Going with the recent information within reach, it is said that five jawans including the pilot were safe but the helicopter was hit by nine rounds in the mishap.

The MI-17 chopper of IAF was sent out to help the police and CRPF forces which had accepted the challenge taking on the naxals on the 18^th of December.

It was while getting back to base, the chopper experienced an attack from the naxals over a hill, though it successfully landed at Jagdalpur.

Sources reported that the chopper didn’t get any damage after the assault.

As the operation went in progress, nine naxals were arrested and large cache of weapons was seized, senior police officers emphasized.

The utilization of this airfield was stopped in 2009 for executing repairs in that location. The airfield will be reactivated today by Arunachal Pradesh Governor General (rtd) J J Singh.

Following the fixes, the airfield – located on the eastern most tip of the country situated at the tri-junction of India, China and Myanmar, will be capable of running the C-130J Super Hercules aircraft along with the Antonov-32 cargo planes in the IAF inventory.

The airfield is utilized for air maintenance and will aid in rallying troops and equipment at a quicker rate in period of importance.

This happens to be the first advanced landing ground (ALG) in the Northeast which is being improved as part of India’s bid to equal Chinese military infrastructure development activities. It is also raising ALGs in Pasighat, Mechuka, Walong, Tuting and Ziro as well as various helipads in Arunachal.

IAF has already set off its ALGs in Ladakh including Nyoma, Daulat Beg Oldi and Fukche and is preparing to transform Nyoma in to a full–fledged air base.

Air Chief Marshal NAK Browne, Chief of Air Staff, will take part in the conference today.

Air Marshal Dhiraj Kukreja, Air Officer Commander–in-Chief, Training Command, made emphasis on the call for Station commanders to concentrate more on standard procedures of training and desire of elevating its benchmark.

He fore grounded the importance of cyber and base security.

Demonstration on training in IAF and Information Security, Processing of Works, Fiscal Prudence and Broad Guidelines of Defense Procurement Manual were made by experts.

Issues of Human Resource Management, emphasizing on men and machine functioning in tandem with the aim of improving the Indian Air Force training with a great deal of satisfaction was also discussed.

The Army Chief will be in Uzbekistan from the 16th of November to the 19th of November and then he would leave for Kazakhstan for a three day goodwill visit, officials informed in New Delhi.

Chief of Army Staff General VK Singh, “This proposed visit to Khazakhastan would be recorded as the first for the past 16 years by an Indian Army Chief after General Shankur Roy Chaudhury visited Kazakhstan. As for Uzebekistan, this would be the first time an Army General will be visiting,” he informed.

“The objective of these visits is to develop India’s relationship with the CAR countries,” they went further saying.

India and Khazakhstan had held strategic talks in the year 2009 with the Kazakh President being received as the Chief Guest on the Republic Day parade. The two nations have established an alliance in eradicating terrorism and improving regional security.

General Singh’s visit comes up after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited Kazakhstan at the beginning of this year.

India and Uzbekistan have endorsed on some decisions focusing areas of trade, commerce, science and technology and agriculture.

“The Indian Army will seek for ways in improving the relationship with these countries as they embark on these visits,” he added.

“We have gotten two RFIs from the IAF. We have gotten back to them, though it is still at the beginning of its stages of creating the essentials,” Justin Monger, business manager for Raytheon’s Integrated Defense Systems, informed Indian reporters.

Monger emphasized that the IAF has not concluded to decide whether it needed to go in for the Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) system or the Mechanically Scanned Arrangement.

“The surveillance aircraft is expected to fly high, probably 40,000 feet, considering the long border and geographic challenges.”  With these basic issues being put to mind, a high powered AESA radar on board a business like Gulf Stream or Bombardier is of high importance,” he answered when being inquired which of the two systems would meet the IAF demands.

Monger went further to say that the IAF is required to define its demands and the company will propose a solution.

There are problems in the barrels of some of these rocket launchers and we have informed the Russians about the problems connected to firing of the system, Senior Army said.

The Smerch rocket launches are the most recent acquisitions of the Indian Army after a contract was endorsed for the purchase in December 2005 for more than Rs 2,600 crore. The sources informed that the Russians will be heading to India to study the problem and make an effort to solve the problems in the system.

