Welcome to WARN, Todays top storys are :
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China preparing to send Man to the Moon
CHINA is making �preliminary� preparations
to send a man to the moon, the latest goal
in the country�s ambitious lunar exploration
program.
China in 2003 became the third country to
put a man in space with its own rocket after
the former Soviet Union and the United States.
It has touted its plans for moon exploration
and in late 2013 completed the first lunar
�soft landing� since 1976 with the Chang�e-3
craft and its Jade Rabbit rover.
The country also plans to land the first probe
ever on the dark side of the moon in 2018,
another milestone.
Yang Liwei, deputy director general of China
Manned Space Agency and China�s first man
in space, said it will �not take long�
for the manned mission to the moon to get
official approval and funding, state news
agency Xinhua said late on Tuesday.
The report gave no other details, but such
a trip could still be many years off.
A government official said last year that
China wants to put astronauts on the moon
by 2036, in what state media said was the
country�s first confirmation of a manned
lunar exploration program.
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MoD will place an order for 6 more regiments
of the extended range Pinaka Rocket Launchers
A repeat tender for Pinaka rocket launchers
appears to be in the offing with the Defence
Ministry looking to buy six regiments � one
regiment is 18 systems � of the home-made
weapon system.
Touted as one of the first �create in India�
product, the Pinaka is designed and developed
by two private companies, the Tatas and Larsen
and Toubro (L&T), in association with the
Armament Research and Development Establishment
of the DRDO.
Confirming the development, and the private
entities� wait for the Request for Proposal
(RFP), Jayant Patil, Senior Vice-President
and Head-Defence and Aerospace, L&T, told
BusinessLine, �We expect the commercial
RFP for the next six regiments to be issued
within the coming few weeks.
Thereafter, contracting is likely to be completed
during FY18.�
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Indian Army prepared for a two and a half
front war: Army Chief Bipin Rawat
Chief of Army Staff General Bipin Rawat, in
an interaction with ANI, said that the Indian
Army is well prepared to face external, as
well as internal threats to the country.
Speaking to ANI General Bipin Rawat said,
"Indian Army is fully ready for a two and
a half front war".
The Army Chief added that even though India
is ready for a multi front war there are effective
mechanisms available to defuse an adverse
situation.
"Even the PM has stated that for the last
forty years not even a single bullet has been
fired on the Indo-China border," said General
Rawat.
In a freewheeling conversation with ANI, General
Rawat also informed that a new strike corps,
17 Strike Corps, is being raised specifically
for mountain warfare.
On asking about the delay in its raising Army
Chief said a process as complex as this takes
time.
He said, "It is being raised from scratch.
The recruitments are on.
As it is, to prepare an army soldier it takes
about three years from recruitment process
to training and then orienting and finally
their deployment."
General Rawat went on to discuss modernisation
plans of the Army, saying that the government
is aware of our all needs and is supporting
us in every manner.
"Make in India is a good initiative, it will
give results in two to three years," said
General Rawat.
General Rawat added that all armies across
the world maintain an inventory in the ratio
of the 30:40:30.
Here 30 percent equipment is state of the
art technology, 40 percent is undergoing modernization
and the rest 30 percent is obsolete, which
requires an upgrade.
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Tata Advanced Systems delivers crown and tailcone
for CH-47 Chinook helicopter to Boeing
Boeing and Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL)
announced the delivery of the first crown
and tailcone assembly for the Indian configuration
of the CH-47F Chinook helicopter on Thursday.
Manufactured by TASL in Hyderabad, the parts
will be delivered to Boeing for final assembly
of the 15 helicopters on delivery to the Indian
Air Force, a TASL statement said.
Boeing India president Pratyush Kumar said,
"This delivery is another significant step
in our journey to increase defense capability
and manufacturing capacity out of India with
our strategic partners".
"Tata Advanced Systems has demonstrated its
ability to deliver high-quality components
to the CH-47 Chinook programme on schedule,
which in turn helps Boeing meet commitments
to our customers.
We have clearly invested in leveraging the
full potential of capability that exists in
India to continue delivering greater value
for less cost to our US and international
customers," he added.
"Undertaking the responsibility of complete
manufacture and assembly for Boeing gives
us an excellent opportunity to display our
capability of development and assembly projects
in high technology areas to global quality
standards," said TASL chief executive officer
and managing director Sukaran Singh.
