In This Issue Since 1909 PreparednessBIRTH ANNIVERSARY is the CELEBRATIONS Best Deterrent 4 – Defence Minister (Initially published as FAUJI AKHBAR) Vol. 64 q No 10 26 Vaisakha-10 Jyaistha, 1939 (Saka) 16-31 May 2017 The journal of India’s Armed Forces published every fortnight in thirteen languages including Hindi & English on behalf of Ministry of Defence. It is not necessarily an organ for the expression of the Government’s defence policy. The published items represent the views of respective writers and correspondents. Editor-in-Chief Air Chief Marshal BS INS Karwar and Hasibur Rahman 6 12 Senior Editor Editor Dhanoa visits … Kakinada… Ruby T Sharma Ehsan Khusro Sub Editor Coordination Sub Maj KC Sahu Kunal Kumar Our Correspondents DELHI: Col Aman Anand; Capt DK Sharma; Wg Cdr Anupam Banerjee; Manoj Tuli; Nampibou Marinmai; Ved Pal; Divyanshu Kumar; Photo Editor: K Ramesh; ALLAHABAD: Gp Capt BB Pande; BENGALURU: Shivaram Pailoor; CHANDIGARH: Pradip Dasgupta; CHENNAI: T Shanmugam; GANDHINAGAR: Wg Cdr Abhishek Matiman; GUWAHATI: Lt Col Suneet Newton; IMPHAL: Lt Col Ajay Kumar Sharma; JAMMU: Lt Col Manish Mehta; JODHPUR: Lt Col Manish 7 BrahMos Block III… Ojha; KOCHI: Cdr Sridhar E Warrier ; KOHIMA: Col Chiranjeet Konwer; KOLKATA: 8 Keel Laying of Fast Patrol… Kashmiri Students Wg Cdr SS Birdi; Dipannita Dhar; LUCKNOW: Ms Gargi Malik Sinha; MUMBAI: 17 10 Indian Navy and Space… visit Bengaluru Cdr Rahul Sinha; Narendra Vispute; NAGPUR: Wg Cdr Samir S Gangakhedkar; PALAM: Gp Capt SK Mehta; PUNE: Mahesh Iyengar; SECUNDERABAD: 14 Indian Warships Visit… B Satheesh Kumar; SHILLONG; SRINAGAR: Col Rajesh Kalia; TEZPUR: Lt Col 16 53rd Investiture Ceremony Sombit Ghosh; THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Suresh Shreedharan; UDHAMPUR: 18 Coast Guard Ship Varad… Col NN Joshi; VISAKHAPATNAM: Cdr CG Raju. 22 ICG conducts Exercise Sagar… Published by: Nitin D Wakankar 25 Clean India - Green India by… Addl DG (Media & Communication) 29 Army’s Kashmir Super-40 for… Directorate of Public Relations, South Block, Ministry of Defence, New Delhi-110011 35 Zoji La Pass Opening Ceremony Follow us on: Regulars 36 Armed Forces Panorama www.facebook.com/DefenceMinIndia https://twitter.com/spokespersonMoD Editorial Office: Jashn-e-Baramulla Youth Fest 26 L-1 Block, Church Road, New Delhi-110001, Telefax : 23094668 Telephone : 23092768 Email : [email protected] E-in-C: ASCON-32078 [email protected] For subscriptions contact : Business Manager, Sainik Samachar, Telephone : 23092768 Subscription Rates: Inland (Ordinary): One Year Rs 100.00, Overseas (Surface Mail): Rs 450.00 Concessional (per year): Rs 20.00 (Applicable for dependants of service personnel & ex-Servicemen.) For all correspondence subscribers must quote their subscription number For more details visit our website: http://sainiksamachar.nic.in On front cover: Two launches in a row with precise hit of BrahMos NAVAL COMMANDERS’ CONFERENCE Preparedness is the Best Deterrent – Defence Minister four day Naval Commanders’ the entire range of missions in the that preparedness would be the A Conference was held from May maritime domain. best deterrent. Lauding the Indian 2-5, 2017. The Defence Minister The Defence Minister addressed Navy’s efforts in indigenisation, he Shri Arun Jaitley addressed the and interacted with the Naval urged the Commanders to continue Naval Commanders and interacted Commanders on the opening day furthering the build up of domestic with them along with RRM Dr of the Conference. The Defence expertise. Subhash Bhamre, Defence Secretary Minister complimented the Indian Chairing the conference, and other senior functionaries of the Navy for its professionalism and the CNS addressed the Naval Ministry of Defence. commitment towards protecting the Commanders on issues pertaining The top-level leadership of maritime interests of the country, to operational readiness, capability Navy reviewed major operational, including its immense maritime enhancement, maintenance, training and administrative activities boundary and furthering the country’s operation logistics, infrastructure undertaken in the last six months. defence diplomacy requirements. development and human resource The conference reviewed Indian He urged the Commanders to be management. He emphasised the Navy’s readiness to deploy over prepared at all times emphasising need for continued efforts towards 4 Sainik Samachar May 16-31, 2017 modernisation, indigenisation and on the geo-political developments CNS while complimenting the expanding the Navy’s operational with key focus on the Indian Ocean officers for their commitment footprint so as to be a stabilising Region and outlined key imperatives and professionalism exhorted the force in Indian Ocean Region. pertaining to our foreign policy and Commanders to give focussed The Commanders also had an diplomatic initiatives. attention to address all challenges opportunity to interact with senior Focussed attention was also with the singular aim to be combat government officials, as also with the accorded to associated aspects that ready at all times. He emphasised the Chiefs of Indian Army and IAF, who included a review of the security importance of quality maintenance