Author: Defenceline Webdesk

Chennai-based ePlane Company has confirmed plans to begin commercial production of its electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft in 2028, with an initial manufacturing capacity of 80 units per year.The company is focusing first on air ambulance variants, supported by a $1 billion order from ICATT, before expanding into air taxi and cargo operations.The ePlane Company, incubated at IIT-Madras, has already completed its first full-scale prototype of the e200X and is conducting ground tests, with flight trials scheduled between July and August. Certification of the aircraft is targeted for late 2027, a crucial milestone before mass production begins. The company…

Today on The Diplomat’s Asia Geopolitics podcast hosts Ankit Panda (@nktpnd) and Katie Putz (@LadyPutz) take stock of U.S. Asia policy at the midpoint of 2026, discussing the recent renaming of INDOPACOM and last month’s Shangri-La Dialogue. What are the perception of U.S. Asia policy among regional players amid recurrent distractions caused by conflicts in the Middle East and the uncertain future of China-U.S. relations? You can subscribe to The Diplomat’s Asia Geopolitics podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify; and watch the episode on YouTube. Source link

The India–US bilateral trade agreement is now in its final stage, with negotiators working on the last 1–2 per cent of the legal text. US Ambassador Sergio Gor has confirmed that Washington wants to work “hand-in-hand” with New Delhi, recognising India’s rise and emphasising that the next two years will define the partnership for decades.President Donald Trump remains fully committed to the deal, which is expected to unlock a $500 billion trade target and expand cooperation across technology, defence, and supply chains.United States Ambassador to India Sergio Gor on Monday highlighted the imminent breakthrough in the bilateral trade pact during…

At the start of the rainy season a unique cultural practice takes place in northeastern Thailand and throughout Laos: the bung bang fai (merit fireworks) festival. The centuries old tradition has existed as a pre-Buddhist fertility ritual since before the 9th century CE, with the rocket element thought to have started when black powder was introduced to the region from China. The rockets are launched to implore the god Phaya Thaen to bring rain at the start of the agricultural season. In its contemporary iteration, locals in small villages and regional cities put on numerous bun bang fai festivals in…

India is moving to dramatically expand its strategic fuel reserves after the Persian Gulf crisis, aiming to cover up to a month of domestic demand with crude, LPG, and LNG.Current reserves cover only about eight days of imports, but new underground caverns and gas storage projects are planned to raise capacity to at least 120 million barrels of crude and introduce long-term LPG and LNG buffers.India has decided to build strategic reserves of crude oil, liquefied petroleum gas and liquefied natural gas large enough to meet as much as a month of domestic demand. This initiative comes in response to…

WASHINGTON — Seeking an infusion of fresh tech talent, the Pentagon and the Office of Personnel Management are launching a program they’re calling War Force to hire hundreds of “exceptional software engineers” for two-year stints in the Defense Department, the two agencies announced this morning. War Force builds on the government-wide Tech Force program, which seeks to hire at least a thousand “elite” engineers for two-year tours with a variety of agencies, including Defense. But War Force will be dedicated solely to DoD. The hundreds of engineers it aims to hire will be in addition to Tech Force’s 1,000, a…

Sri Lanka’s investigation into the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks, under the National People’s Power (NPP) government, has moved into the intelligence services. A few years ago, this would have been unimaginable. The arrest of former State Intelligence Service Director Major General (retd.) Tuan Suresh Sallay for his suspected role in the Easter terrorist attacks, forces Sri Lanka to confront the security architecture that expanded during the civil war, survived the postwar transition, and often operated beyond public scrutiny. From Security Failure to State Suspicion During the first few years after the attacks, many Sri Lankans believed that the Easter attacks…

The strategic partnership between India and the United States is experiencing a marked surge in confidence, with senior officials signalling that a long-anticipated bilateral trade pact is nearing completion.Alongside this, collaboration in artificial intelligence, semiconductors, defence manufacturing and supply chain resilience is intensifying.This consensus was articulated during the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum Leadership Summit, where government representatives, legislators and corporate leaders described the bilateral dynamic as entering a new chapter defined by technological integration, capital flows and shared strategic alignment.US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor confirmed that discussions on the bilateral trade package have advanced to their final stage. He…

Ruiz, We Are The Mighty When John F. Kennedy was president, he delivered commencement addresses at the U.S. Naval Academy, U.S. Military Academy, and Air Force Academy. Source link

WASHINGTON — A gambit by House GOP leaders to tie the annual National Defense Authorization Act to a controversial voter restriction bill turned into a political quagmire this afternoon when 14 Republicans voted with Democrats to block the measure from being brought to the floor. Lawmakers voted 198-224 against a procedural measure — known as a “rule”— that would have allowed debate to begin on the fiscal 2027 NDAA, but which would have combined the defense bill with the SAVE America Act after passage and before being sent to the Senate. The failed vote essentially stalls movement on the House’s…