Category: Defence

Lucknow: The year 2025 will be remembered as a defining moment in modern global defence history—a year when geopolitics hardened, military budgets shattered records, technology reshaped battlefields, and long-simmering conflicts pushed the world closer to a permanent state of strategic tension. From Eastern Europe to the Middle East and the Indo-Pacific, nations recalibrated their security priorities in response to a volatile international order where deterrence, rather than diplomacy, increasingly dictated policy. Global military spending surged to an unprecedented $2.7 trillion, reflecting not only ongoing wars in Ukraine and Gaza but…

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New Delhi | India and the United States have finalised a landmark government-to-government defence agreement worth approximately US$4 billion for the acquisition of 31 MQ-9B Predator unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from American defence major General Atomics. The deal, one of the largest in the history of India–US defence cooperation, is set to significantly enhance India’s intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and precision-strike capabilities across land and maritime domains. The agreement, cleared by India’s Cabinet Committee on Security and formally signed in October 2024, includes not only the drones and associated weapons but…

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New Delhi | In a major boost to indigenous defence manufacturing, the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) has signed a contract with L&T Precision Engineering & Systems for the supply of six Rail-Less Helicopter Traversing Systems (RLHTS). The systems will be installed onboard the Coast Guard’s Next-Generation Offshore Patrol Vessels (NGOPVs) currently under construction in India. The agreement was signed on Friday at the Coast Guard Headquarters in New Delhi in the presence of senior officials. The contract was formalised by the Principal Director (Air Acquisition) of the Indian Coast Guard…

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New Delhi | A latest Pentagon assessment on China’s military power has confirmed that China has supplied 36 J-10C multirole fighter jets to Pakistan since 2020, validating long-standing Indian intelligence assessments on Beijing’s expanding defence footprint in South Asia. The disclosure forms part of the 2025 China Military Power Report, a congressionally mandated document submitted to the US Congress in December 2025. According to the report, 20 J-10C aircraft had been delivered to the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) by May 2025, with the remaining jets scheduled for induction by early…

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Bengaluru | In a major boost to India’s growing unmanned aviation capabilities, the Indian Air Force’s elite Air Force Test Pilots School (AFTPS) has successfully trained its first dedicated drone test team. The milestone was marked at a valedictory function held on December 19 at the Aircraft and Systems Testing Establishment (ASTE) in Bengaluru. The ceremony saw officers completing two specialised courses being honoured — the maiden Test Course (Unmanned Aerial Systems), focused exclusively on drone and unmanned platform testing, and the 25th Production Test Pilots Course. Officers who excelled…

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New Delhi | The National Cadet Corps (NCC) and Sainik Schools, long regarded as the primary feeder institutions for grooming officers for the Indian Armed Forces, are failing to deliver the expected results despite massive public spending, a recent report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has revealed. Presented in Parliament, the CAG report highlights that although enrolment levels in NCC units and Sainik Schools remain high, the actual number of candidates who eventually join the Indian Army as officers is far lower than anticipated. The findings raise serious…

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New Delhi | In a significant step towards strengthening India’s defence manufacturing capabilities and reducing reliance on imports, India Optel Limited (IOL) has signed a strategic agreement with France’s Safran Electronics & Defense to manufacture high-precision defence systems in India. The systems will be deployed across artillery, air defence and missile platforms of the Indian Armed Forces. The agreement was formally signed on December 22 by IOL Chairman and Managing Director Tushar Tripathi and Alexandre Ziegler, Head of Safran’s Global Defense Business Unit, in the presence of Defence Production Secretary…

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Al Hamra (UAE) | The armed forces of India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are currently engaged in Exercise Desert Cyclone–II in Al Hamra, sharpening their preparedness for urban warfare operations amid realistic desert conditions. The joint military exercise has reached a crucial phase, with troops from both nations undertaking intensive training in built-up areas to enhance interoperability and operational synergy. Running from December 18 to December 30, 2025, Desert Cyclone–II is the second edition of the bilateral exercise. The first edition was conducted in 2024 at the Mahajan…

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New Delhi | As 2025 draws to a close, India’s armed forces may receive a significant strategic boost with the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) set to hold its final meeting of the year on December 26. The high-level meeting, chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, is expected to take crucial decisions on the emergency procurement of missiles, precision-guided munitions and advanced radar systems—moves that could further strengthen India’s defence posture amid ongoing tensions with China and Pakistan. Officials indicated that the meeting will revisit several Emergency Procurement (EP) proposals that…

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New Delhi: India has unveiled a ground breaking indigenous stealth cruise missile system known as the LRP2GM, or Long Range Powered Precision Guided Munition. Developed by JSR Dynamics, this advanced weapon was recently showcased to the Indian Navy as a versatile precision strike platform, according to a report by Defence Blog. Capable of ground- and ship-launched operations, it represents a significant step forward in India’s self-reliant defence manufacturing under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative. The LRP2GM falls into the lightweight ~400 kg class, with an all-up weight ranging from 360 to 390…

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