Defence Current Affairs And Updates 3 November 2020

Hemanth Kasturi
November 3, 2020
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MALABAR-20 Phase 1: 03 to 06 November 2020

The 24th edition of the MALABAR naval exercise is scheduled in two phases in November 2020. Phase 1 of the Exercise MALABAR 20 involving participation by Indian Navy (IN), United States Navy (USN), Japan Maritime Self Defence Force (JMSDF), and Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is set to commence off Visakhapatnam in Bay of Bengal from 03 to 06 November 2020.
MALABAR series of maritime exercises commenced in 1992 as a bilateral IN-USN exercise. JMSDF joined MALABAR in 2015. The 2020 edition will now witness participation of the RAN in this joint maritime exercise.
Phase-1 of MALABAR 20 will witness participation of Indian Navy units with United States Ship (USS) John S McCain (Guided-missile destroyer), Her Majesty’s Australian Ship (HMAS) Ballarat (long range frigates) with integral MH-60 helicopter, and Japan Maritime Self Defence Ship (JMSDF) Onami (Destroyer) with integral SH-60 helicopter.
The Indian Navy participation in Phase 1 will be led by Rear Admiral Sanjay Vatsayan, Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet. Indian Navy units participating in the exercise include destroyer Ranvijay, frigate Shivalik, Off Shore Patrol Vessel Sukanya, Fleet Support Ship Shakti and submarine Sindhuraj. In addition, Advanced Jet Trainer Hawk, long-range maritime patrol aircraft P-8I, Dornier maritime patrol aircraft, and helicopters will also be participating in the exercise.
The exercise, being conducted as a ‘non-contact, at sea only’ exercise in view of COVID-19 pandemic, will showcase the high-levels of synergy and coordination between the friendly navies, which is based on their shared values and commitment to an open, inclusive Indo-Pacific and a rules-based international order. MALABAR 20 Phase 1 would witness complex and advanced naval exercises including surface, anti-submarine and anti-air warfare operations, cross deck flying, seamanship evolutions and weapon firing exercises.
Phase 2 of MALABAR 20 is scheduled to be conducted in the Arabian Sea in mid-November 2020.

Mission Sagar – II

Handing over Food Aid to Sudan by INS Airavat

As part of ‘Mission Sagar-II’, Indian Naval Ship Airavat entered Port Sudan on 02 November 2020. The Government of India is providing assistance to Friendly Foreign Countries to overcome natural calamities and COVID-19 pandemic, and towards the same INS Airavat is carrying a consignment of 100 Tonnes of food aid for the people of Sudan.
Mission Sagar-II follows the first ‘Mission Sagar’ undertaken in May-June 2020, wherein India reached out to Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles, Madagascar and Comoros, and provided food aid and medicines. As part of Mission Sagar-II, Indian Naval Ship Airavat will deliver food aid to Sudan, South Sudan, Djibouti and Eritrea.
Mission Sagar-II is in line with the Prime Minister’s vision of Security and Growth for All in the Region ‘SAGAR’ and highlights the importance accorded by India to relations with her maritime neighbours and further strengthens the existing bond. The Indian Navy is progressing this mission in close coordination with the Ministries of Defence and External Affairs, and other agencies of the Government of India.

CDF Kenya – Week Long Visit to India

First Country to be Visited Outside Africa

General Robert Kibochi, Chief of Defence Forces of Kenya is visiting India from 02 – 06 Nov 2020 on the invitation by the Ministry of Defence. India is the first country that the CDF Kenya is visiting outside of Africa, after he assumed Command in May earlier this year. During his week-long visit he is scheduled to meet the RakshaMantri, the National Security Adviser, the Service Chiefs and senior officials from the Ministry of External Affairs at New Delhi.
The General Officer will also be visiting Agra, Mhow and Bengaluru during his visit. Incidentally this is not the first time the CDF is visiting India as he did his Signal Officers Degree Telecommunications Engineering Course in India at the Military College of Telecommunications Engineering Mhow from 1984-1987, as a young officer.
The General Officer’s visit comes at a time when the bilateral relationship between India and Kenya is poised for deeper engagement. Post visit of Hon’ble PM Shri Narendra Modi to Kenya in 2016 and a reciprocal visit by H. E. President Kenyatta in 2017, the relationship has grown from strength to strength. Ongoing areas of defence cooperation include Capacity & Capability building, Counter Terrorism, UN Peace Keeping Operations, Medical health care and Cyber security.
Considering that India and Kenya are mature democracies and have professional Armed Forces there is a lot of convergence of thought between the two nations. The visit will cement the already strong bilateral ties between the two countries and the two-Armed Forces. The General Officer will depart on 07 Nov 20.

Military Intelligence Corps Day – November 1

The Directorate of Military Intelligence (M.I.) is the Intelligence arm of the Indian Army. The primary mission of military intelligence is to provide timely, relevant, accurate, and synchronized intelligence support to tactical, operational and strategic-level needs of the army. Motto: सदा सतर्क (Always Alert).
It also conducts counter-intelligence activities to detect, identify and neutralize adversarial intelligence threats inside Indian Army.
Approximately 3,700 military personnel assigned to intelligence duties. These personnel are trained at Military Intelligence Training School and Depot (MINTSD), Pune.
The school also conducts training for persons of other services, paramilitary forces and central police organisations.
CO & Deputy Chief of Army Staff (Strategy): Lt Gen. Paramjit Singh Sangha

Army Aviation Corps Day – November 1

Raised in 1986, Army Aviation Corps pilots are drawn from other combat arms, including artillery officers.
The Indian Air Force flies attack helicopters such as the Mil Mi-25/Mi-35 and HAL Rudra, which are under the operational control of the army.
Helicopters such as the HAL Chetak, HAL Cheetah and HAL Dhruv provide logistical support for the Indian Army in remote and inaccessible areas.
The Army Aviation Corps also perform combat search and rescue (CSAR), artillery lift, combat transportation, logistics relief, military prisoner transportation and medical evacuation (MEDEVAC) in wartime and during natural disasters.
The director general of the Army Aviation Corps is Lieutenant General P. K. Bharali.

Army Eastern Command Raising Day – November 1

It is headquartered in Fort William in the city of Kolkata in the state of West Bengal.
The Command’s Area of Responsibility (AOR) extends from Bengal to Sikkim and then across the entire Northeast India.
The Command shares international boundaries with the countries of Nepal, Bhutan, China, Myanmar and Bangladesh.
This command was raised in 1920.
Lieutenant General Anil Chauhan is the current GOC-in-C, who took over on 1 September 2019.

Media Registration for Aero India 2021 begins today

The 13th edition of ‘Aero India 2021’ will be held at Air Force Station, Yelahanka, Bengaluru, (Karnataka) from 03 to 07 February 2021.
Registration for media personnel to visit the exhibition has been opened from today, 02 November 2020. The registration will close on 06 December 2020 and is to be done online on the Aero India 2021 website. There is no fee for media registration, however foreign journalists who wish to cover the event would require to be in possession of a valid ‘J visa’.
The five-day event will combine a major trade exhibition of the aerospace and defence industries. Besides global leaders and big investors in aerospace industry, the show will also see participation by think-tanks from across the world. Aero India will provide a unique opportunity for exchange of information, ideas and new developments in the aviation industry. In addition to giving a fillip to the domestic aviation industry it would further the cause of Make in India.
In Aero India, close to 500 companies, both Indian and foreign, are expected to participate.

Western Naval Command’s Webinar on Navy Week