India conducts secret test of submarine-launched K-4 nuclear-capable missile

Nuclear-capable ballistic missile K-4 was test-fired from nuclear submarine Arihant, both of which have been ingeniously developed.

In a major step towards completing India’s nuclear triad, nuclear-capable ballistic missile K-4 was test-fired from nuclear submarine Arihant, both of which have been ingeniously developed, officials said on April 13, 2016. Former Indian Navy chief Admiral Arun Prakash (retd) called it a “major step”, but said Arihant needs to be armed with a missile of inter-continental range, which is a missile with above 5,000 km range. The K-4 has a range of 3,500 km.

The test was conducted secretly last month and kept under wraps with the Defense Research and Development Organization refusing to comment on it officially. Admiral Arun Prakash called it a major step towards completing the nuclear triad. “It is a major step towards attaining inter-continental range deterrence to make full use of Arihant,” he told IANS. “We need a missile of about 5,500 km range, then it will enable the submarine to be anywhere in the Indian Ocean and still be a threat to the targets,” he said. “This is major step but not he ultimate target,” the former navy chief said. Sources told IANS that the test was conducted on March 31 from Arihant in the Bay of Bengal, and it was successful.

The DRDO was, however, tight-lipped over the test. The K-4 is part of the K-family of missiles, a series of submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBM), named after former president and scientist A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. The missile can carry a warhead weighing up to 2 tonnes and is powered by solid rocket propellant. The missile was developed specifically for Arihant, as the nuclear capable Agni-III could not be compacted to fit in the submarine. Arihant has a 17 metre diameter hull. K-4, along with the smaller K-15 Sagarika, another ingeniously developed nuclear capable missile, will arm Arihant, the submarine, which will complete India’s nuclear triad. Arihant has four vertical launch tubes, which can carry 12 K-15 missiles or four larger K-4 missiles.

sorce : http://www.india.com/education/india-tests-n-capable-k-4-missile-from-arihant-1568627/

Indo-Russian BrahMos 2 to be ready for flight testing by 2017

The first prototype of the hypersonic BrahMos 2 cruise missile being jointly developed by Russia and India will be ready for flight testing in 2017, an official said.

Russia and India have recently agreed to develop hypersonic BrahMos 2 missile capable of flying at speeds of Mach 5-Mach 7.

"I think we will need about five years to develop the first fully-functional prototype (of the hypersonic missile). We have already carried out a series of lab tests at the speed of 6.5 Mach," said Sivathanu Pillai, chief executive officer of the Russian-Indian joint venture Brahmos Aerospace.

Pillai said the new missile will be made in three variants: ground launched, airborne and sea launched.

He said the new missiles will be supplied only to India and Russia, without exports to third countries.

Established in 1998, BrahMos Aerospace Ltd, a Russian-Indian joint venture, currently manufactures BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles based on the Russian-designed NPO Mashinostroyenie 3M55 Yakhont (SS-N-26).

The BrahMos missile has a range of 290 km and can carry a conventional warhead of up to 300 kg. It can effectively engage targets from an altitude as low as 10 metres and has a top speed of Mach 2.8, which is about three times faster than the US-made subsonic Tomahawk cruise missile.

Sea and ground-launched versions have been successfully tested and put into service with the Indian Army and Navy.

The flight tests of the airborne version will be completed by the end of 2012.

The Indian Air Force is planning to arm 40 Su-30MKI Flanker-H fighters with BrahMos missiles.

sorce : http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/brahmos-2-to-be-ready-for-flight-testing-by-2017/1/202747.html

Two more regiments of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile jointly developed by Russia and India will be inducted into the Indian Army within approximately two weeks, Indian Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar said.

NEW DELHI (Sputnik) – The country’s army already possesses three regiments of the Block III version of BrahMos missiles. The induction of new missile regiments is expected to boost India's air defense capabilities. "The process of induction of two more regiments [of BrahMos missile] in the Indian Army is in the final stage and within 15 days, these regiments will be inducted in Indian Army," Parrikar was quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India news agency on Thursday. Sukhoi T-50 PAK FA Prototype © Flickr/ Mario Sainz Martínez Russian-Indian PAK FA May Be Armed With BrahMos Cruise Missiles BrahMos, a word combining Brahmaputra and Moskva, is a short-range supersonic missile, which has been in manufactured by the Indian Navy since 2005. The missile has a range of 180 miles and can carry a conventional warhead of up to 660 pounds. On Monday, head of the Russian-Indian BrahMos Aerospace enterprise, Sudhir Mishra, announced that a BrahMos cruise missile may be installed on a Fifth-Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) being jointly developed by Moscow and New Delhi.

