Defence Services (Air,Land,Sea) – Page 2

PSLV-C54 carrying earth observation satellite and co-passenger satellites lifts off

The eight nanosatellites include ISRO Nano Satellite-2 for Bhutan (INS-2B), Anand, Astrocast (four satellites), and two Thybolt satellites.

A polar satellite launch vehicle carrying earth observation and eight co-passenger satellites successfully lifted off from this spaceport at 11.56 a.m. on Saturday, the Indian Space Research Organisation said.

ISRO Chairman S. Somanath said, “The Performance were excitingly good in this mission.” The mission is said to be the last one undertaken by ISRO this year.

PSLV-C54 carries an Earth Observation Satellite (EOS-06) or Oceansat as its primary payload and eight co-passenger satellites are expected to be placed into sun synchronous orbits in over a two-hour time frame.

The entire separation of satellites is expected to take place in two hours after lift-off.

The Earth Observation Satellite-6 is the third-generation satellite in the Oceansat series. This is to provide continuity services of Oceansat-2 spacecraft with enhanced payload specifications as well as application areas.

The eight nanosatellites include ISRO Nano Satellite-2 for Bhutan (INS-2B), Anand, Astrocast (four satellites), and two Thybolt satellites. The INS-2B spacecraft will have two payloads namely NanoMx and APRS-Digipeater.

While the NanoMx is a multi-spectral optical imaging payload developed by Space Applications Centre, Ahmedabad, the APRS-Digipeater payload has been jointly developed by the Department of Information Technology and Telecom-Bhutan and the U.R. Rao Satellite Centre, Bengaluru.

The Anand nanosatellite developed by Bengaluru-based space start-up, Pixxel, is a technology demonstrator to demonstrate the capabilities and commercial applications of miniaturized Earth-observation cameras for Earth observation using a microsatellite in Low Earth Orbit.

Astrocast, developed by Hyderabad-based Dhruva Space, is a 3U spacecraft. It is a technology demonstrator satellite for the Internet of Things (IoT).

The U.S.-based Spaceflight has developed Thybolt which is a 0.5U spacecraft bus that includes a communication payload to enable rapid technology demonstration and constellation development for multiple users.

This is the 56th flight of PSLV and 24th Flight of PSLV-XL version with 6 PSOM-XLs. PSLV-C54 launch is planned from First Launch Pad (FLP), SDSC, SHAR.

Thousands of school students from Tamil Nadu, Hyderabad and Bengaluru gathered at ISRO to watch this rocket take off.

(With inputs from PTI)

thehindu.com

ISRO carries out parachute airdrop test of Gaganyaan programme

The Gaganyaan deceleration system consists of three main parachutes, besides the smaller ACS, pilot, and drogue parachutes, to reduce the speed of the crew module to safe levels during its landing.

ISRO’s Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre has conducted the Integrated Main Parachute Airdrop Test (IMAT) of its crew module deceleration system for the much-awaited maiden Gaganyaan human spaceflight programme at the Babina Field Fire Range (BFFR) in Jhansi district of Uttar Pradesh.

The IMAT conducted on Friday marks a significant milestone toward realising the nation’s ambitious Gaganyaan project, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said in a statement.

The Gaganyaan deceleration system consists of three main parachutes, besides the smaller ACS, pilot, and drogue parachutes, to reduce the speed of the crew module to safe levels during its landing, the space agency said.

Two of the three main chutes are sufficient to land the astronauts on earth, and the third is redundant, ISRO said adding that the IMAT test simulated the case when one main chute failed to open.

The IMAT test is the first in a series of integrated parachute airdrop tests planned to simulate different failure conditions of the parachute system before it is deemed qualified to be used in the first human spaceflight mission.

In this test, a five-tonne dummy mass, equivalent to the crew module mass, was taken to an altitude of 2.5 kilometres and dropped using the Indian Air Force’s IL-76 aircraft. Two small pyro-based mortar-deployed pilot parachutes then pulled the main parachutes.

The main parachute sizes were initially restricted to a smaller area to reduce the opening shock. After seven seconds, the pyro-based reefing line cutters cut the area restricting line, allowing the parachutes to inflate fully.

