In Defence current affairs for 19-20 February 2023, we are going to see the latest national and international current affairs news. These important current affairs will be very helpful 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 19-20 February 2023Â
Indian Navy To Deploy ‘Made in India’ Fire Fighting Bots On Aircraft Carriers
- In a major success for ‘Make in India’ in defence, the Indian Navy is soon going to deploy indigenous firefighting bots on its largest warships including the aircraft carriers INS Vikrant and INS Vikramaditya.
- Navy Vice Chief Vice Admiral SN Ghormade discussed about the initiatives taken in the maritime force under the ‘Make in India’ project and said, “I was confident that the Navy would be able to fulfil a promise made to the Prime Minister on indigenous projects.”
- “Two contracts have already materialized including a fire fighting bot which has been used in INS Vikrant and INS Vikramaditya aircraft carriers,” Ghormade said on the sidelines of Aero India 2023.
- “The Honourable Prime Minister launched 75 challenges. We have really expedited and done this job. We had thought that if we have to achieve success, we have to do things differently. We have made our procedures simple so that we can take these cases ahead. We are sure that by August 15, we would achieve our target as promised to Prime Minister Modi,” he said.
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Sticker Of Lord Hanuman Is Back On HAL Aircraft
- The sticker of lord Hanuman which was removed from a scale model of Hindustan Lead-in Fighter Trainer (HLFT) on the second day of Aero India 2023, was back on the last day of the airshow on February 17.
- The sticker was on the tail of the aircraft, along with the slogan ‘The Storm Is Coming’, on the inaugural day of the five-day airshow.
- On February 14 on the second day of the airshow, HAL removed the sticker of lord Hanuman from HLFT-42.
- HLFT-42 is the ‘Next Gen Supersonic Trainer’ that will play a “critical role” in modern combat aircraft training with state-of-the-art avionics like Active Electronically Scanned Array, Electronic Warfare Suite, Infrared Search and Track with Fly by Wire control system, HAL had said last week.
North India’s 1st Nuclear Plant Is Coming Up In Haryana
- North India’s first Nuclear Plant is coming up in Haryana in the town of Gorakhpur, which is about 150 km north of the national capital of New Delhi.
- Dr Jitendra Singh said that during PM Modi’s regime, one of the major achievements would be the installation of Nuclear/ Atomic Energy plants in other parts of the country, which were earlier confined mostly to the South Indian States like Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh or in the west in M.H.
- Gorakhpur Haryana Anu Vidyut Pariyojana has two units of 700 MWe capacity each of Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) indigenous design is under implementation near Gorakhpur village in Fatehabad district in Haryana.
- To date, an amount of ₹4,906 Cr has been spent out of total allocated funds of 20,594 Cr. (Total Financial progress is 23.8% as of date).
BD Mishra Takes Oath As Lt Governor of Ladakh
- Brigadier BD Mishra (Retd) on Sunday was sworn in as the new lieutenant governor (LG) of Ladakh. J&K and Ladakh High Court Chief Justice N Kotiswar Singh administered the oath of office to Mishra at Raj Niwas in Leh.
- He is a former brigadier of the Indian Army and is the former Commander of the Counter Hijack Force of the National Security Guard (NSG), also known as the Black Cat Commandos.
- Mishra was previously the Governor of Arunachal Pradesh and is the second LG of Ladakh after Mathur, who served for three years, from 31 October 2019 to 11 February 2023.
South Korea Says North Korea Fires Ballistic Missile Into Sea
- South Korea’s military said North Korea on Saturday fired at least one ballistic missile into the sea, a day it threatened to take strong measures against South Korea and the U.S. over their joint military exercises.
- The launch came a day after North Korea’s Foreign Ministry threatened to take “unprecedently” strong action against its rivals after South Korea announced a series of planned military exercises with the United States aimed at sharpening their response to the North’s growing threats.
- South Korea and the U.S. will also hold a one-day Tabletop exercise next week at the Pentagon to sharpen a response to a potential use of nuclear weapons by North Korea.
Finland Could Join NATO Ahead Of Sweden: Defence Minister
- Finland’s defence minister said that his country will join NATO without waiting for Sweden if its Nordic neighbour’s accession is held up by the Turkish government. Finland would prefer that the two countries join the alliance together, but it wouldn’t hold up the process if Turkey decides to approve Finland, but not Sweden, as it has warned.
- “The main issue is not whether Finland and Sweden are joining at the same time. The main issue is that Finland and Sweden join as soon as possible, and it is of course a Turkish decision whether to ratify both protocols or only one protocol,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.
- All NATO countries except Turkey and Hungary have already given both countries the green light to join the alliance. Hungary has said it will do so soon, but Turkey says Sweden hasn’t done enough to meet Turkish national security concerns, causing a rift in NATO at a time when the U.S. and other allies are seeking to project a united front against Russia.
IAF’s Eastern Air Command Inducts Heavy Machinery In Arunachal Pradesh
- Eastern Air Command of the Indian Air Force has inducted heavy machinery in an inaccessible terrain in Arunachal Pradesh to aid Border Roads Organisation (BRO) and General Reserve Engineer Force (GREF).
- “IAF Chinooks, flown by the specially cleared crew, have thus contributed significantly to augment road connectivity and infrastructure in the North East,” it said.
- “There is a slight increase in the number of troops [by China] opposite our Eastern command. We are keeping a close watch on the movements,” General Manoj Pande told reporters in January.