Read more: https://sputniknews.com/asia/201604011037324740-russia-india-brahmos-missile/

K-4 मिसाइल का सीक्रेट टेस्ट ऐसा करने वाला दुनिया का 5th देश बना भारत

फिर पूरी दुनिया को चौंकाया भारत ने, उठाया बेहद ताकतवर कदम, चीन, अमेरिका, यहां तक कि रूस भी सतर्क

एक बड़ी कामयाबी हासिल करते हुए भारत ने परमाणु हथियारों को ले जाने में सक्षम के-4 मिसाइल को अरिहंत पनडुब्बी से लांच कर सफल परीक्षण किया। सबसे खास बात यह है कि के-4 मिसाइल और अरिहंत पनडुब्बी दोनों को स्वदेश में ही विकसित किया गया है। के-4 की रेंज 3,500 किलोमीटर है, साथ ही यह दो हजार किलोग्राम गोला-बारूद अपने साथ ले जाने में सक्षम है। बंगाल की खाड़ी में अज्ञात जगह से मिसाइल को लॉन्च किया गया।

के-4 मिसाइल का नाम पूर्व राष्ट्रपति एपीजे अब्दुल कलाम के नाम पर रखा गया है, जिसमें के-4 मिसाइल का कोड नेम है। मिसाइल की कामयाब लॉन्चिंग के साथ ही भारत पानी के भीतर मिसाइल दागने की ताकत रखने वाला दुनिया का पांचवां देश बन गया है। इससे पहले ये तकनीक अमेरिका, रूस, फ्रांस और चीन के ही पास थी। मिसाइल के सफल परीक्षण से भारत के परमाणु हथियार कार्यक्रम को और ज्यादा मजबूती मिलेगी। इसके साथ ही भारत ने जमीन, हवा और पानी के भीतर से लंबी दूरी की न्यूक्लियर मिसाइल दागने की क्षमता विकसित कर ली है। के-4 बैलेस्टिक मिसाइल को पानी के भीतर 20 फीट नीचे से भी दागा जा सकता है।

आइएनएस अरिहंत पनडुब्बी को एक बार में चार के-4 मिसाइल से लैस किया जा सकता है।  के-4 मिसाइल को डिफेंस रिसर्च एंड डेवलपमेंट ऑर्गनाइजेशन यानी डीआरडीओ ने विकसित किया है। अब डीआरडीओ के सीरीज की तीन और मिसाइलों को विकसित करने पर काम कर रहा है। अगले कुछ साल में सेना, एयरफोर्स और नेवी को के-4 की सेवाएं हासिल हो सकेंगी।

रक्षा विशेषज्ञों का मानना है कि के-4 मिसाइल, अग्नि-3  मिसाइल के मुकाबले कई गुना बेहतर है, क्योंकि परमाणु सक्षम मिसाइल अग्नि-3 इस पनडुब्बी के लिए मुफीद नहीं है, जबकि के-4 मिसाइल को खास तौर पर आईएनएस अरिहंत पनडुब्बी के लिए ही विकसित किया गया है। पूर्व नौसेना प्रमुख एडमिरल अरुण प्रकाश (सेवानिवृत्त) ने इसे एक बड़ा कदम करार दिया है, लेकिन उनके मुताबिक जल्द ही अरिहंत को 5000 किलोमीटर से ज्यादा रेंज की अंतर प्राद्वीपीय मिसाइल (इंटर बैलेस्टिक मिसाइल) से लैस करने की जरूरत है, ताकि यह पनडुब्बी भारतीय समुद्र के किसी भी हिस्से में अपने लक्ष्य के लिए खतरा साबित हो सके।

अंतर्राष्ट्रीय दबाव की वजह से के-4 के परीक्षण को पिछले दिनों गुप्त रूप से किया गया और रक्षा अनुसंधान व विकास संगठन (डीआरडीओ) ने आधिकारिक रूप से इस बारे में कोई टिप्पणी नहीं की है। फिलहाल यह परीक्षण पूरी तरह कामयाब रहा। दावा किया जा रहा है कि यह मिसाइल सिस्ट‍म बेहद खतरनाक है और दुनिया में अपने किस्म का पहला है।

