Commander of the Sri Lanka Navy Vice Admiral Damian Fernando is on a four-day official visit to India from August 26 to 29, marking his maiden visit to the country after assuming command of the Sri Lanka Navy. The visit is aimed at further strengthening bilateral maritime cooperation and deepening Navy-to-Navy engagements between India and Sri Lanka, with a focus on maritime security, operational cooperation and capacity building. As part of his engagements, Vice Admiral Fernando was accorded a ceremonial Guard of Honour at South Block, New Delhi, on August 27. He also paid homage to fallen soldiers by laying…
Author: Digital Desk
The Indian Coast Guard (ICG), in close co-ordination with the Indian Navy and other maritime agencies, is conducting an extensive search and rescue operation following the disappearance of Panama-flagged bulk carrier MV Ocean Winner in the Bay of Bengal. On August 22, 2026, the Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre (MRCC), Sri Vijaya Puram, received a distress communication from Victory Star Group Co. Ltd, reporting the loss of communication with the vessel. The bulk carrier was located approximately 230 nautical miles southeast of Paradip while underway from Paradip to Singapore. The 225-metre-long and 32-metre-wide vessel, carrying approximately 71,000 metric tonnes of iron…
Indian Navy’s sail training ship INS Sudarshini concluded its three-day port call at Lisbon, Portugal, on August 25 as part of the ongoing Lokayan 2026 transoceanic expedition, the Ministry of Defence said on Wednesday. During the visit, the Commanding Officer of INS Sudarshini held meetings with Rear Admiral Miguel Bessa Pacheco, Commandant of the Portuguese Naval Academy, and Rear Admiral Joao Paulo Silva Pereira, Deputy Fleet Commander of the Portuguese Navy. The engagements focused on strengthening institutional ties and enhancing mutual understanding between the Indian and Portuguese navies. As part of the professional engagements, Indian Navy sea trainees visited the…
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday inaugurated the redeveloped Hutatma Smruti Smarak at Patradevi in Goa, paying tribute to the satyagrahis who laid down their lives during the struggle to liberate Goa from Portuguese rule. Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and Union Minister of State for Power and New & Renewable Energy Shripad Y. Naik were present at the inauguration. Singh described the Goa liberation movement as a manifestation of India’s national consciousness and unity, rather than merely a regional struggle. He paid tribute to several satyagrahis, including Karnail Singh of Punjab, Sahodra Devi of Madhya Pradesh and Madhukar Damodar…
The Assam Rifles on Tuesday paid tribute to three personnel who laid down their lives during the 1959 Longju incident, with a solemn wreath-laying ceremony held at the Unit Quarter Guard in Veng, Churachandpur district. The ceremony, held on August 25, commemorated Naik (Late) Madaini Bahadur Chhetri, Rifleman (Late) Bati Anka and Rifleman (Late) Prem Bahadur Chhetri of 5 Assam Rifles, who were killed in action on the same day in 1959 during an unprovoked Chinese aggression at Longju in the Subansiri Division of the then North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA), now Upper Subansiri district of Arunachal Pradesh. The three personnel…
India has stepped up humanitarian assistance to flood-hit Nepal, with the Indian Air Force (IAF) deploying a C-130J transport aircraft carrying 10 tonnes of essential relief material and medical supplies for people affected by the devastating flash floods. The latest assistance is part of India’s efforts to support Nepal’s ongoing search, rescue and relief operations amid widespread disruption caused by the floods. The IAF is also preparing additional airlift operations. C-17 and C-130 aircraft will be used to transport further relief supplies, while helicopters have been earmarked for rescue and evacuation missions in areas affected by the disaster. The deployment…
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has approved the transfer of technology for all conventional missile systems developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to the Indian defence industry, in a major push to strengthen indigenous defence manufacturing. The Ministry of Defence said the move is aimed at advancing the government’s Aatmanirbharta in Defence initiative by enabling Indian companies to manufacture DRDO-developed missile systems domestically, subject to applicable qualifications, certifications and regulatory requirements. The Transfer of Technology (ToT) is expected to help bridge the gap between missile-system development and large-scale industrial production. It will also expand the role of domestic…
The Indian Navy is set to commission Nipun, the second Nistar-class Diving Support Vessel (DSV), at the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai on August 31, strengthening the service’s deep-sea diving and underwater support capabilities. Indigenously designed and built by Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL), Visakhapatnam, Nipun is a specialised platform developed to support a wide range of diving and underwater operations. The vessel was delivered to the Indian Navy on July 30, 2026, following the completion of outfitting and extensive trials. Designed for underwater operations: Nipun is equipped with modern diving systems and underwater intervention capabilities that allow it to provide sustained…
India and New Zealand held the second edition of their Defence Strategic Dialogue in Wellington on August 24, with discussions focused on strengthening maritime security, expanding military cooperation and deepening the two countries’ newly elevated Strategic Partnership. The high-level dialogue was co-chaired by Amitabh Prasad, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Defence, and Richard Schmidt, Deputy Secretary in the New Zealand Ministry of Defence. The talks built on the framework established during the India-New Zealand summit-level meeting held last month and focused on implementing the objectives outlined in the India-New Zealand Strategic Partnership Roadmap 2030. Focus on military cooperation: Both…
Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) should be viewed as a subset of a broader Multi-Domain Awareness (MuDA) framework, according to experts from the Centre for Air Power Studies (CAPSS). In their latest Expert View, Group Captain Vivek Naik, Senior Fellow, CAPSS, and Associate Fellow Radhey Tambi outlined a framework for integrating awareness across the maritime domain and beyond. The experts said MuDA should integrate information from six principal operational domains — land, maritime, air, space, cyber and electromagnetic — while information and cognitive effects act as cross-cutting dimensions connecting and influencing multiple domains. They emphasised that the objective is not merely…