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The Navy took a giant leap with the launching
of the first indigenously built nuclear propelled
strategic submarine named Arihant in July. The
Indian Navy is well on its way to acquire a lethal
punch in the years ahead when it gets the first
indigenous aircraft carrier. The keel for the
carrier was laid in Kochi in February. The Navy
also received the first batch of three MiG-29K
fighter jets. The Air Force got a big boost when
the first of the three AWACS, the IAFs eye in
the sky, joined its fleet in May. The Armys
focus during the year was on indigenization with
the induction of locally built MBT Arjun and T-90
Bhishma tanks.
To facilitate the indigenous defence industry
and fast track acquisitions by Transfer of Technology
(ToT) from foreign vendors, the Ministry of Defence
issued an updated Defence Procurement Procedure-2009
in October.
The year also fulfilled a longstanding aspiration
of the Armed Forces personnel when the President
inaugurated the Armed Forces Tribunal in August.
The other significant events during the year include
Rescue and Relief during cyclone Aila that hit
West Bengal and humanitarian aid to war-ravaged
Sri Lanka and the participation by a 400-member
tri-service contingent in the French National
Day Parade for the first time.
NUCLEAR POWERED SUBMARINE
ARIHANT
Indias first indigenously built nuclear propelled
strategic submarine named Arihant, meaning Destroyer
of the Enemies, was launched on July 26 at the
Ship Building Centre, Visakhapatnam. India thus
joined a select group of nations which have the
technological capability to build and operate
nuclear propelled submarines.
Speaking on the occasion, Prime Minister Dr
Manmohan Singh, while congratulating the Director
General of the ATV (Advanced Technology Vehicle)
Programme, Vice Admiral (Retd) DSP Verma and all
personnel associated with it for achieving this
historic milestone in the countrys defence preparedness,
noted that they overcame several hurdles and barriers
to enable the country to acquire self-reliance
in the most advanced areas of defence technology.
He made a special mention of the cooperation extended
by Russia.
The 6,000 ton Arihant is undergoing trials
for two years before its commissioning.
INDIGENOUS AIRCRAFT CARRIER
In February, the keel was laid in Kochi for the
first Indigenous Aircraft Carrier, making India
the fourth nation to join a select club of designers
and builders of over 40,000 tonne Aircraft Carriers.
The ship that will carry 30 aircraft including
Mig-29Klub, LCA Tejas and Kamov Ka-31 helicopters
and include a complement of 1,600 crew, is expected
to add punch to the Navys capability when it
joins the fleet in 2014. The carrier is the largest
vessel for which construction has been undertaken
at any Indian shipyard.
COMMISSIONING OF LANDING
SHIP TANK INS AIRAVAT ETC.
INS Airavat, the third Landing Ship Tank (Large)
of the Shardul class was commissioned in May.
As a platform designed for amphibious operations
the ship can carry 10 Main Battle Tanks, 11 Combat
Trucks and 500 Troops and has a considerable range
and endurance at sea. With its weapon package,
control systems and habitability conditions significantly enhanced from the earlier Magar class,
Airavat delivers considerable punch and amphibious
capabilities to the fighting prowess of the Indian
Navy.
Four Fast Attack Craft namely INS Cora Divh,
Cheriyam, Carnicobar and Chetlat were also commissioned
over the year.
 MIG-29K
ARRIVAL
The first batch of three MiG-29K aircraft was
received on 4 Dec 2009 at INS Hansa Goa. A total
of 16 aircraft have been contracted from Russias
MiG RAC. These aircraft will be flown intensively
after their acceptance.
CONTRACT FOR NAVYS PATROL
AIRCRAFT
A contract was signed in January with Boeing
Industries for eight P-8I Long Range Maritime
Patrol Aircraft worth $2.137 Billion. Delivery
of aircraft is scheduled between 2013-15.
NAVAL ACADEMY AT EZHIMALA
The Naval Academy at Ezhimala, Kerala was commissioned
on 8 Jan 2009. This Academy, named INS Zamorin,
will be the largest officer-training Naval Academy
in Asia. The Academy, spread over an area of 2452
acres along the North Malabar coastline, would
be conducting a four-year B Tech programme in
Electronics and Communications and Mechanical
Engineering for naval cadets.
FIRST BATCH OF WOMEN OBSERVERS
JOIN INDIAN NAVY
Two lady officers were inducted as the first
women Observers of the Indian Navy. Sub Lieutenant
Seema Rani Sharma and Sub Lieutenant Ambica Hooda
were awarded Wings on November 20, 2009.