The issue is seen to have been brought up for deliberation at the Indo–Russian Inter-Governmental Commission on Military Technical Co-operation assembling between the Defense Ministers of the two nations at the beginning of this month.

The system has had numerous faults in its launch vehicles outlining fire controls and data transmission, which led to holdups in its use in the service, the sources went further saying.

The Smerch long range rocket systems have a range of more than 60 kms, which is about three times the distance of the current Indian artillery rocket systems.

India has two contracts signed in December 2005 and March 2007, with Russia Company Rosoboronexport for importing 42 of the MBRL along with launcher, transloader and command and control systems.

Smerch MBRL along with the Russian–origin Grad 122mm rocket systems and native Pinaka make up the important part of the Indian Army’s firepower.

In addition to the restruction deals, India has developed an interest to help enhance the strength of the ANSF.

On his June 2011 visit to New Delhi, Afghan Defense Minister Wardak and Indian Defense minister A.K Anthony interacted expanding cooperation to train and strengthen ANSF and its personnel.

Until now, India’s security assistance has been limited, India presently provides scholarships for Afghan National Security Force personnel to study in India, and is currently exploring options of female Afghan police to train in India.

During Prime Minister Manmohan Singhs’ visit to Kabul in May 2011 which is seen to be his first since 2005, likened India’s enduring commitment to diplomatic and development efforts in Afghanistan. Singh also announced an increase in economic support to the war–torn nation to a joint session of the Afghan Parliament.

RIA Novosti news agency announced from Moscow on Tuesday that the other participant, Russia’s Mi 28N Night Hunter, is out of competition. It announced an unnamed Indian defense ministry source as saying that the US helicopter “displayed better performance” while the Russian machine did not measure up to the requirements.

IAF is keen to acquire 22 combat helicopters with no promise to order more. However, it is likely there will be more orders for the machines immediately after the delivery of the the first batch of the helicopters.

Boeing’s Apache Longbow helicopter is a well known successful attack helicopter with tremendous amount of success in the operational missions. Perhaps, Electronic Warfare capability would give it more than of an edge compare to any helicopter.

A financial plan of Rs. 2,893 crore has been approved by the Kaweri engine programme as a result of its achievement. “This is one of the core technologies needed by the nation,” emphasized Air Chief Marshal NAK Browne during an aerospace seminar planned by the Institute of Defense Studies and Analysis (IDSA).

“You may have to beg, borrow or steal. But you have to do it,” Browne announced, stressing on the importance of speedy development. At the moment, the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) is utilizing a GE engine.

Browne went further to say that most recent Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar was a very important requirement for the IAF. He mandated DRDO scientists to manufacture the radar locally.

Kaveri engine is important to India as it will decide the future of the Indian fighter jets to be locally produced. Without it, even the Medium Combat Aircraft program will suffer.

France has won a multi–billion contract for installing nuclear power plants in Western India, decided to fasten co-operation between the civil nuclear regulatory boards of the two countries.

Nuclear Safety has been on top of the Indian Agenda after the Fukushima radiation leak and fire in a French nuclear waste dump. There was a need for assurance concerning how reliable the patented technology France presses to use in installing the plants.

On the Defense side, the two sides highlighted the joint development of a short-range missile which will be applied as the final solution for protecting vital installations from air invasions. They went ahead talking about the induction of French technology for the Kavari engine, which was being locally made but facing many challenges.

The period when this meeting took place fell coincidentally to the time when the two armies got involved with Shakti drills – for the first time. The terrestrial war games add to the usual held joint naval drills which is under the ‘Varuna’ and ‘Ganuda’ series by the two air forces.

India and France also approved the agreement to improve on the IAF Mirage 2000 aircraft. The Rs. 11000–Crore deal for the improvement was signed jointly by Dassult Aviation and Thales not too long ago.

The IAF possess 51 Mirage 2000s in its stock, acquired in the 1980s, and improvement plans include multimode Doppler radar, modern glass cockpit, fully integrated electronic warfare suite and beyond visual range missiles.

Both Ministers have acknowledged the ongoing bid to conclude on the joint defense research and development both for the Kaveri and Short–Range Surface–to–Air Missile (SR–SAM). The DRDO desires to jointly develop SR-SAM after the experience gained from the Trishul missile.