Flexible Use of Airspace

• In the fast changing environment of air warfare and national security, there is an urgent sense of need of airspace use by the military. Therefore, sharing of airspace on a need basis, by civil and military users was an urgent national requirement.
• This will be achieved via direct routing between 7 city pairs of: Delhi-Mumbai, Delhi-Kolkata, Delhi–Chennai, Delhi-Hyderabad, Delhi- Begaluru, Kolkata-Chennai and Chennai-Mumbai for which the information is available.
• First step would be implementation of a National High Level Airspace Policy Body (NHLAPB) for airspace use will be set up in order to take up the job of strategic planning and assess/reassess the national airspace requirements of various stakeholders.
• The NHLAPB will be chaired by Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation with representation from Ministry of Defence, Indian Air force, Indian Navy, Indian Space Research Organization, Airport Authority of India and Directorate General of Civil Aviation. It can co-opt new members in future depending upon requirement.

Indian Defence

Precision-Guided Munitions (PGMs)

• Precision-Guided Munitions (PGMs) are miniaturized missiles with small seekers, actuators and on-board computers and will be integrated with tactical missiles having a range of 100-200 km. 
• PGMs could prevent collateral damage while attacking multiple targets in a war scenario with sub-metre accuracy.
•  PGMs could be integrated with a surface-to-surface missile or an air-to-surface missile.

Wankel

• India has developed its own propulsion engine for future UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles). The 55-hp engine named “Wankel” is developed by three national research agencies – National Aerospace Labs, Aeronautical Development Establishment, and the Vehicle Research and Development Establishment
• Wankel will be used to power the home-grown UAVs Nishant, Lakshya and Rustom-1 and 2 versions used to observe and survey border areas.

NAVY

• K-15(underwater ballistic missile or Sagarika) (Distance : 700 km): 
• set to join Arihant (India is only the fifth country to have such a missile -- the other four are the United States, Russia, France and China.)
• Arihant(India’s nuclear-powered submarine) : 
• which is powered by an 80-MWt reactor that uses enriched uranium as fuel and light water as coolant and moderator.
• INS Saryu :
•  maritime surveillance around Andaman and Nicobar islands.Built at Goa Shipyard Limited, the 105-meter vessel is the first of the four new class naval off shore patrol vessels (NOPVs)
• Scorpène class submarines are a class of diesel-electric attack submarine jointly developed by the French DCN and the Spanish company Navantia and now by DCNS. It features diesel propulsion and an additional air-independent propulsion (AIP).India has S50-55 submarines.Test Depth > 300 m.
• Dhanush : 
• Naval version of Prithvi missile
• Nuclear capable
• Ballistic missile
• Range: 350km
• Brahmos :
• 290- km range
• supersonic cruise missile
• capable of carrying a conventional warhead of 300 kg
• eveloped by Indo-Russian joint venture. 
• It is a two-stage missile, the first one solid and the second one ramjet liquid propellant
• Already inducted into Army and Navy.Airforce version is in final stage
• INS Nireekshak: 
• Indian Navy’s deep sea diving support vessel. 
• With an on-board submersible capsule called ‘Bell’, assisted in the conduct of the exercise providing safety back-up. 
• INDIAEX-2012 is unique since it will demonstrate the rescuing of trapped submariners from deep under the sea. naval exercise with US.
• P-8I
• A derivative of Boeing 737-800 long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft and anti-submarine warfare aircraft.
• It may take the place of the Navy’s Russian Tupolev Tu-142M maritime surveillance turboprop.
• It is Indian variant of the P-8A Poseidon that Boeing is developing for the U.S. Navy.
• Cater for surveillance in Indian Ocean 

AIR FORCE

• Astra, India’s air-to-air missile.Weighs 168 kg and is 3.8-metres long.Will be fired from aircraft such as Sukhoi-30 MI, MiG-29 and the Light Combat Aircraft, Tejas 
• Air to Air
• Beyond Virtual Range (BVR)
• Single stage solid fuelled
• Capable of engaging and destroying highly maneuverable supersonic aerial targets
• Prithvi-II missile : 
• Surface to surface ballistic missile 
• Indigenously developed by DRDO
• Variants: Prithvi-I for the Army; Prithvi-II for the Indian Air Force; and the Dhanush for the Navy
• Single-stage, Liquid-propelled
• Advanced inertial navigation, control and guidance system 
• Payload capacity: 500-1,000 kg 
• Range: 350 km

ARMY

• Sub-sonic, medium range cruise missile Nirbhay
• developed by Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), a DRDO lab.
• All-weather low-cost medium-range cruise missile with stealth and high accuracy.
• Range of 1,000 km
• It will carry a ring laser gyroscope for high-accuracy navigation and a radio altimeter for the height determination.
• Capable of carrying nuclear warhead
• Capable of flying at different altitudes ranging from 500 m to 4 km above the ground.
• Navy,Army and Airfoce can use it
• Nirbhay will supplement the Brahmos cruise missile by carrying warheads beyond the 300-km range
• Agni IV :
• Nuclear capable ballistic missile
• Range: 4000kms 
• Equipped with Avionics, 5th generation on Board Computer 
• Fitted with Ring Laser Gyro based Inertial Navigation System (RINS) and Micro Navigation System (MINGS) for advanced accuracy.

General Knowledge

• National Defence Academy : Pune
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Airborne Warning and Control Systems-AWACS

• Airborne Warning and Control System which are called "an eye in the sky " come under a project, which is a tripartite contract between India, Israel and Russia. The $1.1 billion deal for the three AWACS was signed in 2004.
• The first AWACS had come in May 2009. Second comes in March 2010. India has to be delivered a total of 3 AWACS. First AWAC is based at Agra and second also will be based at Agra airbase which is one of the largest in the country and has immense strategic importance.
• AWACS have the ability to detect aircraft, cruise missiles and other flying objects at ranges far greater than is possible through existing systems.
• Recently, it was reported that India will order another two advanced Israeli Phalcon AWACS.
• The Phalcons significantly boost the effectiveness of both offensive and defensive operations. Their enhanced detection and interception capability, connected to fighters and surface-to-air missile systems, are tremendous force-multipliers.
• Apart from detection of incoming cruise missiles and aircraft from over 400-km away in all-weather conditions, and direction of air defence fighters during combat operations, the Phalcons while flying well within Indian airspace can also monitor troop build-ups or activity at airbases and missile silos deep inside Pakistan.
• These indigenous airborne surveillance platforms will have a normal radar range of 250-km and a 375-km extended one, with a 240-degree coverage and five-hour endurance time.
• AWACS is a heavier and high endurance system, which can give you in terms of coverage about 360 degrees as against AEW&C(Airborne Early Warning and Control) which is about 270 degree coverage