India Reports New BMD Phase-III Interceptors

1 January 2026National

Reports indicated India began developing two new interceptors under Phase-III of its Ballistic Missile Defence Programme, designed to counter hypersonic weapons, MIRVs and non-ballistic atmospheric-entry vehicles.

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DRDO's DLRL Develops Man-Portable ELINT Modules to Detect Enemy Radars and Counter Drones

The Defence Electronics Research Laboratory (DLRL), Hyderabad, under DRDO, has begun developing man-portable Electronic Intelligence (ELINT) modules for radar identification, electronic warfare, emitter localisation and counter-drone operations. The system uses antennas and receivers to capture signals across frequency bands, with digital signal processing and machine learning separating overlapping emissions and identifying radar signatures. It continues a run of DRDO 2026 announcements that includes armour panels about 20% lighter than existing systems, which resist 30 mm armour-piercing ammunition and meet STANAG 4569 Level 6 protection for future main battle tanks, light tanks and Future Infantry Combat Vehicles, developed by R&DE(E), Pune.

GK ByteDRDO was established in 1958 and functions under the Department of Defence Research and Development, Ministry of Defence, with headquarters at DRDO Bhawan, New Delhi | ELINT stands for Electronic Intelligence and is a branch of signals intelligence (SIGINT) dealing with non-communication electronic emissions such as radar | STANAG is a NATO Standardization Agreement; STANAG 4569 defines protection levels for occupants of armoured vehicles

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GK ByteEmbraer is headquartered at Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil, and is among the world's largest commercial aircraft makers after Airbus and Boeing | The C-390 Millennium is a twin-engine medium military transport aircraft that also performs aerial refuelling | India's Defence Acquisition Procedure 2020 governs capital defence procurement under the Ministry of Defence

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Air Chief Marshal AP Singh Flies His Final Sortie in an HJT-16 Kiran at the Air Force Academy, Dundigal

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GK ByteThe Air Force Academy at Dundigal, near Hyderabad, was established in 1969 and trains cadets for the IAF's flying and ground-duty branches | HJT stands for Hindustan Jet Trainer; HAL was founded in 1940 at Bangalore as Hindustan Aircraft Limited | The Indian Air Force was formed on 8 October 1932 and its motto is 'Nabha Sparsham Deeptam'

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GK ByteExercise AUSTRAHIND was first held in 2022 at the Mahajan Field Firing Ranges in Rajasthan | Australia's capital is Canberra and its currency is the Australian Dollar | Other India-Australia military exercises include the naval AUSINDEX and the multilateral Malabar exercise, which Australia rejoined in 2020

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