“The fully inflated main parachutes reduced the payload speed to a safe landing speed. The entire sequence lasted about 2-3 minutes as the scientists watched the different phases of the deployment sequence unfold with bated breath. There was loud cheer and applause as the payload mass landed softly on the ground and the gigantic parachutes collapsed,” the statement read.

The design and development of the parachute-based deceleration system is a joint venture of ISRO and the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

“The overall system design, analytical simulations of parachute deployment and crew module descent under various conditions, the design and development of ordnance devices for parachute extraction and ejection, assembly, mechanical and electrical integration of deceleration system, it’s instrumentation and avionics for conducting this drop tests are done at ISRO’s leading Research and Development centre, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Thiruvananthapuram,” the space agency explained.

Senior ISRO and DRDO scientists and airforce officers were present when the crucial test was done.

“Besides proving the calibre of the scientists of ISRO and DRDO, the test also demonstrated the active coordination between the country’s premier agencies, namely ISRO, DRDO, the Indian Air Force, and the Indian Army,” ISRO said quoting a senior official.

telegraphindia.com

In a first, six women officers clear Staff Course

For the first time, six women officers have cleared the prestigious Defence Services Staff Course (DSSC) and Defence Services Technical Staff Course (DSTSC) exam, which is held every September, officials said on Thursday.

Four of these officers will undergo a one-year course at Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, Tamil Nadu, alongside their male counterparts from all three services, they said.

The women officers will be imparted training and orientation on operational, military intelligence, operational logistics and administrative aspects of staff appointments.

The prestigious Staff Course gives adequate weightage while being considered for command appointments, they said.

Among the remaining two women officers, one is on the reserve list of Defence Services Technical Staff Course and the other is shortlisted for Administration and Logistics Management Course (ALMC)/Intelligence Staff Course (ISC), the officials said.

More than 1,500 officers of the Indian Army appear in the DSSC/DSTSC entrance exam, the army said.

This year, for the first time, 22 women officers of the army (from Army Service Corps, Army Air Defence, Army Ordnance Corps, Corps of Signals, Corps of Intelligence, Corps of Engineers and Corps of EME), who have been granted Permanent Commission in the respective arms and services, appeared in the exam, the officials said.

Officers, subsequent to passing the entrance exam, are nominated to attend the course based on merit which includes service profile and discipline as well.

“Out of four women officers nominated for DSSC, one is the spouse of an officer who has also cleared DSSC exam, thereby making history of being the the first couple from the army to attend the course together at Wellington,” an official said.

This milestone bears testimony to the transformation of the armed forces towards gender equality and women empowerement, the official added.

newindianexpress.com

IAF airships, drone tech quantum comms: IIT-D powers slew of inventions (IANS Interview)

Be it the Indian Army, Air Force or in the field of drone technology, IIT-Delhi is working closely with DRDO and the government. In an exclusive interview with IANS, Director of IIT-Delhi, Ranjan Banerjee, talked about a few such initiatives.

Here are the excerpts from the interview:

Q: IIT-Delhi is helping the Indian Armed Forces and is a major partner of DRDO, what are the latest inventions and the areas where IIT-Delhi is helping the Indian Defence sector.

A: IIT-Delhi has developed a lightweight bullet-proof jacket. Recently Indian Air Force signed an MoU with IIT-Delhi for various development projects to support the requirement of the IAF. We are looking for a technical textile. Indigenous fire resistance suits. We have airships, we are working with DRDO for the material of these airships. We are also working on quantum technology and quantum communication. We were one of the few academic institutes. In the Defence Expo, one of our faculty-related startups received an award from the Prime Minister in the field of innovation.

Q: The drone technology is in talk these days, what IIT-Delhi is doing to develop advanced drones and drone technology?

A: We have a hub for cobotics, ‘cobotic’ means collaborative robotics and the ‘drone’ is one of the areas. In Sonipat (Haryana) we are creating a drone facility, including drone pilot training, drone simulation, we are planning next year to start M.Tech in robotics. We have a Centre of Excellence in bio-inspired robots, there are so many startups in drones, which are coming from our alumni and our research students. We are supporting DST, we have been identified as a national hub.

Q: What IIT-Delhi is doing for cybersecurity-related things?