COASTAL SECURITY
In June, a meeting chaired by Defence Minister
AK Antony decided to set up a high level committee
under the Chairmanship of the Cabinet Secretary
to review the measures taken for coastal security
at regular intervals. The other members of the
committee include the Chief of Naval Staff, Secretaries
of all concerned Ministries such as Defence, Home,
Petroleum and Chief Secretaries of Coastal States.
One significant achievement of the year has
been the integration of all maritime stakeholders,
including the several State and Central agencies
into the coastal security matrix. Intelligence
and information sharing has undergone a transformational
change.
The Indian Navy has established four Joint Operation
Centres in all Naval Commands. All coastal security
operations are now coordinated from the Joint
Operations Centre, which are manned round the
clock by Naval and Coast Guard teams. In addition,
the state Marine Police and other agencies such
as Customs, Intelligence Bureau, Ports etc. are
also networked with these centers. Besides the
four Joint Operation Centers at Mumbai, Visakhapatnam,
Kochi and Port Blair, each coastal district also
has its own Operation Center for coordinating
activity in their districts. The Coast Guard set
up a station at Gandhinagar, Gujarat in December
to strengthen maritime and coastal security in
the northwestern region.
In a focused drive to enlist the support of
fishermen for their role, awareness campaigns
targeting coastal and fishing communities were
conducted.
Recognizing that the Marine Police and CISF
are not fully trained in maritime tasks, the Indian
Navy has provided training assistance to all coastal
states and CISF personnel. 263 CISF personnel
have already undergone training at INS Chilka,
the premier training establishment for sailors
in the Indian Navy. Local Naval and Coast Guard
elements in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Maharashtra
have also taken up similar training for the Marine
Police. Nearly 1600 marine police personnel have
been trained. This effort continues during joint
patrols, in which the Navy and Coast Guard participate
along with the Marine Police, CISF and Customs.
ANTI-PIRACY OPERATIONS
The Indian Navy maintained one ship on anti-piracy
patrol duties in the Gulf of Aden throughout the
year. During the year the Indian Naval warships
escorted over 700 merchant vessels through the
treacherous Gulf of Aden. About 14 piracy attempts
were successfully thwarted by the Indian Navy.
From early November an additional ship has been
deployed to patrol the maritime areas of Seychelles
and Mauritius to counter the increasing cases
of piracy in these areas.
FIRST OF IAF AWACS ARRIVES
IN INDIA
The first of the three Indian Air Force AWACS
(Airborne Warning and Control System) platform
arrived in India from Israel in May. Three Mig-29
and Jaguar aircraft escorted the giant IL-76 configured in its new avatar, each taking off from
an advanced fighter airbase of South Western
Air Command (SWAC). Air Officer Commandingin-
Chief, SWAC, Air Marshal KD Singh, Air Defence
Commander Air Vice Marshal P Singh and the AOC
Jamnagar, Air Commodore C Hari Kumar and air warriors
of the the airbase welcomed the crew of AWACS
aircraft that included the Commanding Officer
of the first AWACS squadron, Group Captain B
Saju.
Their maiden touchdown on Indian soil also marked
the first landing of the AWACS in an IAF airbase.
IAF REACTIVATES AIRFIELDS
IN LADAKH
On September 18, 2009 an IAF AN-32 aircraft landed
at Nyoma Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) in eastern
Ladakh. Though helicopters have been landing at
this ALG, this was for the first time that a fixed-wing
aircraft landed at the compacted airstrip of Nyoma,
located 23 km from the Line of Actual Control
at an altitude of 13,300 feet. It marked the culmination
of joint effort by the IAF and Indian Army to
enable the IAF to operate in the inhospitable
terrain of Leh-Ladakh region in support of the
Army.
The landing came 15 months after an AN-32 landed
at Daulat-Beg- Oldie (DBO), the highest airfield in the world situated at an altitude of 16,200
feet.
SU-30 INDUCTED IN TEZPUR
The Su-30 aircraft were formally inducted at
Air Force Station Tezpur on 15 June 15, following
the upgrade of the airbase in the northeast.
 PRESIDENT
INDUCTS VVIP BOEING BUSINESS JET 747/700 INTO
IAF
President Pratibha Patil inducted the new state-of-the-art
VVIP jet into the IAF on 1 Apr 2009. The President
later undertook a flight to Assam aboard the new
Boeing 737-700, christened as Rajdoot. The sparkling
white 60-passengercapacity aircraft, designed
on the lines of the US Presidents Air Force One
and equipped with a wide range of security cover
and latest communication devices, replace the
older Boeing 737s.
PRESIDENT FLIES SU-30,
BOARDS AIRCRAFT CARRIER VIRAAT
President Pratibha Devisingh Patil became the
first woman President anywhere across the world
to fly a fighter jet. She undertook the historic
half-hour sortie on the Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter
aircraft at the Lohegaon airbase, Pune on November
25. In December, she boarded INS Viraat, Indias
only aircraft carrier, and witnessed the operation
of Sea Harrier Vertical Take-Off and Landing fighter jets from its decks. The 50-year-old 28,000
tonnes aircraft carrier rejoined the Indian Navy
in August after a year-long refit at the Cochin
Shipyard.
MMRCA FLIGHT TRIALS BEGIN
The Indian Air Force began flight evaluation
tests for the procurement of 126 Medium Multi-Role
Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) in August. US Boeing and
Lockheed Martin, French Dassault, Swedish SAAB,
European consortium EADS and Russian MiG are vying
for the deal worth around Rs. 48,000 crore ($10.2
billion). The IAF hopes to complete the tests
by April, 2010.
IAF EFFORTS IN ECLIPSE
STUDY
The Indian Air Force successfully undertook sorties
to help Indian scientists study the total solar
eclipse that took place on July 23. Two separate
missions from Agra and Gwalior were flown along
the path of the moons shadow, a mission that
was deemed hugely successful by scientists associated
with the experiment. While one AN-32 transport
aircraft carrying scientific equipment, cameras
and scientists that took off from Agra landed
back after a three-hour flight, a Mirage- 2000
trainer from Gwalior took spectacular images of
the celestial spectacle from 40,000 feet. With
weather being clear at the altitudes and coordinates
planned by the IAF pilots, both AN-32 and Mirage-2000
pilots were able to accomplish the mission successfully.
ARMY RAISES FIRST ARMOURED
REGIMENT OF MBT ARJUN
History of sorts was made on May 25 when the
Indian Army proudly equipped itself with the first
Armoured Regiment of the indigenously built Main
Battle Tank, Arjun. The development marked the
fruition of 35 years of research in self-reliance
by dedicated Indian scientists against all odds.
16 tanks (cumulative 45 Arjun tanks) were handed
over to Lt Gen D Bhardwaj, DGMF, towards formation
of the 1st Arjun regiment at a function in Avadi,
Tamil Nadu. MBT Arjun is the state-of-art main
battle tank designed and developed by the Combat
Vehicles Research and Development Establishment
(CVRDE), Avadi along with other DRDO and industrial
partners. MBT Arjun is provided with excellent
mobility, superior firepower and protection and
its features are comparable to contemporary tanks
operated by cavalries around the world.
INDIGENOUSLY BUILT T-90
BHISHMA TANKS ROLL OUT
India rolled out its first batch of the indigenous,
Russian-designed T-90 tanks in August, which will
be the countrys main battle tank over the next
three decades. The successor to the T-72 tanks,
the T-90 - renamed Bhishma after the Mahabharat
(epic) stalwart - is the one of the most advanced
tanks in the world. It has night-fighting capability
and can fire guided missiles from its turret.
It is also designed to ensure protection of crew
from radioactivity in the event of a nuclear attack.
The Heavy Vehicles Factory at Avadi in Tamil Nadu
will make 100 T-90 tanks annually over the next
10 years. The tank will be the spearhead of Indias
armoured corps and the mainstay of its offensive
operations.
ARMYS EFFORTS TO RESTORE
NORMALCY IN J&K
The terrorist attacks in Jammu and Kashmir have
drastically come down and infiltration has been
largely checked, thanks to the strict vigil on
the Line of Control maintained by the Indian Army.
In view of the improved situation in the state,
the Army withdrew two Divisions comprising close
to 30,000 troops.
THIRD SUCCESSFUL TEST
OF BALLISTIC MISSILE INTERCEPTOR
India inched closer towards its endeavour to
put in place its own home-grown Ballistic Missile
Defence System by successfully carrying out the
third Interceptor test on 6 Mar 2009 from the
Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Wheeler Island
in Orissa. The two-stage Interceptor Missile fitted with advanced systems hit the target enemy
missile at 75 km altitude. This third consecutive
interception of Ballistic Missiles once again
demonstrated the robustness of the Indian Ballistic
Missile Defence (BMD) system programme.
