A Naval Chetak helicopter crashed today while landing at Naval Air station Goa at about 1000 hrs.

The helicopter on transit from Mumbai to Bangalore was to make a scheduled re-fuelling halt at Goa. All three personnel onboard have died in the crash.

Naval spokesperson said in New Delhi that a Board of Inquiry to ascertain the cause has been ordered.

The Navy today successfully test-fired the 290-km range BrahMos supersonic cruise missile, capable of carrying a conventional warhead of 300 kg, from a warship off the Goa coast. According to Defence sources, the missile, performing high-level manoeuvres successfully hit the target ship. The INS Teg, which has been built at the Yantar shipyard in Russia, had fired the missile successfully during pre-induction trials in Russia last year. The two remaining warships of the project namely INS Tarkash and INS Trikand will also be armed with the lethal missile in vertical launch mode.The two-stage missile, the first one being solid and the second one ramjet liquid propellant, has already been inducted into the Army and Navy, and the Air Force version is in final stage of trial.

While induction of the first version of Brahmos missile
system in the Indian Navy commenced from 2005 with INS Rajput, it is now fully operational with two regiments of the Army.The air launch version and the submarine launch version of the missile system are in progress. The Defence Ministry has also given a go-ahead to Army to induct a third regiment equipped with the missile system to be deployed in Arunachal Pradesh.

 ndia's Two Naval Ships INS Sujata and ICGS Varuna, which form part of the Training Squadron are scheduled to arrive in Bangladesh next week on a goodwill visit. The ships which will be on a four-day goodwill visit to the country are scheduled to reach Chittagong port on 29th September. Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Naval Command, Vice Admiral Satish Soni whose visit coincides with the arrival of the ships, will host a reception onboard the ship during the goodwill tour. During his stay in Bangladesh, Vice Admiral Satish Soni will

also call on the Chief of Naval Staff of Bangladesh Navy and meet other officials to discuss strengthening of bilateral cooperation between the two navies. During their stay at Chittagong, the Indian Navy cadets will visit the Bangladesh Naval Academy and other Naval Installations in addition to cultural programmes and sports events which have been planned with the Bangladesh Navy.

Defence Minister A.K.Antony today dedicated Indian Navy's Financial Information System in New Delhi. The system has been adopted for managing budgeting and expenditure of navy assets located at various places across the country on line. Dedicating the system Antony said, it is a major initiative in a field of financial management that Indian navy has adopted.

He said, all the departments of the government should follow the timely initiative. He said defence budget has been increased to 2 lakh crore rupees and it is the high time for proper management of the budget for transparency and accuracy.

he Indian Navy today commissioned a Naval Base Station – INS Tanaji in Mumbai’s Eastern suburb of Mankhurd. Speaking after the ceremony, Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Nirmal Verma said that the commissioning of INS Tanaji, named after Maratha warrior Tanaji Malusare, is a formal recognition of Navy's presence and continuing commitment towards the city of Mumbai.

Talking about the Indian Navy’s piracy operation, Admiral Verma said that the visibility of Indian Navy in the Indian Ocean has increased recently. He added that Indian ships are giving adequate protection to merchant vessels in the ocean. In order to deepen the maritime engagements with other countries, Admiral Verma informed that Navy's eastern fleet task force has held joint exercises with Japanese, Chinese and Philipines Navy.

Meanwhile, base depot ship INS Tanaji will look after berthing and ship lift facilities of the Indian Navy. Today’s commissioning ceremony was attended by Vice Admiral DK Joshi and other high ranking Officers of the Navy.

In Kerala, 101 officer cadets today passed out of the First Training Squadron of the Indian Navy at an impressive parade held at the Naval Base in Kochi.

The Chief of Staff of the Southern Naval Command Rear Admiral Sudarshan Shrikhande reviewed the passing out parade.

The 24 week afloat training on board the First Training Squadron provides a first hand experience of the rigors of life on board a war ship. The cadets are trained on general and astro navigation, communications, gunnery, missile warfare and military values.

