The Indian Navy warship INS Kolkata successfully rescued 21 crew members, including one Indian national, from the Barbados-flagged bulk carrier MV True Confidence after a maritime incident in the Gulf of Aden. The vessel was reportedly hit by a missile from Yemen’s Houthi militants, resulting in three deaths and several people injured. 

The incident happened on Wednesday, approximately 55 nautical miles (101 km) southwest of Yemen’s port city Aden. The crew, facing imminent danger, sought refuge in a life raft as the INS Kolkata, deployed for maritime security operations in the Gulf of Aden, sped to the scene.

#IndianNavy‘s swift response to Maritime Incident in #GulfofAden.

Barbados Flagged Bulk Carrier MV #TrueConfidence reported on fire after a drone/missile hit on #06Mar, approx 54 nm South West of Aden, resulting in critical injuries to crew, forcing them to abandon ship.… pic.twitter.com/FZQRBeGcKp

— SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) March 7, 2024

Commander Vivek Madhwal, a Navy spokesperson, provided details of the operation, stating that the INS Kolkata arrived at 4:45 pm and swiftly executed the rescue using its integral helicopter and boats. The crew, including the critically injured, received essential medical aid from the ship’s medical team.

Following the successful rescue, all 21 crew members, along with the injured personnel, were evacuated to Djibouti on the same day. 

The incident comes amidst growing global concerns regarding attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea, particularly by Houthi militants. 

Over the past few weeks, the Indian Navy has been actively involved in extending assistance to various merchant vessels in the Western Indian Ocean following similar attacks. 

Ranveer Singh recently attended Anant and Radhika’s extravagant pre-wedding gala. The actor appeared in a new avatar, sporting long hair, a moustache, and a beard. Despite trying to keep his new look under wraps, it was quite evident when he was seen performing at Ambani’s pre-wedding celebrations, captivating the audience with his energetic performance on the song Malhaari.

Fans are buzzing with speculation that Ranveer’s new look might be for his upcoming film, Don 3 alongside Kiara Advani. The film is said to be directed by Farhan Akhtar and produced by Ritesh Sidhwani under the banner of Excel Entertainment. Ranveer’s appearance at the event has only fueled anticipation for the film, as fans eagerly await more details about his role and the movie’s storyline.

 
Ranveer aingh performing at jamnagar♥ï¸ÂÂÂÂÂ�🔥 pic.twitter.com/YV97GLp5fx

— fatiim (@fatiim_9RS) March 6, 2024

The actor who was last seen in Rocky aur Rani Kii Prem Kahani, will next be seen in Singham Again, directed by Rohit Shetty.

The pre-wedding celebration of Anant and Radika was held in Jamnagar and witnessed the presence of numerous celebrities and industrialists. Bollywood stars including Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Shah Rukh Khan, Ranbir Kapoor, Salman Khan, and Aamir Khan graced the event with their performances. Singers such as Rihanna, Akon, Shreya Ghosal, Arijit Singh, and Diljit Dosanjh also mesmerised the audience with their captivating performances.

The geopolitical landscape is facing unprecedented changes and today nations have shown the willingness to use hard power, the Chief of Army Staff, General Manoj Pande, said at the maiden NDTV Defence Summit today.

The Army chief said the centrality of national interest and the growing salience of national security in the international system are distinctly visible. Today Nations have shown willingness to resort to the use of heart power to secure their interest. A situation of return to conflict to achieve political and military objectives., adding that “While conventional warfare has gone under changes, emerging technologies today are not central only to rich nations. Disruptive technology is transforming warfare.” 

Asymmetry In Warfare

Access to modern technologies is not limited to superpowers but non-state actors can access such technology. The asymmetry in conflict has increased the risk of a fallout with an increased propensity of risk-taking behaviour to initiate a low-threshold armed conflict, the army chief said.

General Pande said, “Our legacy challenges of unsettled borders continue and newer threats in the spectrum of conflict have added complexity and the grey zone actions and aggressions from adversaries are manifesting across domains – Land, sea, and air.”

Army’s Vision For Future

General Pande stressed the fact that we need to secure our national interest and the focus should be on possessing capabilities that require continuous progression. Highlighting the vision of the Army, the COAS said, the Indian Army, a large land-based force, has to transform into an agile, future-ready force that can operate in a multi-domain environment and have synergy with other forces. These elements are important for the force to be future-ready.

The Army Chief said, “Swadeshikaran (indigenisation) se sashaktikaran (empowerment)” is a work in progress. All sectors have a crucial role to play. It is essential to develop core competencies.

Aatmanirbharta or self-reliance in defence manufacturing and procurement has been a vision as well as a goal of governments. The Indigenous defense industry is critical for war-fighting capability. The Army Chief said the disruption in the supply chain in the Russia-Ukraine conflict has highlighted how wars can disrupt in supply of technology and weapons and it also entails the risk that nations may not transfer critical technology. To pursue our aspirations, self-reliance is important and sustenance of the existing ones is necessary too. 

The transformational nature of war hybridization of threats and the emergence of cyber war has brought the focus on the development of safeguarding platforms with technology.

Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Cyber biotechnology, and space – It is essential to harness these technologies and use them in defense, the Army Chief said, adding that our technological prowess has been a driver for global tech. The government has taken initiatives to promote an effective ecosystem in the country that enables simplification of industry in licensing, foreign investment, and Research and Development projects. The establishment of defence corridors and others are such steps.