Defence Current Affairs And Updates 16th May 2020

First Four Rafale fighter jets to arrive in India by July-end

These will include three twin-seater trainer aircraft and one single-seater fighter aircraft. They will start arriving at the Ambala airbase by July end.
The arrival of the aircraft and their integration into the Indian Air Force will provide a major boost to India’s firepower in the air.
The first aircraft to be flown in is set to be piloted by the Commanding Officer of the 17 Golden Arrows’ squadron along with a French pilot.
The aircraft will be refuelled once by a French Air Force tanker aircraft in the air before they make a stopover in the Middle East on their way from France to India.
During their journey from the Middle East to India, one mid-air refuelling of the jets will be done by the Indian IL-78 tanker before they land in India.

Rajnath approves Rs 400-cr scheme for testing infrastructure

Called the Defence Testing Infrastructure Scheme, it will run for five years and envisages the setting up of six to eight modern testing facilities in partnership with the private sector.
Most of the testing facilities are expected to come up in the two defence industrial corridors (DICs) in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, officials said. However, these are not just limited to DICs.
The scheme is aimed at giving a boost to domestic defence and aerospace manufacturing.

Ordnance factories to resume work as per local lockdown rules, 3 units in Pune to start from Monday

The main production activities in 41 ordnance factories across India were suspended from the last week of March following the nationwide lockdown. Only few essential personnel were present.
Ammunition Factory Khadki, High Explosives Factory and Ordnance Factory, Dehu Road – will start production activities from Monday with 33 per cent of the staff allowed on the premises at any given point.

Tour of Duty at nascent stage, Army looking to make SSC more ‘lucrative’, says CDS Rawat

Asked about the potential impact of Tour of Duty on SSC, the CDS said the concept is yet at a nascent stage and under the Army chief’s consideration.
The idea, Rawat said, is to ensure an SSC member competes to get permanent commission but has adequate back-up even if they do not.
As an incentive, a lump sum amount should also be paid to the SSC officers on retirement, he added. “We are yet to decide on the amount,” he said.

Boeing marks a milestone: delivery 100th P-8A Poseidon to U.S. Navy

The P-8A Poseidon, a militarized version of the Boeing 737, is primarily designed to conduct Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) missions but is outfitted with additional equipment that allows it to perform a variety of other missions.
Boeing has also delivered 12 jets to the Royal Australian Air Force, two to the U.K.’s Royal Air Force and eight P-8Is to the Indian Navy.
The Boeing P-8 Poseidon is a military aircraft developed and produced by Boeing Défense, Space & Security, modified from the 737-800ERX. It was developed for the United States Navy. The P-8 is being operated in the anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, and shipping interdiction roles.
Range: 2,222 km
Top speed: 908 km/h
Wingspan: 38 m
Program cost: US$33.638 billion (by FY2013)
Engine type: CFM International CFM56
Unit cost: 201,400,000–275,700,000 USD

Boeing secures $1.9 billion contract for SLAM-ER missiles from Saudi Arabian Naval Air Systems

Stand-off Land Attack Missile – Expanded Response (SLAM-ER), a derivative of Harpoon, is an air-dropped surgical strike weapon against high-value land targets or ships at sea or in port. This can be launched from a range of more than 150 nautical miles and is reprogrammable in flight.

REVIEW QUESTIONS

SLAM full form: