latest news Archives - Defence Monitor

21 Dec

HAL floats radar tender for its Light Combat Aircraft

New Delhi: The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited has floated a limited tender for the purchase of AESA (active electronically scanned array) radars for an under-development Light Combat Aircraft 'Tejas' from global aviation firms. "The tender in the form of Expression of Interest (EoI) was floated on Wednesday to five of the global aviation technology firms," a top HAL source said.The EoI was floated by the Aviation Research and Design Centre (ARDC), one of the 10 design centres of HAL, which is engaged in the design and development of LCA 'Tejas', source added. The source said Israel is a front-runner in the race,…

02 Feb

Unmanned Japanese probe fails to remove space debris: Report

London: An experimental Japanese probe has failed in its mission to clear space junk from the Earths orbit, media reported. While Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's H-II Transfer Vehicle Kounotori 6 (HTV6), launched on December 9, 2016 successfully delivered supplies to the International Space Station (ISS), it failed to achieve one of the mission objectives of removing space debris. The space cargo ship left the ISS on January 28 and re-entered the atmosphere on Monday, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency has confirmed. Following undocking, the scientists expected to eliminate space debris on low-earth orbits with the Kounotori Integrated Tether Experiments (KITE), an on-orbit…

29 Jan

Partisans and observers: A literary view of the Spanish Civil War

It seems ironically heartless, but somehow the best literary creativity is inspired by tragedy, especially those in conflict situations, and can reflect its nuances and effects better. "A Tale of Two Cities", "Dr Zhivago" and "Gone With the Wind" can tell us more about the situation of the French and Russian Revolutions or the American Civil War, respectively, than any standard history, no matter how magisterial. This is also true of the Spanish Civil War. This conflict (1936-1939), the last and bloodiest of four civil wars in Spain since Napoleonic times, was the outcome of the ideological conflict threatening to…

29 Jan

Indian nuclear sector does not expect budget bounty, unlike last year

Chennai: After getting a firm commitment of Rs 3,000 crore allocation over the next two decades for atomic power projects in the last Union Budget, the nuclear power sector is not expecting anything new in the upcoming 2017-18 budget, said the Atomic Energy Commission chief. "Unlike other industries, we do not have any new expectations from the Union Budget. Yes, it is true last year Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced annual additional allocation of Rs 3,000 crore to expand nuclear power capacity," Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) Chairman Sekhar Basu, who is also the Secretary of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE),…

19 Jan

NASA aims to send spacecraft to giant ‘metal’ asteroid

New York: NASA is preparing to send a spacecraft to a giant "metal" asteroid that may tell scientists the secret of how our solar system was formed. Led by Arizona State University researchers, the mission called "Psyche" is focused to know whether the asteroid, called "16 Psyche" and thought to be made of iron and nickel, could be part of what was an earlier planet perhaps as large as Mars. "This is an opportunity to explore a new type of world -- not one of rock or ice but of metal," Lindy Elkins-Tanton, Psyche's principal investigator, said in a statement. Psyche robotic…

06 Jan

Delhi-bound SpiceJet plane faces hiccups, lands safely

New Delhi: A Delhi-bound SpiceJet flight on Friday faced a technical hiccup but landed safely after following the emergency procedure, the airline said.All passenger and crew are safe, SpiceJet said in a statement. "SpiceJet flight SG 136, Bengaluru to Delhi, experienced, during cruise, partial hydraulic failure," the airline said. "The crew carried out the emergency procedure and landed safely in Delhi. The ATC (Air Traffic Control) was kept in the loop. It was an uneventful landing. All passengers and crew are safe." The flight landed on the Runway 10 at 8.45 a.m. with 176 passengers, including the crew, aboard, an airport…

23 Dec

CISF detects huge cash with foreign passenger at IGI

New Delhi: The CISF on Friday detected a foreign national carrying a huge amount of cash in new currency notes at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport here on his way to Coimbatore, officials said. "We detected Rs 53.78 lakh in new currency and Rs 4.29 lakh in old currency with a Nigerian passenger named Tochukwo Chijioke," an official of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which looks after the security at the IGI, told IANS. "We have informed the Airport Intelligence Unit (AIU) and the Custom department." "He was travelling by an Indigo flight," the official added. The AIU and…

22 Dec

DSCI, Lockheed Martin launch cybersecurity portal

New Delhi: Aiming to make small and medium businesses (SMBs) aware of cyber security threats, the Data Security Council of India (DSCI) and US-based security and aerospace company Lockheed Martin have launched an online cybersecurity education portal. Called CyberAware, the platform includes computer-based training modules on cyber threats and internet security awareness, cyber security games and videos that showcase real life IT and cyber security scenarios for Industrial Training Institutes. "CyberAware is an educational portal and an effort to empower the workforce of SMBs and Industrial Training Institutes for a safe and secure online presence," Rama Vedashree, CEO of DSCI, said…

22 Dec

Approval sought for 5th international airport in Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram: An organisation largely speaking for Keralites within the country and abroad has urged the Kerala government to sanction a new international airport at one of three locations, saying it will bring in the required funds. Rajeev Joseph, the president of the New Delhi-headquartered Global Indian Association (GIA), said it had met Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan with a feasibility study conducted by world renowned consultants AECOM (the consultant for the upcoming Kannur Airport) which has cleared three places in the two central Kerala districts at Pathanamthitta or Kottayam. "Our organisation consists of Keralites and non-Keralites settled in the country and…

19 Dec

PM awards HAL for national apprenticeship programme

Kanpur: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday awarded HAL with a cheque of over Rs 82 lakh for providing training to apprentices under the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS), an official said. Chairman and Managing Director of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) T. Suvarna Raju received the cheque of Rs 82,19,368 on behalf of his company for playing a constructive role under the NAPS at the 'Kaushal Mahotsava' programme organised by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Union Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, was also present on the occasion. "As per the scheme, 25 per…