Flip Through Fridays

[ NATIONAL ]

DRDO successfully conducts flight test of indigenously developed High-speed Expendable Aerial Target (HEAT) Abhyas

During the flight trial of indigenously developed High-speed Expendable Aerial Target (HEAT) Abhyas, a high subsonic speed trajectory at a very low altitude with high endurance was demonstrated.

INS Khukri decommissioned after 32 years of service

INS Khukri, the first of the indigenously built missile corvettes, was decommissioned “after 32 years of glorious service” on Thu. The ship’s solemn ceremony was held at Visakhapatnam during which the national flag, naval ensign, and the decommissioning pennant were lowered at sunset in the presence of Vice-Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command. The corvette was built by the Mazagaon Dock Shipbuilders on Aug 23, 1989, and had the distinction of being part of both the Western and Eastern Fleets.

Indian Army launches indigenous messaging application called ASIGMA

The Indian Army has launched a new generation, state-of-the-art, web-based messaging application with features such as multi-level security and message prioritization, Army Secure IndiGeneous Messaging Application, developed by Corps of Signals. The ministry said the application was being deployed as a replacement of the Army Wide Area Network messaging application, which has been in service for 15 years. The application will meet the army’s real-time data transfer and messaging requirements, especially in the backdrop of the current geopolitical-security environment.

Indian ship in Iran as part of ‘Bridges of Friendship’

Indian Naval Sail Training Ship INS Sudarshini entered Bandar Abbas port on 22 Dec 2021, as part of Operational Turn-round (OTR) and goodwill visit to further maritime relations between the two countries and navies, said Indian embassy in Iran.

Foreign Secretary request to meet Suu Kyi turned down

Myanmar’s ruling military leadership rejected the request of foreign secretary Harsh Shringla, who is on his first official visit to that country since the Feb coup, for a meeting with jailed opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The top Indian diplomat, however, met the leadership of the opposition National League for Democracy, the MEA said in a statement. “India shares a 1,700km-long border with Myanmar. Any development in that country has a direct impact on bordering regions,” the MEA statement read.

MHA holds high-level meet on J-K security

Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Thu conducted a high-level meeting on the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir in the wake of recent targeted killings reported from the region, sources said.

Intelligence agencies warn of more terror attacks in Punjab before elections, say state more ‘fragile’ than Kashmir

Intelligence agencies warned of more terror attacks in Punjab before elections and asked state police to intensify the safety of sensitive installations and close watch on social media. Intelligence inputs reveal Pak-backed Khalistani terrorists behind Ludhiana court blast

Sri Lankan PM Rajapaksa offers prayers at Tirupati

Andhra Pradesh’s deputy chief minister Narayana Swamy was also present during the Lankan PM’s Tirumala temple visit. Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, who is on a two-day spiritual visit to India, on Fri offered prayers at the famous hill shrine of Lord Venkateswara in Andhra Pradesh’s Tirumala along with his wife Shiranthi Rajapaksa.

Govt mandates telcos to keep call data, internet usage records for a minimum of 2 years

Department of Telecom (DoT) has extended the duration of archiving call data and internet usage records of subscribers to two years from one year due to security reasons. The amendments in the licenses were issued on Dec 21 and extended to other forms of telecom permits on Dec 22.

Night curfew imposed in Uttar Pradesh in India from 25th Dec 11 pm to 5 am. Hope election rallies are also stopped in the wake of the rise in COVID19 cases. However, Chief Election Commission refuses to postpone the assembly poll in the state.

[ NEIGHBORHOOD ]

China sends Shiyan-12 twin testing satellites into space

China launched a Long March-7A rocket to place two satellites in space on Thu. The rocket blasted off at 6:12 p.m. from Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in south China’s Hainan Province and soon sent Shiyan-12 01 and Shiyan-12 02 satellites into preset orbit. The exact purpose of the satellite duo was not revealed by the space program. The mission marked the 402nd flight of the Long March carrier rockets, which is also the last mission for the Wenchang site this year. The Long March-7A is an updated model of the Long March-7 with an additional third stage. It is designed to be the main medium-size high-orbit launch vehicle for the country in the future. In Nov, the country’s space program launched the satellites’ predecessor, the Shiyan-11, atop a Kuaizhou-1A commercial rocket.

