F-35C fighters from the U.S. Marine Corps’ VMFA 314 squadron aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln conducted multiple strikes on Houthi weapons storage facilities in Yemen. The F-35C stealth fighter model has longer, folding wings and, like the F/A-18, is designed to be launched from the catapults of aircraft carriers, allowing it to carry heavier payloads than the F-35B.
“There are close to 140 Private Security Companies operating in the North Indian Ocean, which hire out Privately Contracted Armed Security Personnel or PCASP,” said navy chief, Admiral DK Joshi, adding, “It has obvious security implications for us, including infiltration of terrorists.”
Iran’s military leadership Tuesday warned a US aircraft carrier to keep out of the Persian Gulf. The warning from army commander Major General Ataollah Salehi comes after a 10-day Iranian naval exercise ended in the Strait of Hormuz.
The fourth round of ADD, held after nearly two years, was led by India’s Defense Secretary Shashikant Sharma and Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Deputy Chief of General Staff General Ma Xiaotian. The two sides also discussed defense exchanges for 2012 and agreed to “gradually enhance” the range and scope of their interaction, according to Indian defense ministry officials.
Defense Minister Arackaparambil Kurian Antony Tuesday left for Japan on a daylong visit where he is expected to explore opportunities for furthering the bilateral military relations in global and regional security matters, maritime security, anti-piracy operations, counter-terrorism and humanitarian assistance.
“Earlier, we have been talking of our strategic interest starting from the Gulf of Aden to the Malacca Straits. But as the global footprint of India increases, certainly IAF will be called upon to serve India’s interests where ever the capacity or whatever our capacity lie,” Air Chief Marshal Norman Anil Kumar said.
Attacks by Somali pirates on two cargo ships in the Gulf of Aden were thwarted by an Indian Navy warship last week, navy officers said here Monday.
India has given to Seychelles a Dornier maritime reconnaissance aircraft for surveillance and anti-piracy missions in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR)that is plagued by piracy threats in and around the Gulf of Aden.
The dhow, al Musa, was on its way to the Persian Gulf and was crewed by fourteen Indian sailors. It is home-ported at Mandvi in Gujarat.
The Indian Defence Minister Arackaparambil Kurian Antony on Tuesday called for the adoption of ‘cooperative approaches’ for ensuring the security of sea lanes in the Asia-Pacific Region, in his address to the first ASEAN Plus Eight Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) in Hanoi in Vietnam.
The latest attempt took place on Wednesday when the guided missile destroyer was tasked with escorting six merchant vessels with an assortment of 40 Indians among the 147 crew aboard the ships.
The serial commandeering of Indian dhows by pirates in the Arabian Sea around the Gulf of Aden recently, has put the focus on the vulnerability of these vessels to hijack, especially with their flagrant flouting of guidelines, which also facilitates the endangering of other innocent shipping.
Agenda check: The US Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Admiral Gary Roughead is to arrive in New Delhi on Sunday.
Video footage of the INS Godavari combating pirates in the Gulf of Aden.
Source: Indian Navy
