National Cadet Corps (NCC) paid homage to the martyrs of Jallianwala Bagh massacre who lost their lives on April 13th in 1919. The homage coincides with the ongoing ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ wherein the nation is celebrating the 75th Anniversary of Independence. The cadets of NCC, which has a strong cadet base of 14 lakhs, gathered at 75 places across the country paying gratitude to the freedom fighters through Nukkad Nataks, patriotic songs, speeches and skits. This tribute by the cadets filled the environment with patriotic fervour with many locals also joining the events. The social media was also flooded with #NCCremembersJallianwala.

On the occasion, the NCC also launched a pan-India campaign to educate people against ‘Single use Plastics’. The cadets gathered at these 75 locations after conducting Plog Runs and spreading the message of cleanliness and putting an end to ‘Single use Plastic’. The message was spread on social media through #NCCagainstPlastic. The NCC, a premier uniformed youth organisation of the country, has contributed significantly in nation building since its inception. It has transformed the lives of millions of youth by shaping their character and showing them the path of ‘Unity and Discipline’. The corps has made praiseworthy contributions in spreading awareness amongst the masses on important issues like water conservation, environment protection, digital awareness and Swachhta Abhiyan.

The first P-8A Poseidon fuselage for Norway arrived at Boeing facilities in Renton, Washington, from Spirit AeroSystems in Wichita, Kansas, marking a major milestone in the production of the first of five Poseidons for the Royal Norwegian Air Force. A derivative of the Boeing 737 Next-Generation commercial aircraft, the P-8 is first assembled at Boeing Commercial Airplanes’ 737 production line, where the fuselage receives additional wiring and systems needed to support military components, equipment and operation. The aircraft is then delivered to Boeing’s Defense, Space & Security unit for the installation of military systems, testing and delivery to military customers. “Boeing uses a proven in-line production process to efficiently build the aircraft”, said Christian Thomsen, P-8A Europe program manager. “Implementing established best practices and common, commercial production-system tools enables the team to reduce flow time and cost while ensuring quality and on-time delivery to our customers.”, He added.

Norway is expected to receive its first P-8 later this year. In total, five P-8s will eventually replace Norway’s current fleet of six P-3 Orions and three DA-20 Jet Falcons and will provide advanced capabilities to maintain situational awareness in neighbouring waters on and below the surface of the ocean. To date, Boeing has delivered 104 P-8 aircraft to the U.S. Navy and customers in Australia, India and the United Kingdom.

The Institute of National Integration (INI) of Indian Army is located at Dapodi, Pune. The Institute is a true emissary of Indian Army’s stated goal of ‘Nation Building’ through ‘National Integration’ as summarized by INI’s logo ‘Unity and Diversity’. The INI was an outcome of ideas between the Prime Minister and Chief of Army Staff in 1980, as a pilot project of giving depth to cohesion and inter faith harmony which prevails in the Indian Army. A batch of 31 Recruits qualified were appointed religious teachers (RT) in the rank of Junior Commissioned Officers on 13th April. A colourful Passing Out Parade was conducted at Institute of National Integration, Pune. Brigadier Hardeep Singh Dhodi, Commandant of Institute, reviewed the parade and awarded General Officer Commanding in Chief, Army Training Command and INI Commandant’s Silver Medal to Naib Subedar Puneet Bhargav of Raj Rif Regtl Centre and Gold Medal to Naib Subedar Gurnarender Singh of BEG & Centre Kirkee,, respectively who distinguished themselves in respective facets of intense training.

The Commandant congratulated the newly commissioned JCOs and their parents, for successful completion of training incorporating subjects related to National Integration, Behaviour & Social Science including Spiritualism, Yoga, Psychological Counselling and Stress Management. The Religious Teachers passing out from INI are ready to perform assigned duties of ‘Dharam Yodha’ as also shoulder additional responsibilities of a Psychological Counselor and Mental Health Mentor for troops deployed across varied and harsh terrains along Northern and Eastern Borders. The Religious teachers in Indian Army play a prominent role towards building up of Morale, Motivation amongst troops and their families, to serve as a catalyst toward Unit Cohesion, thus contributing to Battle Winning Ethos prevailing in units. Their primary role is to instil unity and create an ethos of secularism in the Armed Force.

