aircraft-to-aircraft communication; and between planes that are in flight and their commanders on the ground.
The GSAT-7A/GSLV-F11 mission will also wrap up the calendar year for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
The GSLV-F11 space vehicle will release it to an eventual geostationary orbit about 36,000 km from Earth. However, it will become fully functional after a month of testing payloads. GSLV F-11 with indigenous cryogenic upper stage has a total of three stages before reaching the destined orbit using the onboard propulsion system.


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ISRO successfully launches Military Communication Satellite GSAT-7A from Sriharikota.

India’s military retains 4th spot in global ranking, Pakistan drops to 17 - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

India’s military retains 4th spot in global ranking, Pakistan drops to 17.

India’s military has secured the fourth position on a global index of 136 countries ranked on the basis of their military capabilities, trailing behind United States, Russia and China.

While India has maintained its position among the top five nations in the Global Firepower (GFP) List 2018, Pakistan has slipped four spots to 17 from 13 in 2017.
The top three military powers too have held on to their ranks. France rounded up the top five. The United Kingdom, South Korea, Japan, Turkey and Germany complete the top 10, in that order.
Ireland, Montenegro and Liberia are three new additions to the list this year.
The GFP index ranked the countries based on 55 parameters, including military resources, geographical factors, logistical flexibility, natural resources, local industry and available manpower.
India, China, Pakistan ::
China leads India in terms of active military personnel with its 21.83 lakh personnel as against India’s 13.62 lakh. Pakistan has 6.37 active personnel.
China’s defence budget continues to be over three times more than India’s.
India remains ahead of Pakistan on most parameters, but the number of attack helicopters available with the western neighbour is significantly higher at 49, compared to India’s 15.
An increase or decline in ranking can be related to equipment/manpower attrition, financial instability, population and resource fluxes, etc, said the report.
It also said that India is looking beyond its position as a top military importer to that of a top military exporter and has several high-profile programmes to market.
Pakistan’s military, however, continues to be challenged by internal unrest, disaster relief operations and standing global requirements in the fight against terrorism, added the report.
The GFP index didn’t consider nuclear stockpiles, but gave weightage to recognised and suspected nuclear powers in terms of additional bonus.
Available manpower was a key consideration in the ranking, a factor understood to have helped India and China significantly because of the strength of their armed forces.(Source:defencenews.in)


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India’s military retains 4th spot in global ranking, Pakistan drops to 17.

Nepal refuses to participate in first BIMSTEC joint military exercise - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

Nepal refuses to participate in first BIMSTEC joint military exercise.

The field training exercise will be conducted between September 10 and 16 at the Foreign Training Node at Aundh in Pune.

Nepal will not participate in the week-long joint military exercise of Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) countries beginning Tuesday in Pune.

The withdrawal of the Nepal Army from the event — a first-of-its-kind in BIMSTEC history which is yet to be announced officially — comes in the wake of stringent criticism from the ruling and opposition parties in the country, warning Nepal Prime Minister K P Oli that the move would go against the country’s history of following a policy of keeping equal distance from its neighbours, without ever being part of a regional bloc militarily.
A senior official in the Nepal Army, who did not want to be identified, said the last minute decision of the army to “cancel” its participation came after an oral instruction from Oli, barely a day before a group of five officials and 30 junior personnel from the country were set to leave for Pune. The contingent was to leave Friday night.
The issue had dominated the discourse in Nepal parliament and media, after PM Narendra Modi at the recent BIMSTEC summit held in Kathmandu had requested the member states to join the joint military exercise.
The field training exercise will be conducted between September 10 and 16 at the Foreign Training Node at Aundh in Pune. Armies of India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand and Nepal were to participate in it.


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Nepal refuses to participate in first BIMSTEC joint military exercise.

India, U.S. sign landmark military communications, security agreement COMCASA - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

India, U.S. sign landmark military communications, security agreement COMCASA.

India and U.S. will also hold a first-ever tri-service exercise on the east coast of India in 2019, announces Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

India and the United States on Thursday began a new generation of military and security cooperation by signing Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA).
An announcement on the significant agreement came at the end of the inaugural 2+2 ministerial dialogue between the two countries that also focused on ensuring maritime freedom and international law in the India-Pacific region.
“They welcomed the signing of a Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) that will facilitate access to advanced defence systems and enable India to optimally utilise its existing US-origin platforms,” a joint statement issued at the end of the bilateral dialogue declared.
The bilateral dialogue was attended by U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo and Secretary of Defense James N. Mattis and their Indian counterparts Sushma Swaraj and Nirmala Sitharaman.
India and the U.S. would also hold a first-ever tri-service exercise on the east coast of India in 2019, Ms. Sitharaman announced.
An important element of Thursday’s discussion was starting the process of closer private defence industry collaboration that would allow Indian defence manufacturers to join the U.S. military supply chain.
The two defence ministers also announced their readiness to begin negotiations on an Industrial Security Annex (ISA) that would support closer defence industry cooperation and collaboration.
Signing of deal years ago
India and the U.S. signed the General Security Of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) years ago and it allows the sharing of classified information from the U.S. government and American companies with the Government of India and Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSU) but not with Indian private companies.
An ISA is required to enable private Indian participation in defence production and is particularly important as India opens up defence manufacturing to the private sector in a big way.
To further defence innovation, a Memorandum of Intent was signed between the U.S. Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) and the Indian Defence Innovation Organization — Innovation for Defence Excellence (DIO-iDEX), which will look into joint projects for co-production and co-development projects through the Defense Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI).
Both sides maintained that the Indo-Pacific region has emerged as an important part of bilateral cooperation and emphasised need to keep it open for maritime trade and free of disputes.
What is COMCASA:
This will enable greater communications interoperability between the militaries of India and the U.S.
India and the U.S. on September 6 signed the foundational or enabling agreement COMCASA on the side-lines of the inaugural 2+2 dialogue.
COMCASA stands for Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement and is one of the four foundational agreements that the U.S. signs with allies and close partners to facilitate interoperability between militaries and sale of high end technology.
COMCASA is an India-specific version of the Communication and Information on Security Memorandum of Agreement (CISMOA). It comes into force immediately, and is valid for a period 10 years.
COMCASA allows India to procure transfer specialised equipment for encrypted communications for US origin military platforms like the C-17, C-130 and P-8Is. Currently, these platforms use commercially available communication systems.
The joint statement issued after the 2+2 dialogue said that it would facilitate access to advanced defence systems and enable India to optimally utilize its existing U.S.-origin platforms.
Specific additional provisions have been incorporated in the text to safeguard our security and national interests.
This will also enable greater communications interoperability between the militaries of India and the US. Data acquired through such systems cannot be disclosed or transferred to any person or entity without India’s consent.
Both countries will implement this agreement in a manner that is consistent with the national security interests of the other.
India had signed the General Security Of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) in 2002 and the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) in 2016. The last one remaining is the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement for Geo-spatial Cooperation (BECA).


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India, U.S. sign landmark military communications, security agreement COMCASA.