DEFENCE

• Phase 2 of Exercise MALABAR 2020 in Western Indian Ocean.
• Second Successful Flight Test of QRSAM System.
• Webinar and Expo with Indonesia, South Africa and Nigeria on Indian Defence Industry.
• Webinar on India - Bangladesh Defence Cooperation and Expo.
• Naval Exercises Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT), Exercise SITMEX-20 and Exercise SIMBEX-20 Held.
• Mission Sagar– II.
• 4th NSA Level Meeting on Trilateral Maritime Security Cooperation
• Talks between Defence Ministers of India and Vietnam.

INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM

Africa

• Nigeria
• Nine killed in an attack on Nigerian Governor’s convoy.
• Security forces killed Boko Haram terrorist in Borno State and foiled a ransom payment against abduction.
• Boko Haram terrorists killed 44 farmers in Borno State.

• Senegal
• AQIM announced successor of Droukdel.

• Somalia
• Seven people were killed in a suicide bombing in Mogadishu.

Afghanistan

• Eight people were killed in mortar shells attacks in Kabul.

Pakistan

• Suicide attack foiled by police near Wagah border in Punjab province.
• ATC convicted JuD’s Hafiz Saeed and others in two cases of terror-financing.
• Security forces killed an Islamic State commander in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Domestic Terrorism

Jammu and Kashmir

• NIA arrested PDP’s youth-wing leader in HM terror case.
• Security forces eliminated four JeM terrorists in Jammu.

Left-Wing Extremism

• 33 Maoists surrendered in Telangana.

Islamic Extremism in India

• Delhi Police arrested two JeM terrorists from Delhi.
• MHA approved a study on ‘status of radicalisation’.

Cyber, Information Warfare & Artificial Intelligence (Security Perspective)

• “In current environment, cyber-attacks have gone multi-fold”, said NCSC Lt Gen Pant.
• The United Kingdom launched a new IW network—@HutEighteen.
• The US Air Force to conduct an IW ‘flag’ in Spring 2021.

Defence

Phase 2 of Exercise MALABAR 2020 in Western Indian Ocean.

The 24th edition of MALABAR maritime exercise, hosted by Indian Navy (IN) in two phases, concluded in the Arabian Sea on 20 Nov 20. Phase 1 of the exercise involving participation by Indian Navy (IN), United States Navy (USN), Japan Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF) and Royal Australian Navy (RAN), was conducted off Visakhapatnam in Bay of Bengal from 3-6 November 2020. The second phase was conducted in the Arabian Sea from 17-20 November 2020. The Phase 2 of the exercise centered on the Vikramaditya Carrier Battle Group of the Indian Navy and Nimitz Carrier Strike Group of the US Navy. The two aircraft carriers, along with other ships, submarine and aircraft of the participating navies, engaged in high intensity naval operations including cross-deck flying operations and advanced air defence exercises by MIG 29K fighters of Vikramaditya and F/A-18 fighters and E2C Hawkeye from Nimitz. US Navy’s Strike Carrier Nimitz was accompanied by cruiser Princeton and destroyer Sterett in addition to P8A maritime reconnaissance aircraft. The Royal Australian Navy and JMSDF were represented by frigate Ballarat and destroyer Murasame respectively, along with their integral helicopters.

Indian Navy’s participation was also with the indigenous destroyers Kolkata and Chennai, stealth frigate Talwar, Fleet Support Ship Deepak and the integral helicopters of these warships, indigenously built submarine Khanderi, P8I and IL-38 maritime reconnaissance aircraft.
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Second Successful Flight Test of QRSAM System.

In the second flight test, the Quick Reaction Surface to Air Missile (QRSAM) System tracked the target accurately and successfully neutralised the airborne target. The test was carried out once again, against the high performance Jet Unmanned Aerial Target called Banshee, which simulates an aircraft. The first in the series test of QRSAM took place on 13th Nov 2020 achieving the milestone of a direct hit. Second test proved the performance parameters of warhead.

Webinar and Expo with Indonesia, South Africa and Nigeria on Indian Defence Industry.

A webinar and expo between India and Indonesia was held 18th November, with South Africa on 20th November and Nigeria on 25th November 2020 with the theme “Indian Defence Industry Global Outreach for Collaborative Partnerships”. It was organized under the aegis of Department of Defence Production, Ministry of Defence through industry bodies such as SIDM and FICCI.

With Indonesia various Indian companies such as L&T Defence, Ashok Leyland Limited, Bharat Forge, Tata Aerospace and Defence, MKU, Goa Shipyard Limited and Bharat Electronics Limited made company and product presentations on major platforms / equipment. From Indonesian side PT. Pindad, PT. Pal, PT. LEN, PT. Dahana and PT. Dirgantara made presentations. The webinar was attended by more than 150 participants and more than 100 virtual exhibition stalls have been set up in the Expo.

