Nuclear Submarine INS Chakra Inducted into Navy

Tethered to the jetty, the 8,140-tonne steel shark floated menacingly as if waiting to break free. Soon, it will, to prowl silently underwater for extended periods, hunting for enemies to track and kill. The 8,140-tonne nuclear-powered attack submarine INS Chakra, with lethal 'hunter-killer' and intelligence-gathering capabilities, was formally inducted into Indian Navy on a 10-year lease from Russia at a cost of around $1 billion on Wednesday.

Defence minister A K Antony, Navy chief Admiral Nirmal Verma and Russian ambassador Alexander M Kadakin extolled the submarine as a shining example of the deep and abiding strategic partnership between India and Russia during the welcome ceremony at the highly-guarded Ship-Building Centre here.

INS Chakra, with a dived displacement of 12,000 tonnes, will, however, not give India its long-awaited third leg of the nuclear weapons triad since it is not armed with long-range strategic missiles due to international treaties. But it will happen after India's own nuclear submarine INS Arihant, armed with the nuclear-tipped K-15 missiles, is inducted into service sometime next year.

India’s Arms Market: Everyone In, Nobody Out

Russia has arrived at the DEFEXPO 2012 exhibition in India in the shadow of its own recent failures and the success of Western weapons manufacturers on the Indian arms market. But is Russia’s position on the Indian market really so weak?

India is ready to buy

The Indian arms market is an extraordinary place even by the standards of the markets of the Gulf oil monarchies, which buy weapons indiscriminately, provided the batch is big and the price is high. But India, although it also buys many weapons, does so only after serious consideration and for far-reaching reasons. This is why arms talks with India are like a complex dance with a large number of partners, not unlike a Bollywood movie.

Mahindra Announces Two Joint Ventures at DefExpo 2012 in India

The company's MoU with Rafael Advanced Defence Systems Ltd., a manufacturer of high tech defence systems for air, land, sea and space applications, will lead to the formation of a Joint Venture Company in India. The JV will develop and manufacture products such as Anti Torpedo Defence Systems, Electronic Warfare Systems, Advanced Armouring Solutions and remotely operated weapon stations for Futuristic Infantry Combat Vehicles (FICV).

Simultaneously, the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) has been approached for the creation of a 74:26 company.

The company's MoU with Rafael Advanced Defence Systems Ltd., a manufacturer of high tech defence systems for air, land, sea and space applications, will lead to the formation of a Joint Venture Company in India. The JV will develop and manufacture products such as Anti Torpedo Defence Systems, Electronic Warfare Systems, Advanced Armouring Solutions and remotely operated weapon stations for Futuristic Infantry Combat Vehicles (FICV).

Defence Minister Inaugurates Defexpo-2012

Defence Minister Shri AK Antony declared open the Defexpo India-2012, the 7th Land, Naval and Internal Security Systems Exhibition, here this morning. Following is the full text of his Inaugural Address on the occasion:
“Distinguished participants, guests and friends,

On behalf of the Ministry of Defence, Government of India, I take this opportunity to extend a very warm welcome to all our distinguished delegates and participants from across the world to DEFEXPO INDIA 2012. I wish you all a very pleasant and a successful visit.

DEFEXPO INDIA 2012 is the seventh of the series of India’s Land and Naval Systems Exposition, being biennially organised by the Ministry of Defence since 1999. This year the event has been organised in association with Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, an example of public-private partnership.