Indian Military

WASHINGTON: Asserting that its sale to India will "improve interoperability with US Soldiers and Marines," the US defense agency tasked with transfer of military hardware and promoting military-to-military ties has notified the US Congress of the Obama administration's intention to sell 145 M777 Howitzers to India in a deal worth $ 647 million. - Indian Military

NEW DELHI: A top military official, Lt Gen Awadesh Prakash, allegedly involved in the Sukna land scam, faces court martial with the defence minister A K Antony asking army chief General Deepak Kapoor to initiate disciplinary action against the officer. "The defence minister has advised the army chief to initiate disciplinary action against Lt Gen Prakash (Military Secretary in the army)," highly-placed defence ministry sources said today. - Indian Military

[TOI] In a major boost for India, Myanmar is learnt to have agreed to launch “coordinated operations” to flush out north-east militants from its territory — quite similar to what Bhutan did against ULFA by launching `Operation All Clear’ in December 2003. - Indian Military

[The Hindu] Indian Space Research Organisation successfully conducted the static test of its largest solid booster S200 at Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC), Sriharikota today (January 24, 2010). The successful test of S200 makes it the third largest solid booster in the world, next to the RSRM solid booster of Space Shuttle and P230 solid booster of ARIANE-5. - Indian Military

NEW DELHI: Army is going in for a major induction of {ln:brahmos-supersonic-cruise-missile 'BrahMos Block-II land-attack cruise missiles (LACM)}, which have been designed as "precision strike weapons" capable of hitting small targets in cluttered urban environments. - Indian Military

[TOI] NEW DELHI: The Indian Navy will induct its first indigenously-built Shivalik class stealth frigate in April, an official said. Christened INS Shivalik, the multi-role stealth frigate has been built at Mumbai's Mazagaon Docks Limited under Project 17. Two more such vessels are under construction. - Indian Military

[Tribune India] The Army is marching ahead to boost firepower and enhance mobility of its special forces and select infantry outfits. It is procuring carbines for close-quarter battle, additional accessories for its recently acquired TAR-21 assault rifles and all-terrain vehicles.Recently, the Army was in the market to procure special assault rifles that can shoot around corners without the soldier having to expose himself for a direct line-of-sight shot. - Indian Military

[The Telegraph] The Indian Air Force is offering the Bangladesh Biman Bahini (Bangladesh air force) the use of its facilities to modernise and maintain fighter aircraft and helicopters, a senior defence source told The Telegraph here. - Indian Military

[Rediff] India on Thursday carried out two successful flight trials of laser-guided bombs (LGBs) for the Indian Air Force to test the effectiveness of the guidance and control systems at the Chandipur integrated test range in Orissa. - Indian Military

[TNN] The Navy has started a $1.5 billion overhaul of its ageing Soviet-era fleet of aircraft, seeking to boost its air power in an Indian Ocean region where a growing China is threatening its traditional dominance. - Indian Military

[Ajai Shukla] The United States, according to credible recent press reports, is training Special Forces to “grab” Pakistan’s nuclear weapons if they seem about to fall into terrorist hands. And if the Indian Army is to play a role in the operations, here is how it might play out. - Indian Military

[Headlines today] A security nightmare stares the nation in the face with the Indian Navy's submarine arm in danger of losing its strength and ability to keep enemies off the country's backyard. - Indian Military

[Interfax-AVN] “The Indian Air Force has applied for another nine {ln:elm-2075-phalcon-airborne-early-warning-and-control-systemawacs 'A-50EI phalcon AWACS}, including three to be supplied under the main contract and six in an option,” a defense industry source told Interfax-AVN on Monday. - Indian Military

A map from the US Office of Naval Intelligence report on the People's Liberation Army (Navy), indicating the PLA(N)'s current deployment Ajai Shukla A mistake by a US Navy intelligence official has given the world an unexpected peek into the secret world of China’s navy. The US Office for Naval Intelligence (ONI) committed the blunder of posting, on an open website, the agency’s assessment of the state of the Chinese navy. Before the ONI could rectify this indiscretion by pulling off the report, it had been downloaded and posted on a publicly accessible website. - Indian Military