Daily Defence Current Affairs And Updates 08-09 March 2023 [DOWNLOAD PDF]

Divyanshu Pandey
March 9, 2023
544

In Daily current affairs for 08-09 March 2023, we will see the latest national and international current affairs news. These important current affairs will be beneficial for your upcoming NDA, CDS, CDS OTA, AFCAT, TA, Agniveer Army, Agniveer Navy, Agniveer Air Force, Women Military Police, INET, MNS, ACC exams, SCO, PCSL, CAPF, and SSB interviews, and direct entries for Army, Navy, and Air Force like SSC Tech, TGC, JAG, NCC, TES, 10+2 Cadet. Download a PDF file about current events at the end of this article.

Defence Current Affairs 08-09 March 2023

Exercise Khanjar 2023

The 10^th Edition of India – Kyrgyzstan Joint Special Forces Military Training Exercise Khanjar commenced on 07.03.2023 at Tokmok, Kyrgyzstan.
The collaborative training reinforced the existing link between India and Kyrgyzstan, which has grown over years of mutual respect for strategic autonomy, democratic ideals, and zero tolerance for terrorism.
India and Kyrgyzstan recently held a joint Special Force Military Exercise called the “Khanjar”.
The Khanjar exercise is held annually between India and Kyrgyzstan since 2011.

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IAF Appoints Group Captain Shaliza Dhami As First Female Commander Of A Combat Unit

The Indian Air Force has selected Group Captain Shaliza Dhami to take over command of a frontline combat unit in the Western sector.
Group Captain Dhami was commissioned in the year 2003 as a Helicopter pilot and has over 2800 hours of flying experience. A Qualified Flying Instructor, she has served as Flight Commander of a Helicopter Unit in the Western sector.
Having been commended by the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief on two occasions, the officer is presently posted in the Operations branch of a frontline Command Headquarters.
Women officers have started taking command of various Army units in arms and services including Engineers, Signals, Army Air Defence, Intelligence Corps, Army Service Corps, Army Ordnance Corps and Electronics and Mechanical Engineers. The Navy has also started inducting women officers on frontline ships, earlier a no-go zone for women officers.
Many of them have been posted in the sensitive northern and eastern commands of the Army.
There are 10,493 women officers serving in the armed forces, the majority in the medical services.

Indian Naval Ship Sumedha Celebrates 9^th Anniversary

Indian Naval Ship Sumedha, an indigenously designed and built Offshore Patrol Vessel, celebrates its 9^th anniversary, an official of the Eastern Naval Command said.
Built by Goa Shipyard Limited and commissioned into the Indian Navy on 07 March 2014, the ship is a capable and potent part of the Indian Navy’s Eastern Fleet.
The ship’s primary role is to undertake coastal and offshore patrolling, ocean surveillance and monitoring of Sea Lines of Communication, HADR and SAR duties, the official said.
Launched: 21 May 2011
Length: 105 m
Builder: Goa Shipyard
Speed: 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph)
Operator: Indian Navy

Indian Navy Undertakes Indigenously-Made MRSAM Firing

The Indian Navy on Tuesday, undertook the Medium Range Surface to Air Missile (MRSAM) firing from INS Visakhapatnam validating the capability to engage Anti-Ship Missiles.
It is pertinent to note that MRSAM has been jointly developed by the DRDO and the Institute of Actuaries of India and produced at BDL reflecting the Navy’s commitment to Atmanirbhar Bharat.
INS Visakhapatnam is the lead ship and the first of the Visakhapatnam-class stealth guided-missile destroyers of the Indian Navy. The ship, commissioned on 21 November 2021, is one of the largest destroyers in service with the Indian Navy.

Contracts Signed For 70 HTT-40 Basic Trainer Aircraft & 3 Cadet Training Ships

Ministry of Defence, on March 07, 2023, signed contracts with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T) for procurement of 70 HTT-40 Basic Trainer Aircraft & three Cadet Training Ships respectively in the presence of Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh in New Delhi. Defence Secretary Shri Giridhar Aramane along with other senior civil & military officials of MoD and representatives of HAL & L&T were present during the signing and exchanging of contracts.
In a major boost to the Government’s efforts to achieve ‘Aatmanirbharta’ in defense, the Union Cabinet had, on March 01, 2023, approved the procurement of 70 HTT-40 trainer aircraft from HAL at a cost of over Rs 6,800 crore. The Cabinet had also cleared the signing of a contract with L&T for the acquisition of three Cadet Training Ships from L&T, worth more than Rs 3,100 crore under the Buy {Indian-IDDM (Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured)} category.

HTT-40 Trainer Aircraft

The HTT-40 is a turboprop aircraft possessing good low-speed handling qualities and providing better training effectiveness. This fully aerobatic tandem seat turbo trainer has an air-conditioned cockpit, modern avionics, hot re-fueling, running change over and zero-zero ejection seats.
The aircraft will meet the shortage of basic trainer aircraft of the Indian Air Force for the training of newly-inducted pilots. The procurement will include associated equipment and training aids including simulators. Being an indigenous solution, the aircraft is configurable for upgrades to incorporate the futuristic requirements of the Indian Armed Forces. The aircraft will be supplied over a period of six years.
The HTT-40 contains approx. 56% indigenous content which will progressively increase to over 60% through the indigenisation of major components and subsystems. The HAL would engage the domestic private industry, including MSMEs, in its supply chain. The procurement has the potential to provide direct and indirect employment to thousands of people spread over more than 100 MSMEs.

Cadet Training Ships

The ships will cater to the training of officer cadets, including women, at sea after their basic training to meet the future requirements of the Indian Navy. The ships would also provide training to cadets from friendly countries with the aim to strengthen diplomatic relations. The ships can also be deployed for evacuation of people from distress areas, Search & Rescue and Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations. The delivery of ships is scheduled to commence from 2026.
The ships will be indigenously designed, developed and constructed at L&T shipyard in Kattupalli, Chennai. The project will generate an employment of 22.5 lakh man-days over a period of four-and-half years. This will encourage active participation of Indian shipbuilding and associated industries, including MSMEs.

Raksha Mantri Meets the American Jewish Committee delegation

Rajnath Singh met an American Jewish Committee Delegation led by Mr Ted Deutch in New Delhi. The meeting was warm and cordial. Raksha Mantri recalled his previous meeting with AJC in USA many years ago and commended the good work being done by AJC in building bridges between countries and communities.
The meeting discussed a few other areas of common interest such as enhanced defence cooperation, particularly defence industrial cooperation. Raksha Mantri said that India offers significant advantage in terms of land cost, skilled human capital, a vibrant start-up ecosystem, a huge domestic defence market.
Mr Ted Deutch, CEO AJC was accompanied by Mr Robert S. Peckar, chair, AJC Asia Pacific Institute; Mr Jason Isaacson, AJC Chief Policy and Political Affairs Officer; and Ms Shira Loewenberg, Director, AIC Asia Pacific Institute.

Review Questions

Consider the following:
1. Argentina, 2. Mexico, 3. South Africa, 4. Iran, 5. Malaysia
Which of the following are the members of the G-20 Groups:
1, 2 and 3 only
2 and 3 only
1, 2, 3 and 4 only
1, 2, 3, 4 and 5

ANSWER: A