मीडिया रिपोर्ट्स के अनुसार टेस्ट टू स्ट्रैटेजिक फोर्सेज कमांड और डीआरडीओ के अधिकारियों की देखरेख में यह परीक्षण पिछले दिनों बंगाल की खाड़ी में किया गया। मिसाइल को पानी के 20 मीटर नीचे से दागा गया। लक्ष्य को भेदने से पहले मिसाइल ने 700 किमी की दूरी तय की। यह मिसाइल 3500 किमी दूरी तक के लक्ष्य को भेद सकता है।

मीडिया रिपोर्ट्स के मुताबिक, एक टेस्ट आंध्र प्रदेश के विशाखापत्तनम तट से 45 नॉटिकल मील दूर समुद्र में किया गया। टेस्ट के दौरान डमी पेलोड का इस्तेमाल किया गया। विशेषज्ञों के अनुसार के-4 मिसाइल को अभी दो और तीन बार और ट्रायल से गुजरकर विकसित होना है ताकि इसे सेना में शामिल किया जा सके। इससे पहले, सात मार्च को इस मिसाइल का डमी टेस्ट फायर किया गया था।

बीते साल नवंबर में अरिहंत से के-15 मिसाइल के प्रोटोटाइप का भी कामयाब टेस्ट हुआ था। के-15 , के-4 का छोटा वर्जन ही है। बाद में इसका नाम बदलकर B-05 कर दिया गया। यह अब सेना में शामिल किए जाने के लिए तैयार है। डीआरडीओ अब के-5 मिसाइल वि‍कसित कर रहा है, इसकी रेंज 5000 किमी होगी, जिसमें चीन के भीतरी हिस्सों में अपने लक्ष्य को भेदने की क्षमता होगी।

पिछले दिनों ही भारत ने किसी भी बैलेस्टिक मिसाइल हमले को बीच में ही नाकाम करने में सक्षम इंटरसेप्टर मिसाइल का सफलतापूर्वक परीक्षण कर लिया था, अब सबमरीन के क्षेत्र में के-4 के सफल प्रक्षेपण से भारत की रक्षा पंक्ति मजबूत हो गई है, लेकिन अभी भी हमें इस पर बहुत सुधार करने की जरूरत है क्योंकि अमेरिका की सबसे ताजा न्यूक्लियर नोटबुक “बुलेटिन ऑफ दि एटोमिक साइंटिस्ट “की एक रिपोर्ट के अनुसार अगले एक दशक यानी 2015 तक पाकिस्तान दुनियां की पांचवी सबसे बड़ी परमाणु शक्ति होगा। 2025 तक पाकिस्तान के पास करीब 350 परमाणु हथियार हो जाएंगे, वर्तमान में पाकिस्तान के पास 120 जबकि भारत के पास भी लगभग 100 हैं। फिलहाल विश्व में सबसे ज्यादा परमाणु हथियार अमेरिका और रूस के पास है।

के-4 की ऑपरेशनल रेंज 3500 किमी, लंबाई-12 मीटर, चौड़ाई-1.3 मीटर, वजन-17 टन, ढोए जा सकने वाले आयुध का वजन 2000 किलोग्राम है।

http://www.bhaskar.com/news-ht/UT-DEL-HMU-NEW-india-successfully-tests-ballistic-nuclear-missile-k-4-with-3500-km-away-5298967-PHO.html?seq=1

http://newbuzzindia.com

Moderate coffee drinking may reduce death risk

Drinking two to three cups of coffee daily may reduce your risk of death from heart disease, diabetes and suicide, researchers including those of Indian-origin have claimed. 

In the study, people who regularly drank moderate amounts of coffee daily - less than 5 cups per day - experienced a lower risk of deaths from cardiovascular disease, neurological diseases, Type 2 diabetes and suicide. 

The benefit held true for drinking caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee, suggesting it is not just the caffeine providing health perks but possibly the naturally occurring chemical compounds in the coffee beans. 

"Bioactive compounds in coffee reduce insulin resistance and systematic inflammation," said Ming Ding, the study's first author and doctoral student at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts. 

"They might be responsible for the inverse association between coffee and mortality. However, more studies are needed to investigate the biological mechanisms producing these effects," said Ding. 

The findings are based on data from three large ongoing studies: 74,890 women in the Nurses' Health Study; 93,054 women in the Nurses' Health Study 2; and 40,557 men in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study. 

Researchers assessed coffee drinking every four years using validated food questionnaires and followed participants for up to 30 years. During the follow-up period, 19,524 women and 12,432 men died from a range of causes. 