shared their views on the current measures and mechanisms for and efficient Operational Logistics security situation and the way ahead Coastal Defence, infrastructure/ towards ensuring combat to enhance Tri-Service synergy and force development and logistics effectiveness. jointmanship. The Foreign secretary support management. - Capt DK Sharma also interacted with the Commanders In his closing address, the pix: Naresh Kumar and Vijay Kumar May 16-31, 2017 Sainik Samachar 5 Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa visits AF Station, Agra ir Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa, AChief of Air Staff, Indian Air Force visited Air Force Station, Agra on April 28, 2017. He was accompanied by Mrs. Kamalpreet Dhanoa, President Air Force Wives Welfare Association (AFWWA). They were received by Air Commodore MB Aserkar, Air Officer Commanding (AOC), Air Force Station, Agra and Mrs Simantini Aserkar, President AFWWA (Local). Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa addressed the Air Warriors, NCs (E), DSC, Civilians and MES personnel and interacted with them over a cup of tea. He flew onboard an AWACS aircraft from Air Force Station Agra empowerment, welfare and many Defence Academy and Defence to monitor a training exercise in real life problems that they face Services Staff College, Wellington. western sector. The mission was of in this fast-paced world. While at Before taking over as the Chief of two and half hours duration. He SMC in Air Force Station Agra Mrs the Air Staff he has served as the Vice interacted with the pilots, controllers Kamalpreet Dhanoa spent some Chief of the Air Staff and Air Officer and technicians during the sortie. quality time with specially-abled Commanding-in-Chief, South Mrs. Kamalpreet Dhanoa, children and their parents. Western Air Command. The Air Chief President AFWWA had an overview Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa Marshal has mainly flown the MIG- of various welfare activities of was commissioned in the Flying 21 Aircraft with flying experience AFWWA (L) at Air Force Station Branch of Indian Air Force in June across the entire spectrum of fighter Agra. She interacted with wives of 1978. He is an alumnus of Rashtriya aircraft of the Indian Air Force. Air Warriors on issues of women Indian Military College, National - Gargi Malik Sinha 6 Sainik Samachar May 16-31, 2017 BRAHMOS BLOCK III Two launches in a row with precise hit outh Western Command’s Corps ‘Strike One’ Ssuccessfully carried out the firing of the advanced BrahMos Block III land attack cruise missile system in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands on May 3, 2017 for the second consecutive day. The successive launches reinforce the formidable weapon’s precision strike capability. The long-range tactical weapon was successfully tested from the same location on May 2, 2017. These successful firings of the supersonic cruise missile were carried out in full operational land-to-land configurations from Mobile Autonomous Launchers (MAL) at its full-range. Meeting all flight parameters in a copybook manner while conducting high level and complex manoeuvers, the multi-role missile successfully hit the land-based target with desired precision, in both the trials demonstrating its accuracy of less than one metre. This is the fifth consecutive time when the Block-III version of BrahMos LACM has been successfully launched and hit the land-based target in “top-attack” mode, an incredible feat not achieved by any other weapon system of its genre. Indian Army, which became the first the multi-platform, multi-mission BrahMos is capable of land force in the world to deploy the BrahMos in 2007, being launched from land, sea, sub-sea and air against has raised several regiments of this formidable weapon. surface and sea-based targets. Jointly developed by India’s DRDO and Russia’s NPOM, - Col Aman Anand Advanced BrahMos Block III Land Attack Cruise Missile System May 16-31, 2017 Sainik Samachar 7 Keel Laying of Fast Patrol Vessel at GRSE he keel of GRSE Built Fast Patrol TVessel (Yard 2113 - First of the Series of five Water Jet Propelled Fast Patrol Vessel) for Indian Coast Guard (ICG) was laid at its Raja Bagan Dockyard unit in Kolkata. The Keel Laying Ceremony, a major milestone in the ship construction process, was undertaken by Shri Mohanta Lal Mondal, the senior most operative of the Raja Bagan Dockyard, in the presence of Rear Admiral VK Saxena, the Chairman & Managing Director, GRSE and Commandant Atul Kumar, CGRPS (Kolkata) of the ICG. A host of other senior officials from the GRSE and ICG were also present. the ICG during mid 2018. after extensive model testing to This ship will be constructed at ‘Fast Patrol Vessel’ is an achieve speeds in excess of 34 Raja Bagan Dockyard by adopting knots. This fuel efficient and powerful integrated construction technology improved version of Inshore Patrol which will ensure higher percentage Vessel earlier built by GRSE for the platform is well suited for patrolling, of outfitting during launching. The ICG, with an efficient hull form anti-smuggling, anti-poaching and ship is expected to be delivered to developed in-house and proved rescue operations.