With South Africa Indian companies such as L&T, Tata Advanced Systems, MKU, OFB, Mazagaon Dock Shipbuilder Limited and five companies from South Africa Sandock Austral, GEW, Hendsoldt, SAAB Grintek Defence and Reutech made presentations about their companies and products in the webinar. The Webinar was attended by more than 100 participants and had more than 100 Exhibitors.

With Nigeria Indian companies such as BEL, BDL, GSL, HAL, TASL, Solar Industries, MKU, Mahindra Defence, L&T, Bharat Forge, Ashok Leyland, made company and product presentations on major platforms / equipment in the webinar. The webinar was attended by more than 150 delegates and 100 virtual exhibition stalls have been set up in the Expo.

Webinar on India - Bangladesh Defence Cooperation and Expo.

A webinar and expo between India and Bangladesh was held on 19November 2020. The Theme of webinar was “India - Bangladesh Defence Cooperation: Cooperation in Defence and Commercial Shipbuilding”. It was organized under the aegis of Department of Defence Production, Ministry of Defence through FICCI. Various Indian companies such as Larsen & Toubro Limited, Indian National Ship-owners Association, Goa Shipyard Limited, GRSE, Cochin Shipyard Limited, Raads Marine, Adani Ports and SEZ Ltd, Reach Dredging, Shapoorji Pallonji and Company Private Limited, Kirloskar Oil Engines Limited and Marine Solutionz made company and product presentations. From Bangladesh side Association of Export Oriented Shipbuilding Industries of Bangladesh (AEOSIB), Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority, FMC Dockyard, Ananda Shipyard & Slipways Limited and Chittagong Port Authority made presentations. The webinar was attended by more than 240 participants and 40 virtual exhibition stalls have been set up in the Expo.

Naval Exercises Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT), Exercise Sitmex-20 and Exercise SIMBEX-20 Held.

The 30th edition of India-Thailand Coordinated Patrol (Indo-Thai CORPAT) between the Indian Navy and the Royal Thai Navy was conducted from 18 – 20 November 2020. Indian Naval Ship (INS) Karmuk, an indigenously built Missile Corvette and His Majesty’s Thailand Ship (HTMS) Kraburi, a Chao Phraya Class Frigate along with Dornier Maritime Patrol Aircraft from both the navies participated.To reinforce maritime links, the two navies have been carrying out CORPAT along their International Maritime Boundary Line twice a year since 2005, with the aim of keeping this vital part of the Indian Ocean safe and secure for commercial shipping and international trade.

Exercise Sitmex-20. Indian Navy (IN) Ships including indigenously built ASW corvette Kamorta and missile corvette Karmuk participated in the 2nd edition of India, Singapore and Thailand Trilateral Maritime Exercise SITMEX-20, held from 21 to 22 November 20 in Andaman Sea. The first edition of SITMEX, hosted by Indian Navy, was conducted off Port Blair in September 2019. The 2020 edition of the exercise was hosted by RSN. RSN was represented by the ‘Formidable’ Class frigate ‘Intrepid’ and ‘Endurance’ Class Landing Ship Tank ‘Endeavour’ and RTN by the ‘Chao Phraya’ Class frigate ‘Kraburi’ in the exercise.

SIMBEX-20. Indian Navy (IN) hosted the 27th edition of India - Singapore Bilateral Maritime Exercise SIMBEX-20 from 23 to 25 November 2020 in Andaman Sea. The SIMBEX series of exercises between IN and Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) has been conducted annually since 1994.

Mission Sagar – II.

In continuation of the ongoing humanitarian mission ‘Sagar-II’, Indian Naval Ship Airavat arrived at Port of Mombasa, Kenya on 20 November 2020. The Government of India is providing assistance to Friendly Foreign Countries to overcome natural calamities and COVID-19 pandemic, and towards the same INS Airavat is carrying food aid for the people of South Sudan.

4th NSA(National Security Adviser)Level Meeting on Trilateral Maritime Security Cooperation.

At the invitation of Secretary of Ministry of Defence of Sri Lanka, Shri Ajit Doval reached Colombo to participate in the 4th NSA Level Meeting on Trilateral Maritime Security Cooperation hosted by Sri Lanka on 27-28 November 2020. Earlier meetings were held in 2011 in Maldives, in 2013 in Sri Lanka, and in 2014 in India. The NSA-level Trilateral Meeting has served as an effective platform for cooperation among Indian Ocean countries. Mauritius and Seychelles attended the 3rd meeting as guest countries. Apart from the Defence Secretary of Sri Lanka, NSA Shri Ajit Doval, the Defence Minister H.E. Mariya Didi of Maldives also participated. The meeting provided an opportunity for discussion on issues pertaining to cooperation in maritime security in the Indian Ocean region.

Talks Between Defence Ministers of India and Vietnam.