In general, people who frequently drank coffee were more likely to smoke and drink alcohol. To separate the effects of coffee from smoking, researchers repeated their analysis among never-smokers, and found that the protective benefits of coffee on deaths became even more evident. 

"Regular consumption of coffee can be included as part of a healthy, balanced diet," said senior author Frank Hu, a Professor of Nutrition and Epidemiology at Harvard. 

"However, certain populations such as pregnant women and children should be cautious about high caffeine intake from coffee or other beverages," said Hu. 

The study by researchers, including Ambika Satija and Shilpa N Bhupathiraju, both from Harvard, was not designed to show a direct cause and effect relationship between coffee consumption and dying from illness. So the findings should be interpreted with caution, researchers said. 

Previous studies found inconsistent associations between coffee drinking and risk of total and cause-specific death. The new study adds to the literature that moderate coffee consumption may confer health benefits.

scorce : business standard

Fun Cat Facts for Kids

• Fun Cat Facts for Kids
  
  Check out these fun cat facts for kids. Learn about cats as pets, their unique behavior, how long they sleep and much more.
  Read on and enjoy the wide range of interesting facts about cats and kittens.
  
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• Cats are one of, if not the most, popular pet in the world.
• There are over 500 million domestic cats in the world.
• Cats and humans have been associated for nearly 10000 years.
• Cats conserve energy by sleeping for an average of 13 to14 hours a day.
• Cats have flexible bodies and teeth adapted for hunting small animals such as mice and rats.
• A group of cats is called a clowder, a male cat is called a tom, a female cat is called a molly or queen while young cats are called kittens.
• Domestic cats usually weigh around 4 kilograms (8 lb 13 oz) to 5 kilograms (11 lb 0 oz).
• The heaviest domestic cat on record is 21.297 kilograms (46 lb 15.2 oz).
• Cats can be lethal hunters and very sneaky, when they walk their back paws step almost exactly in the same place as the front paws did beforehand, this keeps noise to a minimum and limits visible tracks.
• Cats have powerful night vision, allowing them to see at light levels six times lower than what a human needs in order to see.
• Cats also have excellent hearing and a powerful sense of smell.
• Older cats can at times act aggressively towards kittens.
• Domestic cats love to play, this is especially true with kittens who love to chase toys and play fight. Play fighting among kittens may be a way for them to practice and learn skills for hunting and fighting.
• On average cats live for around 12 to 15 years.
• Cats spend a large amount of time licking their coats to keep them clean.
• Feral cats are often seen as pests and threats to native animals.

ANIMAL FACTS

Animal Facts

Enjoy our wide range of fun animal facts for kids. Children will love reading the crazy, cool, strange, weird, odd and funny information as well as did you know facts and other interesting animal info that will help them learn a thing or
two along the way. Learning about animals is great fun. Whether it’s endangered African animals, sea animals, wild animals or pets, there are so many amazing types of animals that each have their own characteristics and behaviors. Living in all parts of the world, these animals include cats, dogs, insects, birds, sharks, gorillas, frogs, cheetahs, giraffes, elephants, horses, sharks and many more.

SCIENCE KIDS

Enjoy our fun science facts for kids. Learn interesting earth facts, amazing chemistry facts, cool space facts, funny facts about animals and much more. Did you know that the ears of a cricket are located on its front legs? Or that sound travels 4 times faster in water than it does through air?

Science is a fascinating subject with many amazing things to learn and discover. Thankfully you've got a lot of time to research, the average human only sleeps for about 35% of the day compared to 80% for armadillos and sloths, now that's lazy! Read on to find more fun science facts and trivia while remembering that as society and technology develops so too does our understanding of science and the world around us. What is ‘fact’ today may be disproved tomorrow.

TV soaps may kill your love life: Study

Know why your love life sucks? Blame it on those “family action-packed” TV serials your partner watches every evening.

According to a new study, love is an ingredient lacking in some of our favourite TV sitcoms and those who watch such shows have a more cynical view on love and romance.

People who watch sitcoms regularly tend to have less of a belief in the idea of soulmates and lasting love.

“But viewers who tune into reality shows, like dating ones, have a greater tendency to be romantic and believe in the idea of true love,” researchers from University of Michigan said.

The study looked to prove how influential, even subconsciously, TV can be on a person’s belief system.

“Sitcoms, unlike dating shows, paint a flawed view of love. Rarely do relationships last on such shows and when they do, they are far from perfect,” researchers added.

The study was published in the journal Psychology of Popular Media Culture.
source : the inidian express