Defence Current Affairs And Updates 23rd June 2020

Hemanth Kasturi
June 23, 2020
986

Raksha Mantri Shri reached Moscow yesterday evening

Shri Rajnath Singhji reached Moscow last evening on a three-day visit. He was received by Major General Kosenko Vasily Alexandrovich and the Indian Ambassador to Russia.
India will press Russia to consider expediting the delivery of the S-400 Triumf anti-missile system during defence minister Rajnath Singh’s three-day visit to Russia starting Monday. The urgency comes amid heightened tensions along the India-China border.
Moscow is believed to have delayed delivery of the $5.4-billion system to December 2021 due to Covid-19 constraints. India had completed large payments for the system last year.

Chinese navy commissions another Type 056-class corvette

Another Type 056 (Jiangdao)-class corvette has entered service with China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). The ship has been given pennant number 617 and named Jingdezhen after a prefecture-level city in China’s north-eastern Jiangxi Province. The commissioning ceremony appears to have taken place on 17 June at a naval facility in the eastern coastal city of Xiamen.
The Type 056 design may also be classed as a light frigate, and the latest ship is thought to have joined the 16th frigate squadron, which already operates four Type 056 and two anti-submarine warfare (ASW)-capable Type 056A corvettes.
It is not entirely clear how many Type 056s are now in service, although it is more than 50. Four of the class were commissioned in January but unconfirmed sources suggest that a further six may subsequently have been commissioned this year, prior to Jingdezhen.
Although unconfirmed, the number of commissions is quite plausible. In January it was assessed that there were at least 20 more of the class that had been launched and were fitting out or undergoing sea trials.

Chinese Navy has commissioned Z-20F/J SAR naval version of Z-20 helicopter

The new Z-20F helicopter is a modified version of the Z-20 designed to perform Search And Rescue operations like the American SH-60 Sea Hawk helicopter. The Z-20 layout is very similar to the Black Hawk helicopter but there are several key differences including a five-bladed main rotor and more angular tail-to-fuselage joint frame, giving it greater lift, cabin capacity, and endurance than the Black Hawk, as well as a fly-by-wire design.
The Z-20 helicopter is powered by two Chinese-made WZ-10 turboshaft engines. The engine is expected to deliver a maximum power of 1,600kW. It can fly at a maximum altitude of 4,000 m.
The Z-20 has a crew of two and can accommodate around 12-15 fully equipped troops. It has a payload capacity of around 5000 kg. It can carry around 1000 kg internally and 4000 kg externally. It can transport various loads, such as vehicles and artillery pieces underslung externally.
The Z-20J can be operated from the small decks of warships. Z-20 features apertures for a missile approach warning system (MAWS) and it has a landing gear arrangement similar to SH-60B/F and MH-60R Seahawks.

China to join UN arms trade treaty, says it is to ‘enhance’ world peace

China will join a global pact to regulate arms sales that has been rejected by the United States, with Beijing saying Monday it is committed to efforts to “enhance peace and stability” in the world.
The Communist Party leadership’s top legislative body voted Saturday to adopt a decision on joining the UN Arms Trade Treaty that is designed to control the flow of weapons into conflict zones.

Argentina develops helmet-mounted display for military pilots

The Cordoba campus of the Argentine Defence University, which belongs to the Defence Ministry, has developed a prototype helmet-mounted display (HMD) for military pilots.
The project has been in development since 2017 by the research and development group of the Department of Basic Sciences and is geared at developing national technologies to enhance pilot situational awareness. The prototype HMD is fitted to an HGU-55P that is the standard type worn by pilots of the Argentine Air Force (FAA).
The objectives set for this prototype were to achieve a technological demonstrator capable of superimposing a virtual image that appears to be located more than 4 m away from the user.