DEFENCE PROCUREMENT PROCEDURE
2009 RELEASED
An updated and revised Defence Procurement Procedure-2009
was released in October 29, and it came into effect
in November. It promotes indigenous defence industry,
ensures transparency and accountability in all
procurement cases and liberalizes Offset provisions
to enable vendors to fulfil their obligations.
The amended DDP-2009 introduced a new category
named Buy and Make (Indian) which enables indigenous
private and public industry to enter into joint
ventures with foreign suppliers by Transfer of
Technology and not by Research and Development.
ARMED FORCES TRIBUNAL
INAUGURATED
The long-awaited Armed Forces tribunal was inaugurated
by the President Pratibha Devisingh Patil on 7
Aug 2009. Set up by an Act of parliament in December,
2007, the Armed Forces Tribunal has its Principal
Bench in New Delhi and eight regional benches
spread across the country. It has been followed
with the setting up of the Tribunals regional
benches in Chandigarh, Jaipur, Lucknow, Kolkata
and Chennai. The Tribunal will have 15 courts
in all, - three each in New Delhi, Chandigarh
and Lucknow and one each in Jaipur, Mumbai, Kolkata,
Guwahati, Chennai and Kochi.
Aggrieved armed forces personnel will now be
able to appeal against sentences handed down by
the courtmartial. The Tribunal has the powers
to grant bail to any person in military custody.
The Armed Forces Tribunal provides a judicial
forum for the redressal of any grievances. India
has about 1.3 million strong armed forces personnel
and another 1.2 million Ex-Servicemen.
RESCUE & RELIEF DURING
AILA CYCLONE ETC.
Acting upon the request of the West Bengal government,
the Ministry of Defence dispatched medical teams
of the Armed Forces personnel to the devastating
cyclone Aila affected areas of North and South
24 Parganas districts of the state in June. Many
columns of the Army and several divers from the
Indian Navy were also engaged in providing relief
and rescue. These teams provided medical aid to
several thousand people in the Aila affected areas.
5,000 kg of relief stores were also distributed
in the flood affected areas, which include clothing,
food items and tents. Divers from Indian Navy
and Army personnel rescued 450 marooned persons
and evacuated them to safer areas. Armed Forces
also pressed into service Gemini boats in cyclone
affected areas to distribute relief materials.
IAF also pressed the Mi-17 helicopters into service
to provide aid to the affected people.
When parts of Andhra Pradesh and northern Karnataka
were badly affected by floods in the first week
of October, the Army, Navy and IAF carried out
extensive operations, rescuing over 3,600 people.
More than 4.5 tonnes of rations were distributed
by the Army to the marooned people in the two
flood affected states. The Air Force deployed
32 aircraft and helicopters, carrying out 340
sorties.. The Navy also deployed two Chetak helicopters
and diving teams for flood rescue operations.
In February the IAF also launched Operation
Humsafar to supply food and medicines to the snowbound
remote areas of Doda district.
AID TO WAR-RAVAGED SRI
LANKA
On the request of the Government of Sri Lanka,
medical teams from Armed Forces were sent to warravaged
northern Sri Lanka. Indian Air Force IL-76 transport
aircraft airlifted several tones of medical aid
to Colombo in March.
JOINT EXERCISES
The Indian Army conducted the joint exercise
YUDH ABHYAS-09 with the US Army at Babina near
Jhansi in October, towards coordinated peacekeeping
and disaster relief operation. A Mechanised Infantry
Battalion of Indian Army and 2nd Squadron of 14
CAV of 254 Stryker Brigade Combat Team comprising
325 US troops participated in this exercise.
Indian and Maldivian troops also conducted EKUVERIN-09
exercise in Belgaum.
Exercise COPE INDIA 2009 was held in October
at Agra between IAF and US Air Force.
Six IAF Jaguars participated in a joint Air
Exercise with the Royal Air Force of Oman at Thumrait,
Oman the same month.
Indian Navys Eastern Fleet Task Force comprising
four warships carried out joint exercise SIMBEX
09 in March with the Singapore Navy. The Fleet
also exercised with the US and Japanese Navies
under the aegis of the MALABAR exercise. Additionally
enroute, the fleet conducted exercises with the
navies of Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, South
Korea and Indonesia.
