Year-Ender 2019 on Indian Armed Forces Weaponry: From Apache Attack Helicopters to INS Khanderi, List of Key Inductions This Year

India has two hostile neighbours – Pakistan in the west and China in the north. It becomes all the more important for India to modernise its armed forces. In the 2019 Defence budget, the Narendra Modi government set aside over Rs 3 lakh crore for meeting defence requirements. Out of Rs 3,18,931.22 crore, Rs 2,10,682.42 was for meeting revenue expenditure and remaining 1,08,248.80 crore for capital expenditure of the forces. Brahmos Supersonic Cruise Missiles Successfully Launched from Land and Air Platforms, Says Govt.

List of Weapons Inducted Into Indian Armed Forces in 2019:

• INS Khanderi: In September, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh commissioned attack submarine INS Khanderi. It is the second of the Indian Navy's six Kalvari-class submarines which are built in India under the Make in India programme. The submarine is a diesel-electric attack submarine which is designed by French naval defence and energy company DCNS.
• Chinook CH-47F Heavy-Lift Helicopters: In March, The IAF inducted the first unit of four heavy-lift Chinook helicopters. The Chinook heavy-lift helicopters had arrived in India from the United States of America (USA) on February 10 this year. The CH-47F is an advanced multi-mission helicopter which contains a fully integrated, digital cockpit management system, Common Aviation Architecture Cockpit and advanced cargo-handling capabilities that complement the aircraft's mission performance and handling characteristics.
• Apache AH-64E Attack Helicopters: In September, eight Apache AH-64E attack helicopters were inducted into the IAF. The ceremony took place at the Pathankot airbase. The Boeing AH-64 Apache is an American twin-turboshaft attack helicopter with a tailwheel-type landing gear arrangement and a tandem cockpit for a crew of two. It features a nose-mounted sensor suite for target acquisition and night vision systems.
• Netra Missile: The Defence Research Development Organization (DRDO) handed over the second airborne warning plane, Netra, to the IAF. The indigenously-built aircraft was handed over to Western Air Command chief, Air Marshal Raghunath Nambiar, at the Bathinda Air Base in Punjab. The Missile is useful in for surveillance, tracking, identification and classification of airborne and sea surface targets.
• SiG 716 Assault Rifles: The Indian Army inducted the first batch of 10,000 assault rifle in December. The rifles were sent to the Northern Command. The induction of these new assault rifles with the troops in operation will help them to operate more effectively in engagements with the terrorists.

Apart from above weapons, the Defence Minister also received the first delivery of Rafale fighter jet in October this year. Senior Indian Air Force (IAF) officers and officials of Dassault Aviation were also present at the event, which was held at Merignac, a suburb of the south-western French town of Bordeaux. In a major boost to Make in India campaign, Light Combat Aircraft Tejas Mark-I also received Final Operational Clearance (FOC) in February.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 27, 2019 08:22 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).