Raksha Mantri and Minister of National Defence of Socialist Republic of Vietnam H.E. General Ngo Xuan Lich held bilateral talks via video-conferencing on 27 November 2020. During the talks, both Ministers reaffirmed the strong India-Vietnam Defence cooperation which is a key pillar of Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries. In a further step towards deeper bilateral cooperation, both sides signed an Implementing Arrangement for cooperation in the field of Hydrography between National Hydrographic Office, India and Vietnam Hydrographic Office in the presence of the two Ministers. The Arrangement will enable sharing of Hydrographic data and assist in production of navigational charts by both sides.

Vietnamese Defence Minister thanked the Raksha Mantri for the assistance by Indian Armed Forces in capacity building of Vietnamese Defence Forces especially in the field of Human Resource development. Raksha Mantri conveyed India’s willingness to enhance the scope and level of training for all three services of Vietnam Defence forces in Indian Defence Institutes. Vietnamese Defence Minister also invited the Raksha Mantri for ADMM Plus meeting being hosted by Vietnam on 10 Dec 2020, through virtual mode.

International Terrorism

Africa

Nigeria

Nine killed in an attack on Nigerian Governor’s convoy

On 22 November, seven Nigerian soldiers were martyred, and two civilians were killed in a Boko Haram-led terrorist attack on Nigerian Governor—Babagana Zulum’s convoy on Gajiram-Monguno road. In the attack, Governor Zulum escaped unhurt but it was the third time that he had been targeted by Boko Haram terrorists in last three months.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), more than 30,000 people have been killed and around three million people displaced in a decade of Boko Haram’s violence.
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Security forces killed Boko Haram terrorist in Borno State and foiled a ransom

payment against abduction

On 17 November, security forces had foiled the ransom payment of a NGN 2 million to Boko Haram against abduction of five civilians and killed a Boko Haram terrorist in Borno State in Nigeria. “Troops of 251 Task Force Battalion deployed in Strong Response Area Molai were responsible for the successful operation. Acting upon credible intelligence, security forces intercepted some Boko Haram terrorists and relatives of some kidnapped victims making efforts to pay a ransom of NGN 2 million to the terrorists”, said Defence Spokesperson—Brig Gen Benard Onyeuko in a statement released on 20 November.
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Boko Haram terrorists killed 44 farmers in Borno State

On 28 November, Boko Haram terrorists attacked and killed at least 44 farmers working in the rice fields in Garin Kwashebe village of Borno State in Nigeria. In the attack, several others were injured.
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Senegal

AQIM announced successor of Droukdel

Following the killing of its former leader Abdelmalek Droudkel, al-Qaeda’s North Africa branch—al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) announced its new leader of Algerian origin—Sheikh Mujahid Yazid Mubarak aka Abu Ubaida Yusuf al-Annabi. In June this year, French military had eliminated Abdelmalek Droudkel in Mali after chasing him for more than seven years in the Sahel region.
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Somalia

Seven people were killed in a suicide bombing in Mogadishu

On 27 November, al-Shabaab terrorist group had carried out a suicide bombing at an ice-cream parlour in Mogadishu in which at least seven people were killed, and eight others were injured. The incident took place hours later the visit of acting-US Secretary of Defense—Christopher Miller to the US Ambassador and other military personnel in Mogadishu.
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Afghanistan

Eight people were killed in mortar shells attacks in Kabul

On 21 November, around eight people were killed, and 13 others injured in two dozen mortar shells attacks in Kabul in Afghanistan. According to the SITE intelligence group, the Islamic State (IS) claimed the responsibility of the attacks. Earlier this month, three IS suicide bombers stormed into the University of Kabul and killed 22 people, mostly Afghan students.
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Pakistan

Suicide attack foiled by police near Wagah border in Punjab province

On 24 November, police foiled a suicide bombing attack on the Pakistan’s Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) police station at Barki/Burki road near Wagah border in Punjab province and eliminated the suicide bomber. Upon arriving at the check-post of Barki police station, the terrorist (identity undisclosed) opened fire on the officials. In response, CTD officials eliminated the terrorist. Two hand grenades, a pistol with live bullets, and a suicide vest was recovered from the terrorist, informed the CTD Spokesperson.
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ATC convicted JuD and LeT’s Hafiz Saeed and others in two cases of terror-financing

The Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC), on 18 November, convicted Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) chief Hafiz Saeed, Malik Zafar Iqbal, and Yahya Mujahid and sentenced them for 10 years and six-month imprisonment, besides six-months imprisonment to Abdul Rehman Makki, in two separate cases of terror-financing. The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) had registered the cases against the convicts under Section 11-N of Anti-Terrorism Act 1997. It was alleged that the convicts committed terrorism financing by managing assets of proscribed organisation and helped raise funds.
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Security forces killed an Islamic State commander in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province

