Defence Technology Part-2

Tejas is the first indigenous fighter plane of Indian Air Force. India’s Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas, along with its variants, is the smallest and lightest multi-role supersonic fighter aircraft of its class. This single engine, compound-Delta-Wing Tailless Aircraft is designed and developed by ADA with HAL as the principal partner along with DRDO, BEL, CSIR, DGAQA, IAF and IN.

Tejas is the first indigenous fighter plane of Indian Air Force. India’s Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas, along with its variants, is the smallest and lightest multi-role supersonic fighter aircraft of its class. This single engine, compound-Delta-Wing Tailless Aircraft is designed and developed by ADA with HAL as the principal partner along with DRDO, BEL, CSIR, DGAQA, IAF and IN.

Admiral Gorshkov is a Russian Naval aircraft carrier ship. This giant ship of Soviet Union served the Russian Navy from 1987 to 1997. In January 2004, India and Russia signed a $947 million deal to refurbish or renovate and convert the Soviet/Russian Admiral Gorshkov into a full carrier, to be re-named INS Vikramaditya. On 16 November, 2013 it was inducted into the Indian Navy.

Indian Navy’s fifth stealth Scorpene class Submarine INS Vagir was commissioned into the Indian Navy on 23 January, 2023 at the Naval Dockyard, Mumbai in the presence of Admiral R. Hari Kumar, then Chief of the Naval Staff was the Chief Guest for the ceremony.

'Sarthak' is an offshore patrol vessel (OPV) for the Indian Coast Guard, which was launched on 13th August 2020. This vessel has been designed and built indigenously by Goa Shipyard Limited. This OPV is fitted with state-of-the-art navigation and communication equipment, sensor and machinery. The 105-metre ship displaces approximately 2,350 tonnes and is propelled by two 9,100 KW diesel engines enabling to attain a maximum speed of 26 knots, with an endurance of 6,000 nautical miles.

'Vishwast', the first of the new class of offshore patrol vessel indigenously designed and built by Goa Shipyard Ltd. was inducted into Indian Coast Guard on 17 March, 2010.

INS-SHAKTI is the second fleet tanker built by the Italian yard for the Indian Navy. It was launched on 11 October, 2010 and commissioned on 1 October, 2011. It was built by Fincantieri, an Italian shipbuilding company based in Trieste, not by India.

Indian Navy’s first totally indigenously designed and built torpedo launch and recovery vessel INS Astradharini was commissioned at Visakhapatnam on 6th October, 2015. A 50-metre twin-hulled warship is also the first to be built at a private yard with alternate inputs. The unique design of the ship was a collaborative effort of Naval Science and Technological Laboratory, IIT Kharagpur, and Shoft Shipyard.

Cruise missiles are jet-propelled at subsonic, supersonic or hypersonic speeds throughout their flights, while ballistic missiles are rocket-powered only in the initial (boost) phase of flight, after which they follow an arcing trajectory to the target. Hence, statement 1 is incorrect. BrahMos is a medium-range supersonic cruise missile, while Agni-V is a solid-fuelled intercontinental ballistic missile. Hence, statement 2 is also incorrect.

A supersonic cruise missile 'BrahMos' is a joint venture between the Russian Federation's NPO Mashinostroyenia and DRDO. The name BrahMos is formed from the names of two rivers, the Brahmaputra of India and the Moskva of Russia. It has a speed of 2.8 to 3.0 Mach, with an original range of 290 Km. The submarine variant of BrahMos was test-fired successfully for the first time from a submerged pontoon near Vishakhapatnam at the coast of Bay of Bengal on 20 March, 2013.