Politics
India to hold its biggest drone exercise seeking air defence boost
NEW DELHI: India’s military will test drone and counter drone systems next month in a major exercise to toughen its air defences, a senior officer said on Tuesday, months after a conflict with Pakistan saw the large-scale use of unmanned aerial systems (UAS).
Since the four-day clash, both neighbouring countries have ramped up drone development in what analysts describe as a drone arms race. India has also announced plans to build an indigenous air defence system, dubbed ‘Sudarshan Chakra’, by 2035 — an initiative officials have likened to Israel’s ‘Iron Dome’.
The Indian military will hold exercise ‘Cold Start’, its biggest ever drone war games, in the first week of October in the presence of defence industry officials and researchers, said Air Marshal Rakesh Sinha, deputy chief of the Integrated Defence Staff.
“We will be testing some of our drones and counter-drone systems during this exercise … so that we can make our air defence system and counter-UAS completely robust,” he said on the sidelines of an industry event in New Delhi.
An Indian official described it as the biggest such domestic exercise since the Pakistan conflict, and said it would involve recreating some of the drone warfare that took place in May.
Drones and counter-drone systems will also be the baseline elements of the Sudarshan Chakra air defence system, which would also include aircraft and counter hypersonic systems, said Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, chief of the Integrated Defence Staff.
“They (Pakistan) are also working and becoming better. So, we have to go one step ahead,” he added.
US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he believes Ukraine, with the support of the European Union and NATO, can win back all of the territory Russia has taken since its invasion.
Trump, who met with Ukraine’s leader at the United Nations earlier on Tuesday, has previously said that both Kyiv and Moscow would have to cede land to end the war.
“With time, patience, and the financial support of Europe and, in particular, NATO, the original borders from where this war started, is very much an option,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform.
In the post, Trump criticised Russia’s prosecution of the war, saying it had been fighting “aimlessly” in a war that a “real military power” would have won in “less than a week.”
“Putin and Russia are in BIG economic trouble, and this is the time for Ukraine to act,” the post continues.
Trump said the US will continue to supply weapons to NATO “for NATO to do what they want with them.”
NEW YORK: United States President Donald Trump on Tuesday called for an immediate end to the ongoing war in Gaza.
Addressing the 80th United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York City, the US president said that Washington would continue playing its role in promoting peace worldwide.
He said that recognition of a Palestinian state would be too great a reward for Hamas, repeating his call for the release of hostages, dead or alive.
“Those who supported peace should united in demanding the release of the hostages, he added.
“As if to encourage continued conflict, some of this body is seeking to unilaterally recognise the Palestinian state. The rewards would be too great for Hamas,” he said.
During his address, Trump pledged that his administration will lead an international effort to enforce a biological weapons convention by pioneering an AI verification system
“I’m … calling on every nation to join us in ending the development of biological weapons once and for all,” he said.
Trump said that Iran can never be allowed to possess nuclear weapons.
“My position is very simple: The world’s number one sponsor of terror cannot be allowed to possess the most dangerous weapon,” Trump added.
This is a developing story and is being updated with more details.
DUBAI: In the densely populated Al Barsha area of Dubai, a fire suddenly broke out in a residential building on Tuesday afternoon.
However, the Dubai Civil Defence responded swiftly, and with the help of the advanced “Shaheen Drones”, the blaze was quickly brought under control.
According to officials, emergency teams arrived at the scene within six minutes of receiving the report, and the drones immediately helped extinguish the fire.
Residents were safely evacuated, and fortunately, there were no casualties.
Dubai authorities said: “The rapid and effective action of the Shaheen Drones, using water and foam, saved precious lives and prevented the fire from spreading.”
The Dubai Civil Defence confirmed that the Shaheen Drones are specially designed to combat fires in buildings up to 200 metres tall, with each drone carrying 1,200 litres of water and firefighting foam, allowing for fast and efficient firefighting operations.
The National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority (NCEMA) has announced that by 2028, the use of drones for firefighting is expected to increase twenty-fold, and in the future, 70% of fire emergency decisions will be supported by Artificial Intelligence (AI).
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