- Without naming China, the Army Chief further said that they have been able to prevent all attempts to change the status quo (on the LAC) in a robust manner
- Notably, in December 2022, a clash took place near Yangtse along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the sensitive Tawang sector of Arunachal Pradesh amid the border standoff between India and China in eastern Ladakh.
- Along the LAC in the Tawang Sector in Arunachal Pradesh there are areas of differing perception, wherein both sides patrol the area up to their claim lines. This has been the trend since 2006, the sources claimed.
Indian Navy Undertakes Coastal Clean-up Drive In Visakhapatnam
- As part of ‘Puneet Sagar Abhiyaan’ the Eastern Naval Command has dedicated one day each month to undertake coastal cleanup activity including rivers and lakes.
- The Coastal Cleanup activities for Feb 2023 were undertaken at Yarada beach, RK Beach, Bheemli Beach, Meghadripeta River Channel Visakhapatnam and at Hope Island, Kakinada on Saturday.
- Around 410 kg of non-biodegradable waste including plastic bottles, wrappers, thermocol, glass pieces etc, were collected from these sites to restore them to their natural pristine conditions.
BEL To Manufacture Israel’s LORA Ballistic Missile For Indian Tri-Services
- Navratna Defence PSU Bharat Electronics Ltd has signed an MoU with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) for the domestic manufacture and supply of its Long-Range Artillery Weapon System (LORA) for the Indian Tri-services.
- LORA is a sea-to-ground and ground-to-ground system developed by IAI’s ‘MALAM’ division that comprises a long-range ballistic missile, a unique launcher, a command-and-control system, and a ground/marine support system.
- Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) is an Indian Government-owned aerospace and defense electronics company. It primarily manufactures advanced electronic products for ground and aerospace applications. BEL is one of nine PSUs under the Ministry of Defence of India. It has been granted Navratna status by the Government of India.
Review Questions
- Who Took The Oath As The Lieutenant Governor of UT Ladakh?                        Â
- G.C. Murmu
- Brig. (Dr.) BD Mishra (Retd.)
- Manoj Sinha
- Gurmeet Singh
ANSWER: B
- Which Of The Following Org. Carried Out ‘Project Himank’?
- NHAI
- DRDO
- BRO
- None
ANSWER: C
- Who Is Also Known As The ‘Father Of The Indian Navy’?
- Ashok
- Chandragupta Maurya
- Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj
- Samudra Gupta
ANSWER: C
- INS Sutlej Is Built By
- GRSE
- GSL
- MDL
- CSL
ANSWER: B
- HLFT-42 Is AÂ Â
- Helicopter
- Supersonic Trainer
- Air-to-Air Missile
- None
ANSWER: B
- LORA Stands For
- Long-Range Artillery Weapon System
- Long-Range Army Weapon System
- Long-Ratified Artillery Weapon System
- None of the above
ANSWER: A
- Hq of Northern Command Of the Indian Army Is In  Â
- Jaipur
- Srinagar
- Udhampur
- Jabalpur
ANSWER: C
- The National Cadet Corps (NCC) HQ, Is At___
- New Delhi
- Mumbai
- Lucknow
- Pune
ANSWER: A
- Indian Military Academy Is Located At
- Mhow
- Bhopal
- Gwalior
- Dehradun
ANSWER: D
- Military College of Telecommunication Engineering Is At                 Â
- Gopalpur
- Mhow
- Pune
- Haridwar
ANSWER: B
- Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre Is Located At                                                             Â
- Mumbai
- Chennai
- Kochi
- Thiruvananthapuram
ANSWER: D
- Raytheon Technologies Is A Company Of Which Nation                 Â
- Taiwan
- China
- USA
- None of the Above
ANSWER: C
- The motto of THE MARATHA LIGHT INFANTRY REGIMENT Â Â Â Â Â
- Parakramo Vijayate
- Assam Vikram
- Yudhaya Krit Nishchaya
- Duty, Honour, courage
ANSWER: D
- SIMBEX Exercise Held B/W India And___?                                                    Â
- USA
- South Korea
- Sri Lanka
- Singapore
ANSWER: D
- ‘Banjul’ Is The Capital Of             Â
- Gabon
- Qatar
- Finland
- Gambia
ANSWER: D
- “Soma Veda: The Physics, Philosophy & Poetry of the Mystic Atharva Veda” Book Written By  Â
- V.P. Malik
- Anish Devgan
- Sai Deepak
- Maj Gen GD Bakshi (Retd.)
ANSWER: D
- Which Of The Following Is The Subsonic Cruise Missile?                 Â
- Astra missile
- Maitri missile
- Nag
- Nirbhay
ANSWER: D
- Which Of The Following Is The Correct Sequence Of The Location Of Seaports Of India From South To North?                                                        Â
- Cochin, Thiruvananthapuram, Calicut, Mangalore
- Thiruvananthapuram, Calicut, Mangalore, Cochin
- Thiruvananthapuram, Cochin, Calicut, Mangalore
- Calicut, Thiruvananthapuram, Cochin, Mangalore
ANSWER: C
- Bareilly, U.P Is The Regimental Centre Of                                                                Â
- JKRIF
- RR
- CORPS OF ENGINEERS
- JAT REGIMENT
ANSWER: D
- Nasa Stands For                                                  Â
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- National Aeronautical and Space Administration
- National Aeronautics and Super Administration
- None of the above
ANSWER: A
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