On the other hand, a Western Fleet Task Force
comprising four ships were deployed to Europe
from May 2009. The fleet ships touched over 15
ports and in addition to having dedicated joint
operations with the Royal Navy the French Navy
under the codenames Konkan and Varuna the
ships also conducted exercises enroute with 12
different navies viz. the Algerian Navy, Portugese
Navy, German Navy, Turkish Navy, Israeli Navy,
Russian Navy, Royal Netherlands Navy, Spanish
Navy, Moroccon Navy, Hellenic Navy, Egyptian Navy
and the Royal Navy of Oman.
Indian Naval warships and aircraft also conducted
joint surveillance of the extensive Exclusive
Economic Zone in the waters of Maldives, Mauritius
and Seychelles. Our ships conducted coordinated
patrols with the navies of Thailand and Indonesia.
SEPARATE PAY COMMISSION
FOR ARMED FORCES ANNOUNCED, PAY HIKE PROPOSALS
IMPROVED
In a New Year bonanza for the Armed Forces on
January 1, 2009, the Prime Ministers Office
informed the Defence Ministry that the Armed Forces
personnel would henceforth have a separate Pay
Commission, which is delinked from the civilian
pay panel.
On April 21 the Government notified Pay Band-4A
with a Grade Pay of Rs 8000 for Lieutenant Colonels
and equivalents in Navy and Air Force, which benefitted about 15,000 officers. Later the Government
approved higher wages under the Sixth Pay Commission
for Lieutenant Generals and equivalent officers,
putting them at par with the Director Generals
of Police, a key demand of the Armed Forces. About
33 per cent of the total number of Lt Generals
in the Army, Air Marshals in the IAF and Vice
Admirals in the Navy, were granted the Higher
Administrative Grade (HAG) Plus scales.
AERO INDIA 2009
The 7th Edition of Aero India, Asias premier
Air Show, was held in Bengalore from 11 to 15
February 2009. In size and number, this was the
biggest air show, hosted by India so far. 592
exhibitors from 25 countries participated at the
show. A number of aircraft including F-16, F-18,
MiG- 35D, Eurofighter, IJT, ALH Dhruv, AJT Hawk,
C-17, Embraer 135 Business Jet Legacy 600, C-130J
Hercules, Citation XLS, G 550, AN-12 Cargo and
A-310 MRTT were on display. Defence Ministers
of France, Peru, Bolivia, Surinam, Mongolia, Oman
and Maldives came for the show. Besides high level
delegations from 40 countries also attended the
Show.
SAINIK SAMACHAR CENTENARY
The Armed Forces Journal Sainik Samachar celebrated
its Centenary on 2 Jan 2009. Sainik Samachar had
started as Fauji Akhbar, an Urdu weekly on January
2, 1909, with an aim to provide Army personnel
with a summary of news with a military bias.
It was re-christened as Sainik Samachar on 4 Apr
1954. Defence Minister AK Antony released a Coffee
Table Book Soldiering On... on the occasion.
INDIAN ARMED FORCES CONTINGENT
PARTICIPATES IN FRENCH NATIONAL DAY PARADE
A 400-strong contingent of the Indian Armed
Forces comprising marching columns and a combined
military band from the Army, Air Force and Navy
participated in the French National Day parade
on 14 July 2009 in Paris. This was the first
time an Indian military contingent was accorded
the honour. The contingent was commanded by Air
Commodore RK Mathur.
ANTONY TAKES OVER AS DEFENCE
MINISTER FOR THE SECOND TIME
Following the resounding win of the United Progressive
Alliance in the April-May General Elections to
the 15th Lok Sabha, Mr AK Antony took over as
the Defence Minister for the second time on May
25, 2009. He has been at the helm of the Defence
Ministry since 25 October 2006.
APPOINTMENTS
Mr Pradeep Kumar took over as the Defence Secretary
on July 31 following the superannuation of Mr
Vijay Singh. He was already working as Secretary
(Defence Production) in the Ministry of Defence.
Earlier on May 31, Air Chief Marshal Pradeep Vasant
Naik took charge as the 19th Chief of Air Staff
from Air Chief Marshal Fali Homi Major and later
the Navy got Admiral Nirmal Verma as its new chief,
following the superannuation of Admiral Sureesh
Mehta.
Eminent missile scientist Dr Vijay Kumar Saraswat
took over as the new head of the Defence Research
and Development Organisation (DRDO) from Mr M
Natarajan on 1 Sep 2009. He has spearheaded development
of the countryfs strategic and tactical missile
systems including the eAgnif series of strategic
missiles covering a range up to 3,500 kms.
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