A: Yes, we are doing a lot in cybersecurity. We have specialised in an M.Tech course for cybersecurity. We train people who will be in organisations, who will be tackling all cybercrime-related things. Department of Telecom Communication R&D centre C-DOT and IIT Delhi have signed MoU for cooperation in various areas of telecom spanning and 5G and beyond technologies.

Q: Is IIT-Delhi looking forward to working with foreign universities, especially in the field of academic collaboration?

A: There are a large number of institutions and foreign universities with whom IIT-Delhi has done academic collaboration. There are American universities, European universities, universities from England, Australia, Taiwan University and many others. The University of Queensland of Australia is the largest one. IIT-Delhi has joint PhD programmes with many foreign universities. With Taiwan, IIT-Delhi has done a collaboration for a joint degree. We have also collaborated with many foreign universities in the field of research.

Q: It will not be wrong if we say that IIT-Delhi is one of the main institutes for artificial intelligence. What is IIT-Delhi doing on artificial intelligence?

A: We have an alumni-funded school for artificial intelligence. We have master programmes for artificial intelligence and in machine learning. We are looking at a large number of research projects because artificial intelligence goes into many areas.

Q: Has IIT-Delhi prepared and planned to bring some new courses from the next academic session?

A: Yes, from next session there will be many new courses. As I told you, M.tech in Robotic is one of the new courses. We are planning to have a B.Tech in Design, we started a Bachelor of Design but now we are also looking at Bachelor of Technology in Design, which will start from next year.

Q: Even during the Covid-19 period, IIT-Delhi came with its new innovations and research. Can you share a few research and inventions of IIT-Delhi which will help common people in the coming days?

A: We have done a large number of things for differently-abled people. We have translated all the CBSE books, we have specialised technology so the visually challenged can actually read and convert these books.

In another invention we have made a smart cane. If there is a person who is unable to see. He or she can use that cane. That cane looks at obstacles and gives signals. There are a whole host of things which we are doing.

daijiworld.com

UNSC’s Counter Terrorism Committee To Meet In India This Weekend For The First Time

The United Nations Security Council’s Counter Terrorism Committee will meet in India this weekend. At a time when the world is distracted by Russia’s Ukraine war, the two-day anti-terror meeting will help remind the international community that terror groups continue to threaten world peace and though many major groups like the Al Qaeda and ISIS may be lying low at the moment, they can resurface any time. It is important for countries to stay one step ahead and put in place a system to counter the use of new technology by terror outfits. Since 9/11 the UN has been actively engaged in encouraging countries to work together to fight this scourge.

A host of dignitaries, including British foreign secretary James Cleverly, foreign secretary of Gabon who is also president of the United Nations Security Council Michael Moussa ADAMO, Ghana’s foreign minister Shirley Ayorkar Botchwey, UAE’s minister of state for international cooperation Reem Ebrahim Al Hashimy, Albania’s deputy foreign minister of Albani Megi Fino is expected to attend. The UN counter terror delegation headed by under-secretary general Vladimir Voronkov, will also be present. This is the first time that the Special Meeting of the UN Counter Terrorism Committee is meeting in India.

The high profile two-day event will take place in Mumbai and Delhi. Symbolically the meeting will begin with UN members paying homage to the victims of the deadly 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai’s Taj Mahal hotel. India’s foreign minister Subramanyam Jaishankar will attend along with representatives of the UN Security Council. A wreath will be laid in memory of the victims.

Some family members of the victims of the 26/11 attack will speak at the ceremony. “We will be honoured to hear the voices of the victims of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks as well as the 2016 Brussels bombings. The meeting will be followed by an informal session on combating terror financing in the local and regional context,” Ruchira Kamboj, India’s permanent representative to the UN said. She was addressing a news conference in Delhi. She is the chair of the UN Counter Terrorism Committee.

Kamboj also made the point that there can be nor “good or bad terrorists” and pointedly added: “Those who propagate this distinction have an agenda and those who cover up for them are just as culpable.” This was an obvious reference to the China-Pakistan axis, and the fact that China had blocked India’s recent move to sanction some Pakistan based terrorists.