Airbus and the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) have launched a programme to develop a laser communication terminal demonstrator for aircraft, known as UltraAir. The project, which is co-financed by Airbus, TNO and the Netherlands Space Office (NSO), is part of the European Space Agency’s (ESA) ScyLight (Secure and Laser communication technology) programme. It covers the design, construction and testing of the technology demonstrator. Laser communication technologies are the next revolution in satellite communications (satcom), bringing unprecedented transmission rates, data security and resilience to meet commercial needs in the next decade.

The UltraAir terminal will be capable of laser connections between an aircraft and a satellite in geostationary orbit 36,000 km above the Earth, with unparalleled technology including a highly stable and precise optical mechatronic system. The technology demonstrator will pave the way for a future UltraAir product with which data transmission rates could reach several gigabits-per-second while providing anti-jamming and low probability of interception. In this way UltraAir will not only enable military aircraft and UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) to connect within a combat cloud, but also in the longer term allow airline passengers to establish high-speed data connections thanks to the Airbus’ SpaceDataHighway constellation. From their position in geostationary orbit, the SpaceDataHighway (EDRS) satellites relay data collected by observation satellites to Earth in near-real-time, a process that would normally take several hours.

Airbus is leading the project and brings its unique expertise in laser satellite communications, developed with the SpaceDataHighway programme. It will coordinate the development of the terminal and testing on the ground and in the air. As key partner of the project, TNO provides its experience in high-precision opto-mechatronics, supported by the Dutch high-tech and space industry. Airbus Defence and Space in the Netherlands will be responsible for the industrial production of the terminals. Airbus’ subsidiary Tesat brings its technical expertise in laser communication systems and will be involved in all testing activities. The first tests will take place at the end of 2021 in laboratory conditions at Tesat. In a second phase, ground tests will start early 2022 in Tenerife (Spain), where connectivity will be established between an UltraAir demonstrator and the laser terminal embarked on the Alphasat satellite using the ESA Optical Ground Station. For the final verification, the UltraAir demonstrator will be integrated on an aircraft for flight testing by mid-2022.

As satellite services demand is growing, the traditional satcom radio-frequency bands are experiencing bottlenecks. Laser links also have the benefit of avoiding interference and detection, as in comparison to the already-crowded radio frequencies, laser communication is extremely difficult to intercept due to a much narrower beam. Thus, laser terminals can be lighter, consume less power and offer even better security than radio. This new programme is a key milestone in the roadmap of Airbus’ overall strategy to drive laser communications further, which will bring forward the benefits of this technology as a key differentiator for providing Multi-Domain collaboration for Government and defence customers.

Indian Army’s Mathura headquartered 1 corps has got a new Corps Commander. Lt Gen Manoj Kumar Katiyar has been appointed as the new 1 Corps Commander. 1 Corps is a military field formation of the Indian Army. Lt Gen Manoj Kumar Katiyar is an alumnus of Sainik School Ghorakhal. After his military training in National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla and Indian Military Academy, Dehradun, he was commissioned in 23rd Battalion of the Rajput Regiment in June 1986. He commanded his battalion twice; along the Line of Control in J&K and along the Line of Actual Control in Arunachal Pradesh. He commanded an Infantry Brigade along Western Borders and an Army HQ reserve Mountain Division.

The General Officer has done all important courses to include Defence Services Staff Course and attended the National Defence College. He is also a Distinguished Graduate of National War College, USA. He has been an instructor in Indian Military Training Team in Bhutan and a Directing Staff at Defence Services Staff College. His staff appointments include a Grade 1 post in Military Operations Directorate and Brigadier General Staff appointments in a Corps HQ and a Command HQ. His previous appointment was of Director General Staff Duties in Army HQ.

First bi-annual IAF Commanders’ Conference for the year 2021 will be inaugurated by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on 15th April at Air Headquarters (Vayu Bhawan). The conference of apex level leadership is aimed at addressing the issues of IAF’s operational capabilities in the times to come. A series of discussions would be conducted over a period of three days to address strategies and policies related to capabilities that would give IAF a significant edge over its adversaries. Various welfare and Human Resource measures to improve HR and administrative efficiency will also be discussed.

Air Force Commanders’ Conference is a bi-annual conference held at Subroto Hall, Air Headquarters, Vayu Bhawan. The Conference provides a forum to the senior leadership of the IAF to discuss critical issues pertaining to Operations, Maintenance and Administration. The conference is attended by the Air Officers Commanding-in-Chief of all Commands of IAF, all Principal Staff Officers and all Director Generals posted at Air HQ.