India successfully tests smart anti-airfield weapon
New Delhi, Aug 19 : India has successfully test-fired indigenously designed and developed long-range precision-guided anti-airfield bomb that was dropped from an Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft, the Defence Ministry said on Sunday.
The Smart Anti-Airfield Weapon (SAAW) system was successfully tested at the Chandan firing range in Rajasthan. A total of three tests with different release conditions were conducted from August 16 to 18, a defence spokesperson said.
"The weapon system was integrated with live warhead and destroyed the targets with high precision. The telemetry and tracking systems captured all the mission events. All the mission objectives have been achieved."
The 120-kg class smart weapon is capable of destroying ground targets using precision navigation up to a range of 100 km. It is capable of destroying runways, bunkers, aircraft hangers and other reinforced structures.
The guided bomb is considered to be one of the world-class weapons systems, developed by state-run Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in collaboration with the IAF and the Research Centre Imarat (RCI).
The bomb, which is said to have higher precision and much cheaper compared with missiles, can be carried on IAF's various aircraft like Jaguar and MiG.
The weapon has so far undergone eight developmental trials and performance of the system for different ranges under multiple launch conditions has been demonstrated.
Senior officials from DRDO, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) and the IAF participated and witnessed the flight tests.
Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman congratulated the DRDO, IAF and HAL on the successful tests for further boosting the defence capabilities of the country.
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'Someone must be held accountable': HC converts civil suit on Goa nightclub tragedy into PIL
Panaji (PTI): The Bombay High Court on Monday converted a civil suit against Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub into a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) saying "someone has to be held accountable" for the tragedy in which 25 people were killed.In a stern observation, Goa bench of the High Court of Justices Sarang Kotwal and Ashish Chavan said the local panchayat had "failed to take suo motu cognisance" of the club and had taken "no action despite complaints."
The division bench directed the Goa government to file a detailed reply on the permissions granted to the nightclub.
The High Court, while fixing January 8 as the next date of hearing, pointed out that commercial operations were continuing in the structure despite it having been served a demolition order.
The original petition was filed after the December 6 tragedy by Pradeep Ghadi Amonkar and Sunil Divkar, the owners of the land on which the nightclub was operating.
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Advocate Rohit Bras de Sa, the lawyer representing the petitioner, was made amicus curiae in the matter and has been asked to file a detailed affidavit in the matter.
In their petition, Amonkar and Divkar highlighted "the alarming pattern of statutory violations that have remained inadequately addressed despite multiple complaints, inspections, show-cause notices, and even a demolition order".
They contended that these violations posed "immediate threats to public safety, ecological integrity, and the rule of law in the state of Goa."
Investigations by multiple agencies into the nightclub fire have revealed various irregularities, including lack of permissions to operate the nightclub.
The Goa police arrested five managers and staff members of the club, while co-owners Gaurav Luthra and Saurabh Luthra have been detained in Thailand after they fled the country.