“We cannot think of a better place to hold this meeting than right here in India. Not just because it is the world’s largest democracy, but also because India is a society where a host of cultures and religions coexist and because India is an innovation and technology powerhouse,” ANI quoted David Scharia, the head of the UN Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (UN-CTED), as saying : “Sadly, India is also the right place to hold this meeting because of its own long and tragic experience with terrorism,” he added.

On Saturday the members will travel to Delhi for a high level ministerial plenary session, where Jaishankar and the visiting dignitaries will get down to take stock of the situation. The focus will be on terror financing online , possible use of drones and social media by terror groups.

“The special meeting will serve to reflect on recent developments and the latest evidence-based research regarding the threats posed by the use of these technologies for terrorist purposes as well as global efforts to counter these threats while respecting human rights and fundamental freedoms,” Ruchira Kamboj said.

outlookindia.com

India to contribute $500,000 to UN Trust Fund to counter terrorism

The special conference of Counter Terrorism Committee kicked off on Friday in Mumbai, which witnessed a ghastly attack by Pakistan-based terrorists in 2008 that left 140 Indian nationals and 26 foreigners dead.

India will contribute $500,000 to the United Nations Trust Fund for Counter Terrorism this year to aid capacity-building support to member states in combating terrorism, external affairs minister S Jaishankar announced on Saturday.

The announcement was made during the plenary session of the UN Security Council special meeting of the Counter Terrorism Committee (CTC) in New Delhi.

“India will be making a voluntary contribution of half a million dollars to the UN Trust Fund for Counter Terrorism this year to augment the efforts of Office of Counter-Terrorism in providing capacity-building support to member states in preventing and countering the threat of terrorism,” the minister said.

Jaishankar warned about the threat posed by the misuse of new and emerging technologies for terror activities, stressing the need for the international community to adopt measures to combat the threats.

“Internet and social media platforms have turned into potent instruments in the toolkit of terrorist and militant groups for spreading propaganda, radicalization and conspiracy theories aimed at destabilizing societies,” he said in his keynote address.

Jaishankar underlined that the threat of terrorism is growing and expanding despite the UN Security Council’s significant efforts in the last two decades to combat the menace. Jaishankar said that the technologies have also thrown up new challenges for governments and regulatory bodies given the “very nature of some of these technologies and the nascent regulatory environment.”

“UN Security Council, in the past 2 decades, has evolved an important architecture built primarily around the Counter-Terrorism Sanctions Regime to combat this menace. This has been very effective in putting those countries on notice that had turned terrorism into a state-funded enterprise,” the minister said.

“Despite this, the threat of terrorism is only growing and expanding, particularly in Asia and Africa, as successive reports of the 1267 Sanctions Committee monitoring reports have highlighted,” he added.

The special conference kicked off on Friday in Mumbai, which witnessed a ghastly attack by Pakistan-based terrorists in 2008 that left 140 Indian nationals and 26 foreigners dead. This is the first time such a conference is being held outside of the UN’s headquarters in New York.

Indian Navy & Drone Federation of India collaborate to promote indigenous development of drones

The Technology Development and Acceleration Cell of the Naval Innovation Indigenisation Organisation (NIIO) under the Indian Navy and Drone Federation of India (DFI) have come together to collaborate towards promoting indigenous development, manufacturing and testing of drone, counter-drone, and associated technologies for the Indian Navy.

As a part of this collaboration, TDAC and DFI will increase the Navy-Industry-Academia synergy, source technology development challenges towards component indigenisation. A special maritime drone testing site shall also be earmarked for the Indian drone industry to facilitate faster development and testing of drones especially in maritime environments, thus enabling development for a host of applications.

Additionally, programmes on sensitisation and skill development shall also be undertaken as a part of this collaboration. “TDAC has been working towards accelerating the development of indigenous technologies to be utilised by the Indian Navy. Our collaboration with the Drone Federation of India will help us in developing a deeper industry connection as well as create a stronger roadmap for induction of drone platforms in the Indian Navy in a time-bound manner.” said Cmde A. P. Golaya, VSM, OiC TDAC, Indian Navy.

