1. President Droupadi Murmu undertook a sortie in LCH Prachand

President Droupadi Murmu undertook a sortie in the indigenous Light Combat Helicopter Prachand at Air Force Station Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. The President said that we are extremely proud of our country's brave air warriors and described LCH Prachand as a powerful symbol of Atmanirbhar Bharat.

2. Secretary of Defence Production meets Under Secretary of Defence of Italy

Sanjeev Kumar, Secretary, Defence Production, held a meeting with Matteo Perego di Cremnago, Under Secretary of State for Defence, Italy. He also met Admiral Giacinto Ottaviani, National Armaments Director of Italy. The discussions reviewed ongoing India–Italy initiatives, industrial collaborations, and respective policy frameworks guiding defence industry engagement. Both sides agreed to further enhance cooperation by leveraging the complementary strengths of their defence industrial ecosystems.

3. Guyana delegation visits HAL

A high-level delegation headed by Dharamkumar Seeraj, High Commissioner of Guyana to India, along with Brian Tiwarie, CEO – JAGS Aviation, Guyana, and Bhushan Kumar, CFO – JAGS Aviation, visited Hindustan Aeronautics Limited on February 25. The delegation met Dr D K Sunil, CMD, HAL; Barenya Senapati, Director (Finance), HAL; and Ravi K, Director (Operations), HAL, and discussed strengthening collaboration with JAGS Aviation and expanding HAL’s footprint in Guyana and neighbouring regions.

A static display of ALH Mk III, LUH, and LCH was organised, followed by a briefing on HAL’s capabilities and operational performance. The team appreciated HAL’s capabilities and showed keen interest in the Dhruv NG helicopter. A customer demo flight of Dhruv NG was also conducted.

4.  Chief of Army Staff meets the Indian High Commissioner

G. Balasubramanian, High Commissioner of India to the Republic of Maldives, met with General Upendra Dwivedi, Chief of the Army Staff. They discussed ways and means of deepening the India–Maldives strategic partnership, reviewed the evolving regional security landscape, and explored avenues to further strengthen defence and diplomatic cooperation between the two nations.

5. Shield AI tests Hivemind software on YFQ-44A aircraft

Shield AI, the deep-tech company building state-of-the-art autonomy software products and aircraft, on 26 February announced that its mission autonomy software, Hivemind, completed its first flight test aboard Anduril Industries’ YFQ-44A aircraft.

The flight test builds on the United States Air Force’s recent selection of Shield AI as a mission autonomy provider for its Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) programme, following a competitive evaluation to support Technology Maturity and Risk Reduction (TMRR) efforts.

During the flight test over the Mojave Desert, Shield AI’s Hivemind completed all required test points to demonstrate full integration and mission autonomy aboard Anduril’s YFQ-44A aircraft, including handling mid-mission updates and initial operational behaviours. The rapid achievement of these objectives opens the door to expanded testing of mission autonomy behaviours with Hivemind and YFQ-44A in support of the CCA programme.

Chakra Desk

Chakra News is a specialised digital media platform committed to in-depth coverage of India’s defence, national security, geopolitics, and critical technologies.