China punishes local officials as Covid still spreads in Xi’an

Xi’an, known for its terracotta warriors has become the latest hotspot in China, which has made eradicating the virus central to its Covid approach. China remains mired in a protracted battle to clear out the Delta variant and is girding against any intrusion by the far more infectious and immunity-evading Omicron, even as it prepares to host the Winter Olympics in February.

Top Chinese internet censor and anti-cult official pleads guilty to taking US$8m in bribes

A former top Chinese internet censor and anti-cult security official have pleaded guilty to corruption charges and accepted 54.64 million yuan (US$8.6 million) in bribes. Peng Bo, 64, was arrested in August, five months after being placed under investigation by China’s anti-corruption watchdog. He was accused of disloyalty to the Communist Party and using “his authority for personal gain” from 2006, to facilitate litigation settlements, online business expansion, and land transfer procedures, while receiving bribes in return.

US intel shows China is helping Saudi Arabia build its own ballistic missiles: Report

Now the Biden administration is facing increasingly pressing questions about whether Saudi Arabia’s ballistic missile advances will change regional power dynamics

30 confirmed dead in Bangladesh ferry fire: official

Xinhua (official)- At least 30 people were killed and 100 others injured after a ferry caught fire early Fri on a river in Bangladesh’s Jhalokati district, about 200 km south of capital Dhaka. The vessel was carrying some 1,000 people from capital Dhaka to Barguna district in southern Bangladesh when a fire broke out in its engine room at about 3:00 a.m. local time Fri due to a technical glitch. Most of the passengers were asleep when the accident occurred, said the official. He said a search operation is still underway for the unknown number of people missing.

Why is Pakistan eager to help Afghan Taliban when they don’t even recognize the border, questions Rabbani

Former Senate chairman and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Senator Raza Rabbani on Friday questioned the government’s haste to extend support to the Afghan Taliban when the latter did “not even recognize the border”. Addressing a Senate session, Senator Rabbani asked the foreign minister to take the parliament into confidence about a recent incident in which the new rulers in Afghanistan had reportedly barred Pakistan’s security forces from fencing the border. ‘Institutional coordination’ between Pakistan, Afghan govt a must to tackle security issues, the envoy said. “The engagement with the Taliban government in Afghanistan is necessary because they are in power,” says Mansoor Khan.

Three people were injured on Fri in a blast in a sewerage line in Mehmoodabad, according to police.

A statement from Mehmoodabad Station House Officer Aijaz Pathan said the blast occurred in a sewerage line at Parsi Gate due to the accumulation of gas. A motorcycle mechanic shop that was situated on the sewerage line also collapsed, according to the statement. It added that 3 people sustained minor injuries and were shifted to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre for treatment. A bomb disposal team was also summoned to the spot and an investigation was underway.

Two soldiers killed in attack on a check post in Balochistan’s Kech: ISPR

Two soldiers were martyred when terrorists attacked a security forces check post in Balochistan’s Kech district, the military’s media affairs wing said on Fri. According to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Lance Naik Manzar Abbas, resident of district Khushab, and Sepoy Abdul Fath, who hailed from Khuzdar, embraced martyrdom during the exchange of fire with the terrorists. The ISPR said a follow-up operation was in progress in the area to search for the terrorists.

DRDO successfully conducts flight test of indigenously developed High-speed Expendable Aerial Target Abhyas

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), on Thu, successfully conducted the flight test of indigenously developed High-speed Expendable Aerial Target (HEAT) Abhyas today from Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur off the coast, Odisha. During the flight trial, a high subsonic speed trajectory at a very low altitude with high endurance was demonstrated.

The indigenous data link designed by a Bengaluru-based industry partner has been successfully flown and tested during the flight… The performance of ‘Abhyas’ during the entire flight duration has been confirmed,” DRDO further noted.

Designed to meet the aerial target of Indian armed forces:

  • The unmanned indigenous aerial target system has been developed by the Bengaluru-based along with other laboratories of the DRDO.
  • The system has been designed to meet the high-speed aerial target requirements of forces.
  • As per the information in the open domain, the aircraft is controlled by a navigation system operated with the help of a flight control computer.
  • The development may be viewed as a step in the direction of achieving self-reliance in defense.