“It is a proud moment for the Indian drone industry to have established a partnership with the Indian Navy to build and test superior drone platforms. The maritime testing site being developed under this initiative will accelerate the development of versatile and reliable drone platforms for advanced maritime use cases like maritime patrol, drone landings on moving ships, ship to ship deliveries, ship to shore deliveries, etc.” said Smit Shah, President, Drone Federation of India

ISRO’s dedicated commercial satellite mission LVM3-M2/OneWeb India-1 lifts off

The heaviest rocket of the Indian Space Research Organisation– LVM3-M2/OneWeb India-1 blasted off from this spaceport on Sunday to place 36 broadband communication satellites into the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) for a UK-based customer.

NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), a central public sector enterprise under the Department of Space, had earlier signed two launch service contracts with the London-headquartered Network Access Associated Limited (OneWeb) for launching OneWeb LEO satellites on board ISRO’s LVM3.

OneWeb is a private satellite communications company, in which India’s Bharti Enterprises is a major investor and shareholder.

On Sunday, the 43.5 metre tall rocket soared majestically at 12.07 am from the second launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre here at the end of the 24-hour countdown.

The vehicle is also dubbed as one of the heaviest for its ability to carry satellites upto 8,000 kg.

The mission assumes significance as this was LVM3’s maiden commercial mission and also NSIL’s first with the said launch vehicle.

According to ISRO, the mission has the heaviest payloads with 36 satellites of OneWeb, becoming the first Indian rocket with a payload of 5,796 kg.

The launch is also first for LVM3-M2 to place the satellites in the Low Earth Orbit (up to 1,200 kms above the earth) unlike Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO).

ISRO scientists have rechristened the launch vehicle its present name from GSLV-MKK III as the newest rocket is capable of launching 4,000 kilogram class of satellites into GTO and 8,000 kgs of payloads into LEO.

GSLV-Mk III had four successful missions in the past. LVM3-M2 is a three-stage launch vehicle consisting of two solid propellant S200 strap-ons on its sides and core stage comprising L110 liquid stage and C25 cryogenic stage.

OneWeb Ltd is a global communication network powered from space, enabling internet connectivity for governments and businesses.

nie

PM Modi unveils HTT-40, HAL’s indigenous trainer aircraft

Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled HTT-40, the indigenous trainer aircraft designed and developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) at the India Pavilion during DefExpo-2020 in Gandhinagar, on Wednesday.

The Basic Trainer Aircraft would be used for basic flight training, aerobatics, instrument flying and close formation flights, whereas its secondary roles would include navigation and night flying. HTT-40 has cutting-edge technology designed to meet primary training requirements of the Indian defence services. Built around a meticulouslytested, turbo-prop engine, it is equipped with the latest avionics, an air-conditioned cabin and ejection seats. HTT-40 boasts of unique features like running changeover of pilots, hot-refuelling and short turnaround time.

HAL receives DcPP certificate

Hal also received a Deve lopment – cum -Production Partner (DcPP)/Production Agency (PA) certificate for ABHYAS – High Speed Expendable Aerial Target (HEAT) System from DRDO at a programme held on the sidelines of DefExpo-2022. The Aircraft Division of HAL is the first DcPP/PA identified organisation under ADE-DRDO’s new scheme for the procurement of a complex system. HAL had formally handed over the first batch of two units of High-Speed Expendable Aerial Target (HEAT) System ABHYAS, an indigenous target aircraft, to Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) recently. HAL CMD CB Ananthakrishnan received the certificate from DRDO Chairman and secretary of the Department o f De f enc e R&D Dr Samir V Kamat

nie

Submarine INS Arihant successfully test fires ballistic missile

The missile was tested to a predetermined range and it impacted the target area in the Bay of Bengal with high accuracy, according to the defence ministry.

India’s strategic strike submarine INS Arihant carried out successful launch of a ballistic missile on Friday, the defence ministry said.

The missile was tested to a predetermined range and it impacted the target area in the Bay of Bengal with high accuracy, validating all operational and technological parameters, it said.

“The successful user training launch of the SLBM (submarine launched ballistic missile) by INS Arihant is significant to prove crew competency and validate the SSBN programme, a key element of India’s nuclear deterrence capability,” the ministry said.

“A robust, survivable and assured retaliatory capability is in keeping with India’s policy to have ‘credible minimum deterrence’ that underpins its ‘No First Use’ commitment,” it said in a statement.