The Defence Secretary Leon Panetta has emphasised the importance of a strong US naval presence in Asia. His statement comes on the eve of a trip to the region.

Speaking at the US naval academy, he said the future of the US depended on ensuring security throughout the Western Pacific and the Indian Ocean. 

America is a maritime nation and we are returning to our maritime roots, he said. Mr Panetta is due to travel to Vietnam, India and Singapore for a security summit.

Speaking to naval graduates in Annapolis, he said the US should strengthen existing ties with Japan, South Korea, Australia and the Philippines, and form robust partnerships with South East Asian nations.

The Pentagon chief also spoke about the need to strengthen defence ties with China, even as its military is growing and modernising.

The Indian Navy today added teeth to its warship fleet by formally inducting a newly built frigate at the yanter ship yard in Russia. The warship christened INS Teg was commissioned by the Southern Naval Command in Chief Vice Admiral K N Sushil in a ceremony in Kaliningrad in Russia.

A release from Indian Navy said in New Delhi today that INS Teg is likely to reach Indian shores by the end of June this year. It said the newly inducted frigate is a modern and contemporary warship with advanced technology incorporated in every facet of design to make her stable, stealthy, fast and formidable. 

The Teg class of ships an advance version of the Talwar class guided missile frigates in service with the Indian Navy, have been built to meet the specific command and control needs of the Indian Navy for coordinated surface, air and underwater missions.

Indian Navy is all set to operate five nuclear submarines by the end of this decade, including two leased from Russia and three built indigenously. Defence Minister A K Antony said, India is considering a proposal to induct another nuclear submarine built in Russia and has plans of indigenously building two more Arihant Class underwater vessels to guard its maritime boundaries. The Navy on Wednesday formally commissioned the Akula-II Class INS Chakra in Vishakhapatnam and is set to launch the INS Arihant for sea trials soon. On India's plans to expand its nuclear submarine fleet Antony said the government was considering a proposal in this regard and the country can afford to buy another such vessel.  the Navy which currently operates more than 10 conventional diesel-electric submarines of the Kilo and HDW Class, has plans of inducting a dozen more in the next decade. Already six Scorpene submarines are being constructed at Mazagon Dockyards in Mumbai in collaboration with French DCNS and six more are planned to be built under the Project-75 India.

In Goa, Dabolim airfield will be closed for all civil and military flying between 7 am and 4 pm from Thursday to Sunday for periodic preventive maintenance of the runway.

Naval authorities have informed that the Indian Navy, Airports Authority of India and various charter operators the closure and flights are being rescheduled.

The authorities said the military fighters requires periodic preventive maintenance of the runway and the planned repairs would go a long way towards safe and efficient operations.

Indian Navy will soon operate two nuclear submarines. India is set to induct the Russian 'Nerpa' nuclear submarine next week. DRDO Chief V K Saraswat said in New Delhi today that the indigenous nuclear under-water vessel - INS Arihant - will also be launched for operations in the near future. He said INS Arihant is in advanced stages. He said it's nuclear reactor is not yet critical. The Nerpa has been taken on lease from Russia for ten years and will provide Navy the opportunity to train and operate such nuclear-powered vessels. India is also working to develop the arsenal for Arihant as it has already carried out more than 10 test launches of the K-15 missile in the Bay of Bengal. He said it is in the final phases of development and is getting ready towards induction.

Surface to surface cruise missile BRAHMOS was successfully test fired from the Interim Test Range, Chandipur from Balesore district of Odisha today. 

Built on Indo-Russian joint venture technology the missile was tested from the LC-3 of ITR. 

Carrying two hundred to three hundred kilograms of conventional and nuclear warheads, this three ton weight supersonic cruise missile can hit the enemy target up to Two Hundred Ninety Kilometer distance. 

Brahmos has been deployed to the Army and Navy Wing of Indian Armed Forces. It was last test fired on 4th of this month from Pokhran in Rajasthan