• The Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) successfully conducted the flight test of ABHYAS. ABHYAS is a High-speed Expendable Aerial Target (HEAT) drone and it is used for autonomous flying with the help of an autopilot. The flight test was conducted from an Interim Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur, Odisha.

• The flight test was recorded by different Radars and Electro Optic Systems.

• It uses MEMS based navigation system for its navigation and guidance.

• The ABHYAS project was sanctioned for Rs. 15 crore.

• The pre-project details of ABHYAS project was completed in January 2013 and in 2012, its first experimental launch was conducted.

• The design of the main body of the aircraft is based on the design of Lakshya which is a high speed drone developed by the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) of DRDO.

 

 

• All three services, Indian Army, Navy and Air Force hold joint exercise Bull Strike at Teressa Island in Andaman and Nicobar.

• The objective is to enhance their coordination in dealing with major security challenges which are currently facing the country and also to showcase joint operation capability of the three forces, Indian Army, Navy and Air Force and further enhance operation coordination.

• Total 170 troops from all three services participated and carried out para drop operations in a Combat Free Fall and Static Line mode.

 

 

• The Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Sunil Lanba inaugurated Indian Navy’s first full-fledged Service Selection Board (SSB) at Diamond Harbour, near Kolkata.

• Vice Admiral Karambir Singh, the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command, has attended the inauguration.

• This is the fifth SSB- Service Selection Board of the Indian Navy.

• It selects both Permanent and Short Service Commission officers.

• The other Boards are located in Bhopal, Bengaluru, Visakhapatnam and Coimbatore.

• SSB (Kolkata), sprawling over 27 acres on the Hooghly river-bank can screen an estimated 5000 officer-candidates annually.

• Various facilities are available at the board which include GTO ground, Testing Hall, Conference Room, staff accommodation and a Medical Inspection Room. These cater to the comfort of the candidates.

 

 

• Indian Ambassador to Afghanistan, Vinay Kumar made the hand-over of the first pair of replacement Mi-24 attack helicopters to Afghanistan Defence Minister, Asadullah Khalid at the Kabul Air Force base with the main objective of strengthening the Afghan air force as it battles Taliban insurgency against the fact of US’ lookout for exiting the Afghanistan after a 17-year stay.

• The choppers were purchased from Belarus.

• In December 2015, India had first delivered the Mi-24 Helicopters to Afghanistan.

• The Mi-24 is a large helicopter gunship and can be used for assault and transport missions.

• The Mi-24 can ferry up to 8 people.

• India has been 1 of the largest donors of Mi-24 helicopters to Afghanistan and, since 2001, has contributed around 3$ billion as help to Afghanistan.

 

 

• A Georgian AN-12 aircraft was forced to land at Jaipur by Indian Air Force interceptors. 

• In a statement, Defence Ministry said, an unknown aircraft entered Indian Air Space in North Gujarat Sector at 3.15 PM. 

• The aircraft did not follow the authorized Air Traffic Services (ATS) route and was not responding to Radio calls from Indian controlling agencies. 

• The Ministry said, since ATS routes in the area were closed due to the current geopolitical situation, and the aircraft entered Indian Air Space from an unscheduled point, the Air Defence interceptor on operational readiness was scrambled and vectored towards the unknown aircraft for investigation.  

• It added that on visual contact, the aircraft was identified as Georgian AN-12 flying at twenty-seven thousand feet. 

• The aircraft neither responded on international distress frequency nor to visual signals during interception.

• However, when challenged, the aircraft responded and informed that it was a non-scheduled An-12 aircraft that had got airborne from Tbilisi (Georgia) for Delhi via Karachi. The aircraft was shadowed and forced to land at Jaipur for necessary investigation.

 

 

• Guided Missile Destroyer, INS Kolkata and Fleet Support Ship, INS Shakti participated in ‘Group Sail’ exercise with naval ships of Philippines, Japan and United States of America in the disputed South China Sea. 

• This was 6-day long group sail exercise from May 3 to May 9 and objective was to deepen the existing partnership and foster mutual understanding among navies of friendly countries.

• During 6-days long exercise, naval ships have taken participation in various activities which include formation manoeuvring, under replenishment runs, cross-deck flying and exchange of Sea Riders.

• While returning Indian naval ships visited Cam Ranh Bay in Vietnam, Qingdao in China and Busan in South Korea which was a part of the annual Eastern Fleet Overseas Deployment.

• Both INS Kolkata and INS Shakti had participated in the International Fleet Review (IFR) as a part of 70thAnniversary Celebration of People’s Liberation Army at Qingdao in China and after that they have also participated in the Opening Ceremony of Maritime Security (MS) Field Training Exercise (FTX) at Busan in South Korea. 

• Moreover, these two naval ships have also participated in the International Maritime Defence Expo (IMDEX) 2019 in Singapore.

 

 

• Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman held a bilateral meeting with her Chinese counterpart General Wei Fenghe on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers` Meet in Bishkek Kyrgyzstan.

• The two sides discussed regional and bilateral security issues during the meeting.

• The Defence Minister is in Kyrgyzstan on a three-day visit to attend the SCO meet, along with holding bilaterals with other member-countries on the summit`s sidelines.

• The eight member-states will discuss ways to increase cooperation in combatting terrorism, among other issues, during the meet.

• The current SCO meeting is being held in the run-up to the SCO summit, which is expected to take place from June 14 to June 15 this year.

• In 2018, India participated in the SCO Defence Ministers meeting for the first time. Speaking at that meeting, Ms Sitharaman had highlighted India`s keen interest in developing an expanded partnership with the broader Eurasian region.

• In 2018, India for the first time participated in the SCO defence exercises. The joint exercise was conducted by the Central Military Commission of Russia at Chebarkul, Chelyabinsk. The exercise involved tactical level operations in an international counterinsurgency or counter-terrorism environment under the SCO Charter.

 

 

• The 14th edition of the annual Sino-Indian border trade opens at Nathu La, which is the frontier post at Sino-Indian border in Sikkim. Officials and traders of India and China made their presence at the border to symbolise the beginning of the border trade.

• Every year, between 1st May to 30th November, the bilateral border trade between 2 nations is held for 4 days a week for 6 months. After a long interval of 44 years, cross border trade commenced on July 6, 2006 to promote the benefits of trade, increase tourism in Sikkim, thus offering employment for people of the region.

• 2 sections were there in India’s trade list:

• The export list: it contained 36 items, namely, dairy products, flour, oil, biscuits, utensils, copper materials and many more.

• The import list: it contained 20 items ranging from carpets, quilts, jackets, shoes, China clay and other things from the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR).

• The goods export from India totalled to Rs 45.03 crore in 2018, whereas goods imported from the TAR totalled to Rs 3.23 crore. In 2019, the export of at least Rs 50 crore is expected by India.

• Between India and China there are 3 open trading border posts, namely: Nathu La in Sikkim, Shipkila in Himachal Pradesh and Lipulekh  in Uttarakhand.

• The Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) or Xizang Autonomous Region, legally founded in 1965 (to replace the Tibet Area) is a province-level autonomous region in southwest China. The TAR is located on the Tibetan Plateau which is the highest region on Earth. The present borders of the TAR were established in the 18th century and includes about half of ethno-cultural Tibet. y area, the TAR is the 2nd-largest province-level division of China and has an area of 1,200,000 km2 (the largest province is Xinjiang). TAR is the least densely populated provincial-level division of the PRC (People’s Republic of China) owing to its harsh and rugged terrain.