Russian army unveils new TOS-2 Tosochka Flamethrower Rocket Launcher vehicle at Victory Day 2020 parade

A flamethrower vehicle uses rockets equipped with incendiary and thermobaric warheads able to destroy enemy troops from cities, bunkers, and tunnels. These rockets mix fuel and air in a cloud that, when detonated, creates massive heat and pressure effects.
The first Russian flamethrower system TOS-1 was designed and created by the beginning of the 1980s. It represents a complex of combat vehicle – launcher, rockets and transport, and loading vehicle. It has an effective range from 500 to 3,500m.
The TOS-1A was the second flamethrower rocket launcher vehicle developed by the Russian defense industry. It is an improved version of the TOS-1 that enters in service with the Russian army in 2003. The improved TOS system’s range has been extended to 6 kilometres and its ballistic computer has been upgraded.
The new TOS 2 Tosochka is based on a military truck chassis Ural-63706-0120 with triple axles at the rear of the chassis. According to the analysis, the front of the truck is fitted with an armour crew cab that provides protection against firing of small arms and artillery shell splinters.
The rear of the truck chassis is fitted with the launcher weapon station including a container with three rows of eight rocket launcher tubes. According to Russian military sources, it can fire 220mm rockets with thermobaric and smoke-incendiary warheads. The vehicle is also equipped with an onboard computerized fire control system, inertial navigation, and aiming systems.

Turkey will launch hundreds of STM Kargu kamikaze drones in Syria and Libya

The Turkish company Defense Technologies Engineering and Trade (STM) will supply the Turkish Ministry of Defense with hundreds of drones, among which there may be 356 units of Kargu kamikaze drones, citing a source from the Turkish Ministry of Defense. Such a weapon could become a “killer” of Russian-made Pantsir-S1 anti-aircraft missile-cannon systems in Syria and Libya.
A 15-kg drone is able to fly at a speed of up to 145 km/h, fly for up to 30 minutes and be in the visibility range for the operator at a distance of about 10 kilometers. Modern Kargu are equipped with three types of ammunition: high-explosive fragmentation, thermobaric and cumulative.
Kargu can be deployed and operated by single personnel in both autonomous and manual modes, and that has been engineered specifically for anti-terror and asymmetric warfare scenarios. The drone can rapidly and effectively respond against stationary or mobile targets (i.e. vehicles, persons etc.) through its embedded real-time image processing capabilities and deep learning algorithms. The system is comprised of the rotary-wing attack drone (RWAD), a ground control unit, and a UAV recharging station components.

Amid border dispute with China, defence forces get powers to buy critical weapons, ammunition

Amid the ongoing border dispute with China, the three defence forces have been given financial powers upto Rs 500 crore per project for the acquisition of critical ammunition and weapons which would be required in case an all-out or limited conflict breaks out.
The Vice Chiefs of the three services have been given the financial powers upto Rs 500 crore per project to acquire the required weapon systems under fast track procedures needed to fill whatever shortcomings or requirement is felt.
The requirement of granting this power again to the forces was felt by the government after the Chinese aggression in Eastern Ladakh and the way they have deployed their troops in large numbers there along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

Indian Army soldier martyred in cross-border shelling by Pakistan in J-K’s Rajouri; fourth to die on LoC this month

An Indian Army soldier was martyred on Monday as Pakistan resorted to heavy cross-border shelling during the ongoing ceasefire violation at the Line of Control (LoC) in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said.
The naib subedar was the fourth soldier to die on the LoC since June 5.
Pakistan violated the ceasefire in several sectors in Poonch and Rajouri districts earlier on Monday.
Pakistan’s army has violated the ceasefire more than 1,400 times this year. Last year, there were 3,168 ceasefire violations and 1,629 in 2018.

REVIEW QUESTIONS

The Chinese Z-20 helicopter has a payload capacity of around 5000 kg. It can carry around:
1000 kg internally and 4000 kg externally
2000 kg internally and 3000 kg externally
3000 kg internally and 2000 kg externally
4000 kg internally and 1000 kg externally

ANSWER: A