The Defence ministry finalised an order with
Boeing in 2015 for the production, training
and support of 15 CH-47F Chinook heavy-lift
helicopters to enhance India's capabilities
across a range of military and humanitarian
missions.
Deliveries are expected to begin in 2019.
TASL is already delivering crown and tailcones
for CH-47 Chinook helicopters for the US Army
and international customers.
The CH-47F Chinook is the advanced multi-mission
helicopter which is being operated by the
American Army and 18 other defence forces
around the world.
Boeing's network in India includes 35 direct
and 120 indirect suppliers from India that
manufacture advanced and complex components
and sub-assemblies for a range of various
commercial and defense aircraft such as the
787 Dreamliner, 777X, F/A-18, F-15, P-8, CH-47
Chinook and AH-64 Apache.
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HAL scouts overseas partner for Multi-Role
Helo Engines
India's state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics
Limited, or HAL, has floated a global request
for information for the purchase of engines
to power its homemade multi-role helicopter.
"Having designed the helicopter, there is
very little else that HAL has on its table,
except setting up manufacturing facilities.
Even the avionics of the IMRH will be imported,"
said Vijainder Thakur, a defense analyst and
retired Indian Air Force squadron leader,
referring to the Indian Multi-Role Helicopter.
HAL, which is India's sole aircraft and helicopter
producer, is developing the 12.5-ton class
multi-role helicopter with a service ceiling
of about 20,000 feet and a 3,500 kilogram
payload.
The company is aiming to freeze the preliminary
design of its IMRH so it can be built over
the next 18 months.
Safran of France is a preferred HAL partner
for helicopter engines, having visited India
in May 2017 to discuss the requirement, Thakur
said, adding that Ukraine is pitching its
variant of the Mi-17 helicopter engine.
Around 200 of the helicopters are proposed
to be built for use by the Indian defense
forces, including the Indian Navy, Air Force
and Army for tactical troop movement, heliborne
and amphibious assault, anti-submarine warfare,
and anti-surface operations.
An Indian Ministry of Defence official, however,
said HAL cannot go ahead without the support
of and clear visibility from government.
"If support comes from leading foreign origin
equipment manufacturers for engines, landing
gear [and so on], then it would take easily
eight to 10 years" for development, the MoD
official said.
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China rolls out export trainer/fighter aircraft
The first export variant of China's new FTC-2000
pilot trainer/fighter aircraft has rolled
off an assembly line and will be shipped to
Sudan after testing.
The FTC-2000 Shanying was developed by the
Guizhou Aviation Industry Corporation under
the state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation
of China.
It is the main advanced trainer used by the
PLA Air Force and the PLA Navy.
"It can be used for senior training, elementary
combat training and tactical counter-measure
training for fighter pilots," Chinese news
agency Xinhua quoted Hu Jianxing, deputy manager
and chief designer with the AVIC Guizhou Aviation
Industry Corporation.
"And it also has the ability to perform air-to-air
and air-to-ground combat."
The trainer/fighter is a single-engine supersonic
aircraft.
Its maiden flight was on December 13, 2003.
"The domestic version and export version have
the same flying platform," Hu said.
"And both are installed with China's home-developed
WP-13 turbojet engine, which has been tested
for high performance.
"The export version will be installed with
various avionics systems, navigation guidance
systems or external stores tailored for overseas
client's demand for multiple missions."
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CHINA BUILT MYANMAR MILITARY PLANE 'CARRYING
120 PEOPLE' CRASHES
Fifteen passengers have reportedly survived
a plane crash after military aircraft carrying
more than 100 people vanished over Myanmar.
Local media reported 120 servicemen and their
families were board the flight from Myeik
to Yangon when it disappeared on Wednesday
afternoon.
Debris from the aircraft was found near Dawei
following reports the plane had crashed.
Fifteen people are said to have survived.
No information is known on their condition.
The plane went missing at 1.35pm local time
(7:05am UK time) as it flew from Myeik to
Yangon, the country's army said.
A major search and rescue effort has been
scrambled to search for the plane, which was
20 miles west of Dawei over the Andaman Sea
when it lost communication 
and vanished.
