Defence Direct Education

Exercise AUSTRAHIND 2026 culminated in a 36-hour Joint Validation Exercise conducted from October 30 to 31 under Chapter VI of the UN Charter, featuring intensive joint operations by the Indian Army and the Australian Defence Force across jungle, island, and coastal terrains.

What is a pilot vehicle? The Corps of Military Police provides pilot vehicles to Division Commanders, Corps Commanders, Army Commanders and the Chief of the Army Staff. The pilot vehicle drives ahead of the senior commander's car to clear the way and lead it safely through traffic. Then what is a GUIDE? Pilot vehicle is authorised only for the few appointments laid down in the rules, so when the Military Police lead anyone else, such as a visiting team, a convoy or a guest who is not entitled to a pilot, the same kind of vehicle goes out marked GUIDE. The job is the same; the plate tells everyone on the road it is not a commander's pilot.

The Navy retired its Sea King Mk42B squadron in June. This 40-year-old still drops troops on beaches. 1 - IN558, a Sea King Mk42C, the troop carrier. Lifts 28 men. India got only six 2 - Fast rope: no harness, no clip. Gloves and grip 3 - First men down kneel facing out, guns up

Meet Air Chief Marshal AP Singh. He hangs up his uniform today after nearly 42 years. Then: Gp Capt AP Singh, test pilot, flying the Tejas. Now: the IAF's 28th Chief, still wearing the Tejas Flight Test Team patch and the "22" of the squadron he commanded. Happy retirement, Sir.

no fan, no compressor, still Mach 3. Booster fires → Mach 1 → empty booster drops off → air rams into the intake, squeezed by speed alone → fuel burns in it → hot jet out the back → ~3,700 km/h. Then it skims the sea as low as 10 m so radars see it late.

Army Aviation turns 40 on Sunday (raised 1 Nov 1986). 1. Cheetah: built on the Lama, which set the helicopter altitude record: 12,442 m, 1972 2. Rudra: a Dhruv with teeth 3. Prachand: first attack helicopter to land in Siachen 4. Apache Neighbours: the high ground has rotors now.

no loader on board. this tank feeds itself. Fire → carousel under the turret floor spins → brings the next round to the gun → gun tilts up, tray lifts → rammer pushes the shell, then its charge → ready in 5-8 s. 22 rounds wait in that carousel, so only 3 men ride inside.

In 2016, soldiers in Haryana had to carry boards saying ARMY. Rioters took them for police, because everyone wore Army camo. 1. 1960s-70s: olive green 2. 1980s: disruptive pattern (here at Kargil, 1999) 3. Mid-2000s: the most copied 4. 2022: digital. Copy it now and it's illegal

Drone hunting, Ladakh style: one vehicle that can shoot a drone down or jam it out of the sky. 1 - Three gun mounts on one pintle: more lead in the air for a tiny target 2 - Jammer mast: cuts the drone's link to its pilot

no propeller. no steering wheel. still crosses the river. Soft tyres → no sinking in snow or mud → in water it floats → tyre ridges paddle like oars → two levers speed up one side to turn. The tyres are pumped up by its own exhaust, at the push of a button.