MHA holds high-level meet on J-K security

Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Thu conducted a high-level meeting on the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir in the wake of recent targeted killings reported from the region, chaired by Union Home Secretary at his North Block office with the top brass of Police and Intelligence agencies personnel as well as senior Home Ministry officials.

The meeting was both in physical and digital mode and Directors General of various Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and their representatives, J&K Director General of Police (DGP) Dilbag Singh and senior officials in Intelligence Bureau (IB) took part in the meeting both via video conferencing and physically.

The functioning of the newly created State Investigation Agency (SIA) in J&K on the lines of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) was taken up in the meeting.

The SAI is a nodal agency J&K for coordinating with the NIA and other Central agencies “to take measures as may be necessary for speedy and effective investigation and prosecution of militancy-related cases“.

  • Besides, various issues related to modernization of Police Stations and Police Posts and misuse of certain prisons by the terrorists were also discussed.
  • The meeting comes in the wake of recent attacks on civilians, Jammu and Kashmir Police, and security personnel in the union territory.
  • In the recent one, terrorists on Wed shot dead a civilian and injured a policeman in two separate incidents within minutes in Kashmir valley.
  • While the civilian was gunned down in the Nawakadal locality of the city, a police assistant sub-inspector was injured in the Bijbehara area of south Kashmir.
  • Earlier this month, 3 personnel of J&K Police died and 11 were injured after 2 terrorists attacked a police bus near a police camp at Zewan on the outskirts of Srinagar.
  • In the second major terror attack, the terrorists had opened fire on the bus in the high-security area that houses several camps of various security forces.
  • In the recent spate of targeted attacks on migrant workers and members of the minority communities.
  • Earlier, 2 policemen were killed as terrorists opened fire at a police team in Kashmir’s Bandipora district.
  • Oct saw 41 killings in militancy-related incidents, including 20 terrorists, nine soldiers, and 12 civilians.

Jammu and Kashmir IED seizure case: NIA files charge sheet against 3

Nadeem Ul Haq, Talib Ur Rehman of Ramban, and Nadeem Ayoub Rather of Shopian have been named in the charge sheet filed under sections of the IPC, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, and the Explosive Substances Act, the official of the premier investigation agency said.

Intelligence agencies warn of more terror attacks in Punjab before elections, say state more ‘fragile’ than Kashmir

Intelligence agencies warned of more terror attacks in Punjab before elections and asked state police to intensify the safety of sensitive installations and close watch on social media.

(officer)- Several security advisories were already issued to the state police anticipating terror activity.

Keeping a close watch on the situation, teams of Central intelligence agencies are coordinating with state police and local intelligence units to avert any more such incidents.

We have asked state intelligence to keep a close watch on social media to keep tapping on any rumor-mongering. At present, Punjab is more fragile than Kashmir,” he added.

  • He said that in the last few months there was a surge in drone activities in border areas, where explosives and arms were dropped in Indian territory.
  • And it is expected that the smuggled explosives will be used to destabilize law and order in the state.
  • In addition to a bomb blast in Ludhiana, the state recently witnessed sacrilege into the sanctum sanctorum of the Golden Temple and lynching incident in Kapurthala.
  • An intruder was shot dead by BSF along the Indo-Pak border in the Gurdaspur sector when he was trying to cross over from the Indian territory.
  • The identity of the youth killed in Amritsar and Gurdaspur remained unidentified.
  • On Dec 20, a drone was sighted in the Gurdaspur sector of Punjab near the international border, but it manages to return inside Pakistan territory.

Intelligence inputs reveal Pak-backed Khalistani terrorists behind Ludhiana court blast

Intelligence agencies have got strong inputs regarding the involvement of a Khalistan-supported group backed by Pakistan’s ISI in the planning and execution of the Ludhiana court blast yesterday (Thu).

  • (Official) – After the Red Fort incident, intelligence agencies were on their toes in Punjab to keep a close watch on Khalistan forces trying to revive their movement.
  • The handlers based in Pakistan were giving instructions to their on ground workers to execute terror activities in Punjab.
  • Many of such attempts were foiled in a joint operation with state police, he added.

We got specific inputs regarding locals gangs have been hired and radicalized to revive Khalistan movement that was backed by Pakistan’s ISI….. The recoveries made in the last few months were just tip of an iceberg,” said a senior police officer.