In a counter-terrorism (CT) operation named “Bajaur”, Pakistan’s security forces killed two Islamic State (IS) terrorists in Bajaur district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The slain terrorists were identified as Zubair and Aziz ur-Rehman, IS commander in Sindh. In the same operation, several other terrorists were also arrested, read the statement released by the Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on 23 November.
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Domestic Terrorism

Jammu and Kashmir

NIA arrested PDP’s youth-wing leader in HM terror case

Three days after filing the nomination from Pulwama district, the National Investigation Agency (NIA), on 25 November, arrested Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s youth-wing leader—Waheedur-Rehman Parra for his alleged connection with a Hizbul-Mujahideen (HM) conspiracy case in which suspended J&K police officer Devinder Singh is also an accused. Parra was in contact with some other key accused in the case. There is substantial evidence to prove that Parra was aware of the conspiracy and may have been actively involved in it, said an NIA official (on the basis of anonymity).
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Security forces eliminated four JeM terrorists in Jammu

On 19 November, security forces eliminated four Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terrorists at Ban Toll Plaza in Jammu-Kashmir Highway near Nagrota in Jammu district. Reportedly, terrorists were on their way to Kashmir via bus. During checking, terrorists lobbed a grenade on security force personnel and engaged in exchange of fire. In the gun-fight with terrorists, two Special Operations Group (SOG) personnel got injured and later hospitalised.
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Left-Wing Extremism

33 Maoists surrendered in Telangana

On 23 November, around 33 Maoists and other village committee members of CPI (Maoist) banned organisation have surrendered before the Superintendent of Police (SP)—Sunil Dutt in Kothagudem in Telangana. With a desire to reject the path of violence, surrendered Maoists would like to join the mainstream and live a normal life.
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Islamic Extremism in India

Delhi Police arrested two JeM terrorists from Delhi

On 17 November, Delhi Police’s Special Cell has arrested two Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terrorists—Abdul Latif Mir (22 years-old) and Mohammad Ashraf Khatana (20 years-old), from Delhi’s Sarai Kale Khan. Both terrorists had tried to cross the border number of times from Kupwara and Keran sector of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), along with others but failed due to tight security at the Line of Control (LoC).
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MHA approved a study on ‘status of radicalisation’

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has approved a research study focusing on the “status of radicalisation in India”. The study expected to legally define “radicalisation” and suggest amendments to the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act [UA(P)A]. In 2018, the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) had invited research proposals from academicians and legal experts on two themes—“Status in Radicalisation in India: An Exploratory Study of Prevention and Remedies”, and “Functioning and Impact of Open Prisons on Rehabilitation of Prisoners”.

G S Bajpai—Director of the Centre for Criminology and Victimology at National Law University (NLU), Delhi will be heading the research on radicalisation.
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Cyber, Information Warfare & Artificial Intelligence (Security Perspective)

“In current environment, cyber-attacks have gone multi-fold”, said NCSC Lt Gen Pant

Referring to the China as a “major challenge” to cybersecurity, India’s National Cyber Security Coordinator—Lt Gen (Retd) Rajesh Pant, on 16 November, has said that in the current milieu, cyber-attacks have gone multi-fold with around 4 lakh malware and 375 cyber-attacks detected on daily-basis. “Apart from falling prey to voice-call based financial frauds, people shall be cautious about the click-baits, which are deployed as a tool to extract information from the Internet user”, said Lt Gen (Retd) Pant at an event organised by the HDFC Bank.
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The United Kingdom launched a new IW network—@HutEighteen

On 24 November, the government of the United Kingdom in partnership with the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom (DA) has launched an Information Warfare (IW) network—@HutEighteen, for those operating in the field to collaborate and act as a force multiplier. @HutEighteen seeks to bring together technical and non-technical practitioners on same platform. It further aims to uncover new and innovative ways of conducting hybrid or information warfare. “The IW network would strive to build the network and relationships of those working in the diverse field to counter the disruptive techniques”, said Colonel Caroline Woodbridge-Lewin—Head of the Information Warfare Group at the Defence Academy, the UK.
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The US Air Force to conduct an IW ‘flag’ in Spring 2021

To counter growing threats from Russia and China, the United States Air Force (USAF) will be conducting an Information Warfare (IW) ‘flag’ in Spring 2021 at a training facility at Playas, New Mexico. The USAF exercises are known as flags. The flag will be a unique war drill in which fighter jets will not be involved, but it will consist of newly created Cyber-Warfare team. In 2019, the USAF created a new IW unit named 16th Air Force. The first-of-its-kind unit integrates multisource intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, cyber warfare (CW), electronic warfare (EW), and information operations (IOs) capabilities across the conflict continuum to ensure that the Air Force is fast, lethal, and fully integrated into both competitions and in war, according to the USAF Spokesperson.
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