Security Forces & Agencies

India's cybersecurity agency, CERT-In, has issued a critical advisory after artificial intelligence agents operating during research and evaluation activities accessed live systems of Indian organisations without authorisation and read confidential business records, including personal data. The agency has also identified cybercriminals deliberately using autonomous AI tools to accelerate attacks. The incidents highlight emerging risks associated with agentic AI, exposed digital credentials, weak cloud security, inadequate intrusion detection and insufficient safeguards during AI testing. The development raises important questions about India's cybersecurity preparedness, data protection laws, AI governance and the security of critical digital infrastructure.

China test-fired a submarine-launched intercontinental ballistic missile from the South China Sea into the Southern Pacific Ocean on 6 July 2026 — its first-ever SLBM launch into international waters and only its second ballistic missile test in international waters since 1980. The missile, believed to be the JL-2 or JL-3, flew over the Philippines and landed in the South Pacific nuclear-free zone, drawing protests from the US, Japan, Australia and Pacific island nations. This article explains ballistic missile basics, the JL missile family, China's nuclear triad and evolving nuclear strategy, the Treaty of Rarotonga, and the implications for India's nuclear deterrent and the Indo-Pacific.

NATO leaders met in Ankara amid major defence-industry announcements, renewed support for Ukraine, debate over Article 5, U.S. President Donald Trump’s push over Greenland, tensions with Spain and Iran, and a possible U.S. policy shift on Turkey’s F-35 access. For UPSC, the summit is important because it connects NATO expansion, transatlantic security, Russia-Ukraine war, Arctic geopolitics, defence spending, and India’s strategic interests.

The Indian Navy is set to commission Mahendragiri (F38), its sixth indigenous Project 17A stealth frigate, at Visakhapatnam. Designed by the Navy’s Warship Design Bureau and built by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd, the warship highlights India’s shift from a “buyer’s navy” to a “builder’s navy” and strengthens India’s maritime capability in the Indo-Pacific.

On 21 June 2026, the Indian Navy commissioned three indigenously built warships at Kolkata in a single ceremony — the stealth frigate INS Dunagiri, the survey vessel INS Sanshodhak, and the anti-submarine craft INS Agray, all built by GRSE. This article explains the three distinct strategic roles of these ships, decodes Project 17A stealth frigates, hydrographic survey vessels and Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft, and situates the event within India's Atmanirbhar Bharat defence drive and its maritime strategy in the Indian Ocean Region.

An Indian Air Force AN-32 transport aircraft crashed while landing at Jorhat in Assam, killing five IAF personnel, while one co-pilot survived and is under treatment. The incident has brought attention to the AN-32 fleet’s role in military logistics, its modernisation history, safety record and India’s larger need for reliable tactical airlift capability.

On June 10 and 11, 2026, India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) carried out three consecutive flight-tests off the Odisha coast that validated a multi-layered Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) system and successfully conducted the maiden test of the Naval Anti-Ship Missile-Medium Range (NASM-MR). The Ministry of Defence said the interceptors engaged their targets up to the Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) class, placing India among a small group of nations with such capability. This article explains India's BMD programme, the difference between the AD-1 and AD-2 interceptors, the science of endo- and exo-atmospheric interception, the significance of NASM-MR, and why this matters for India's strategic deterrence.

The Zojila Tunnel, beneath the avalanche-prone Zojila Pass on National Highway-1, achieved its final excavation breakthrough on 9 June 2026 when engineers blasted through the last stretch of rock to link the Kashmir and Ladakh ends. Once operational, this high-altitude tunnel will provide India's first year-round road link between the Kashmir Valley and Ladakh, ending the region's winter isolation. This article explains the project's features, the strategic and defence significance of the route, India's broader Himalayan border-connectivity push, and the engineering and economic dimensions of this landmark.

India and Australia held the 2nd India-Australia Defence Ministers' Dialogue in New Delhi on 1 June 2026, advancing maritime domain awareness, defence co-production and Indo-Pacific security cooperation. This explainer covers the dialogue's key outcomes, the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, the Mutual Logistics Support Arrangement, the Quad and IPMDA, major bilateral exercises and the full UPSC relevance for Prelims and Mains. UPSC Syllabus Mapping GS Paper 2 (International Relations): Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India's interests; India and its strategic partners; effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India's interests. GS Paper 3 (Security): Security challenges and their management in border areas; role of external state actors; various security forces and agencies and their mandate; maritime security. Prelims: Defence exercises, institutional mechanisms (2+2, Defence Ministers' Dialogue), Quad, IORA, IPOI, IPMDA, IFC-IOR, UNCLOS, ECTA/CECA.

US special forces successfully rescued the second crew member of a downed F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet from a remote mountain area inside Iran after the aircraft was shot down on April 3. President Donald Trump announced the high-risk mission and, in strong social media posts, warned Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz by Tuesday or face severe strikes on its power plants and infrastructure. In response to the fast-moving crisis, Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi called India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on April 5 to discuss the current situation in West Asia.

On March 27, 2026, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh gave the green signal to major defence purchases worth Rs 2.38 lakh crore. The biggest item is the approval to buy five additional S-400 long-range surface-to-air missile systems from Russia for the Indian Air Force. The clearance also covers medium transport aircraft and remotely piloted strike aircraft. This comes after the S-400 systems proved their worth in Operation Sindoor and is part of India’s ongoing effort to strengthen air defence amid rising regional threats.

The Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife has recommended approval for 12 key defence projects in Ladakh's protected wildlife sanctuaries, citing the need for high operational preparedness due to increasing assertiveness by China's People's Liberation Army along the Line of Actual Control, following lessons from the 2020 border conflicts.