  • He added that the incident of grenade blast near the gate of the Army cantonment in Pathankot in November was also a terror activity executed by local criminals.
  • This year around 42 drone sightings of unmanned aerial vehicles near Punjab were reported and many more remained unreported.
  • The explosives and small arms were dropped using the drone from Pakistan’s side will be used to destabilize peace in the state.
  • In the last 5 months, Punjab Police has recovered 7 tiffin bombs and more than 10 hand grenades from bordering towns.
  • In Aug this year, Punjab Police had arrested Gurmukh Singh, son of the nephew of Bhindranwale, and recovered a huge amount of explosives from his possession.

In the investigation, it was found that he was getting logistic support from Pakistan’s ISI and by other Pakistan-based pro-Khalistan terrorist groups to carry out multiple terror attacks in Punjab in its ongoing efforts to revive militancy before state elections.

Indian ship in Iran as part of ‘Bridges of Friendship’

INS Sudarshini, a sail training ship of the Indian Navy, called at Port Sahid Bahonar at Bandar Abbas in Iran on Wed on a three-day visit.

The ship is on the culmination phase of deployment to the Gulf region as part of the Indian Navy’s efforts towards familiarising friendly foreign navies on various facets of operations and training on board sail training platforms and extending “Bridges of Friendship”.

  • The ship was escorted to the port by IRIS Zereh and was accorded a warm welcome by the Naval band of IRI Navy at the jetty.
  • A delegation of the IRI Navy 1st Naval Region and Naval Attaché Indian embassy received the ship.
  • The reception was followed by an onboard visit by Gaddam Dharmendra, an Indian envoy to Iran who was provided a guided tour of the ship.
  • The ship’s staff were hosted at a banquet lunch on invitation by the Ambassador.
  • The Commanding Officer, accompanied by the Naval attaché of India, called on the Commander of the IRI Navy 1st District.

Historical maritime linkages, mutual co-operation between both the Navies on the subject of training cadets and young officers, and various aspects of sail training were discussed during the meeting.

  • Capt. Hamza, Director of Training (IRI Navy), visited the ship with a team of Officers from the IRI Navy.
  • They were provided an in-depth overview of the functioning and features of the ship during harbor training of IRI Navy Cadets.
  • IRI Navy trainee officers (Sea Riders) designated to undergo sail training visited the ship for a familiarisation tour of the ship.
  • Practical knowledge on subjects of seamanship, sail arrangement, ropework, and the technicalities of sail training was shared.
  • Hands-on practical knowledge and experience on sail rigging of both sides were also imparted during this visit.

[ NEIGHBORHOOD ]

US Intel shows China is helping Saudi Arabia build its ballistic missiles: Report

Intelligence agencies in the United States have determined that Saudi Arabia is now manufacturing ballistic missiles with China’s assistance, a development that could have significant implications for the Middle East and complicate efforts by the Biden administration to contain Iran’s nuclear ambitions, Saudi Arabia’s perennial foe.

CNN- the Saudis have historically bought ballistic missiles from China, but have never been able to build their own, until now. CNN also obtained satellite images suggesting the Kingdom is manufacturing weapons in one or more locations.

Recent months have seen US officials from numerous agencies briefed on classified information that reveals large-scale transfers of sensitive ballistic missile technology between China and Saudi Arabia.

  • Now the Biden administration is facing increasingly pressing questions about whether Saudi Arabia’s ballistic missile advances will change regional power dynamics.
  • This can potentially complicate efforts to include missile technology restrictions in a nuclear deal with Iran, a goal shared by the US, Europe, Israel, and the Gulf countries.
  • Saudi Arabia and Iran are bitter enemies, and Tehran is unlikely to agree to stop making ballistic missiles if Saudi Arabia has already begun manufacturing its own.
  • There could also be diplomatic complications with the US response.
  • An official in the Biden administration told CNN that it is simply a matter of calibrating.
  • Both the National Security Council and the CIA declined to comment.

The report states that when asked if sensitive ballistic missile technology has recently been transferred between China and Saudi Arabia, the Chinese Foreign Ministry explained that the two countries are “comprehensive strategic partners” and that they maintain friendly cooperation in all areas, including military trade.

  • There is no violation of international law in such cooperation, and it does not involve the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, the statement added.
  • The range and payload of the ballistic missiles Saudi Arabia is building at this site are still not known.

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