Arjun Mk1 Alpha Tanks, India's MH-60R NSM Missile, AMCA 5th or 6th Gen ?, UK Strike Group In India

Indian Army’s Arjun Mk1 Alpha Tanks ‘Desert-Storms’ India-Pakistan Border, Tests Firing Capability

The Indian Army demonstrated the combat capabilities of its Arjun Mk1 Alpha tanks in a live fire exercise at the Pokhran Field Firing Range in Rajasthan’s Jaisalmer, on the weekend.

This tank is the cavalry’s latest workhorse handed over to the service in February 2021 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Chennai. The Defense Acquisition Council had cleared the procurement of 118 Arjun Mk1 Alpha tanks earlier called M k II at an estimated price of Rs 8400 crore.

Seeing the current scenario and challenges, the firepower demonstration of Main Battle Tank Arjun Mk1 Alpha, which is an advanced version of Arjun, took place to check its capabilities in various parameters in the desert area, thus fulfilling army’s future requirements.

One of the main features demonstrated was the ability to fire accurately while on the move. “The Mk1 Alpha includes an improved gunner’s main sight, integrated with automatic target tracking. This would enable the tank crew to track moving targets automatically, and engage them even when Arjun is on the move.

Will HAL AMCA, India’s new fighter jet, belong to 5th or 6th generation?

There are many fighter jet projects currently in development around the world. India’s hall Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft AMCA is one of them. In development since at least 2009, it is intended to enter production some time in the late 2020s and become a full multi-role aircraft to supplement India’s latest jets like Hall Tejas, Dassault Rafale and Sukhoi Su-30 MKI as well as replace a wide array of older ones.

The aircraft will supposedly feature supermaneuverability, supercruise, stealth features and advanced networking systems – all the hallmarks of the 5th generation fighter jets, like the F-22, F-35 and Su-57. But isn’t this a bit odd? There are a handful 5th generation jets still in development – the Chinese J-31 and South Korean KF-21 amongst them – but the leading aircraft manufacturers are looking into the next generation already.

The United States said that the prototype of 6th generation NGAD has already been tested. In Europe both FCAS and Tempest are getting closer and closer to completion. Both Russia and China, while secretive, probably are working on something along those lines too.

There are conflicting versions of how Indian officials themselves view the AMCA. At the start of the development, a decade ago, the aircraft was referred to as a “5th generation fighter jet“ by pretty much everybody. In 2019, Indian Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria said that it is going to be a 5th generation fighter jet with “6th generation characteristics”.

In 2020 he claimed that India has a true 6th generation fighter jet in development, possibly listing its features – optional pilot’s presence, loyal wingmen, swarming drones and hypersonic weapons. On their own, all of these features can be, and sometimes are, present in fighters of earlier generations. But what distinguishes the 6th generation is an emphasis on their fusion – the often-talked about “system of systems”.

This Norwegian Anti-ship missile will make Indian MH-60Rs Lethal

Kongsberg a Norwegian company has developed a helicopter-launched variant of the Naval Strike Missile NSM, a fifth-generation high-subsonic, anti-ship / land-attack cruise missile that can be used against the sea and land-based targets in littoral and open sea environments. India will be the first country to purchase the NSM- helicopter-launched variant for its 24 MH-60R helicopters after the Indian Navy shows indent to procure two Naval Strike Missile Emulators as well as four Naval Strike Missile Captive Inert Training missiles.  

Indian Navy will be having a separate contract with the Kongsberg, once it starts taking deliveries of the MH-60R helicopters.

NSM-HL has been manufactured with composite materials that are meant to give the missile sophisticated stealth capabilities due to which the missile weighs slightly more than 400 kg but still has a range of 185km. NSM-HL After being launched into the air by a solid rocket, the missile is propelled to its target in high subsonic speed by a turbojet sustainer engine—leaving the 125 kg multi-purpose blast/fragmentation warhead to do its work, which in case of a ship target means impacting the ship at or near the waterline.

India will be the first customer that will have that Helicopter launch variant of the missile that will make the weapons system much more lethal due to the incremental range at which MH-60R helicopters can deliver this missile towards its target.

UK carrier strike group will sail to India on its maiden deployment

As a representation of the ‘Indo-Pacific tilt’ in the UK’s foreign policy, the HMS Queen Elizabeth Carrier, the largest ship ever built by the Royal Navy will sail to India, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and the wider region. The Carrier will visit West Coast Ports where it will engage in a series of events to maximise bilateral relations benefitting both countries trade and political alliances. The ship will conduct a series of joint exercises with Indian Military Forces in the Indian Ocean, expanding our interoperability and enhancing our capabilities to defend against shared threats and protect our democratic values.

Throughout the deployment, the UK will support freedom of passage through vital global trading routes and demonstrate commitment to a recognised international system of norms and behaviours that benefit all countries. It will also help to establish a maritime partnership with India to support our mutual security objectives in the Indian Ocean.

The UK Government’s landmark review of foreign, defence, development and security policy, published last month, committed the UK to becoming the European country with the broadest, most integrated presence in the Indo-Pacific in support of trade, shared security and values.

Last December, UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab travelled to meet Prime Minister Modi and External Affairs Minister Jaishankar in New Delhi to make progress towards agreeing a landmark UK India roadmap for greater joint cooperation, including on defence and security, trade, health and climate change.

Later this year, the UK has invited Prime Minister Modi to attend the G7 Summit in Cornwall, UK, in recognition of India’s role as the world’s largest democracy and as a vital partner to the UK in tackling global challenges like climate change and pandemic.

The Carrier Strike Group will travel over 26,000 nautical miles from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea, from the Gulf of Aden to the Arabian Sea, and from the Indian Ocean to the Philippine Sea.