2018 Military Literature Festival was held in __________.

Pakistan Air Force announced that they will observe its retaliatory action against India against the Balakot strike of Indian Air Force as 'Operation Swift Retort'. The Indian air strikes at Balakot terror camp on February 26 was response of Pakistan based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) attack by a suicide bomber in Pulwama that killed 40 CRPF jawans. In response to Indian attack, Pakistan Air Force (PAF) retaliated and captured IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman who was released by Pakistan on March 1.

In a first, the Indian Army on April 25, 2019 began online registration of women for recruitment as soldiers into the military police. The recruitment for 'Soldier General Duty (Women Military Police)' was mooted by the Army Chief General Bipin Rawat soon after he took over the post. The approval for the creation of the post came recently by the Defence Ministry.

The eighth edition of joint military exercise 'Sampriti-2019' between the armies of India and Bangladesh was commenced on 3rd March, 2019, which aimed to increase mutual cooperation and camaraderie with an impressive ceremony in Tangail, Bangladesh.This exercise will be conducted till 15th March as a part of the ongoing India-Bangladesh defence cooperation.The motive behind this exercise is to hone their tactical and technical skills in countering insurgency, counter terrorism and aid to civil authorities for disaster management in an UN peace keeping scenario involving a combined deployment at a battalion level.

A 12-member Indian Army patrol along with a police representative recovered wreckage of a World War II US Air Force aircraft in Roing district of Arunachal Pradesh recently. The patrol located the aircraft debris covered by thick undergrowth and buried under five feet of snow. Its discovery and other warlike stores will definitely lead to revelation of some historical inputs.

An-32 transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) flew with blended bio-jet fuel produced from Jatropha oil, unlocking the possibility of gradually expanding it to the entire service at some point. This has the dual benefit of reducing the carbon footprint as well as usage of fossil fuels. It was flown by highly qualified test pilots from the Aircraft and System Testing Establishment (ASTE). The IAF intended to fly the An-32 with 10% bio-jet fuel at the Republic Day flypast on January 26, 2019. This bio-jet fuel technology was developed by the Indian Institute of Petroleum (IIP) under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in 2009 and tested between 2011 and 2013.

For the 4th consecutive time, the Northern Command based in Udhampur has won the 15th edition of General J J Singh air weapon championship. Between 25th March to 3rd April, the championship was conducted at Army Marksmanship Unit, Mhow in Madhya Pradesh. The objective of the competition was to train young male and female army-officers for effective participation in national and international shooting competitions. More than 100 male and female Indian-Army shooters competed in the 10-metre air rifle and air pistol categories. The winning team bagged the overall inter command championship by clinching "Burma Shell Trophy" after competing against 9 other teams. The winning team also won the women's overall trophy with 1 gold and 3 silver medals individually.

An agreement was signed between Israel Aerospace Industries, Indian Navy and Cochin Shipyard for providing Naval Medium Range Surface to air missile systems to India. The agreement worth of $93 million for provision of Naval Medium Range Surface to Air Missile (MRSAM) systems. As per the contract Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) will provide complementary systems for the air defense system. Indian Navy and IAI held an interception test abroad INS Chennai, which assessed for the first time potential collaboration between ship. IAI will provide complementary systems for the air defense system (ADS) and also involve follow up orders for a range of maintenance and other services for various sub systems of IAI's advanced MRSAM ADS.

Indian Army showcased its artillery firepower by using ultralight Howitzers and indigenous Swathi weapon-locating radar at the annual "Exercise Topchi". The exercise was held at Deolali Camp near Nashik. Aviation and surveillance capabilities were also showcased. There were a showcase of display of rockets, missiles, surveillance, and target acquisition radars, remotely piloted aircraft and hi-tech equipment in addition to gunfire. The precision displayed while delivering the explosives in the target area stunned all those present.

India test-fired Helina, a helicopter-launched version of the Nag anti-tank guided missile, with a hit range of 7-8 km, from the Odisha Coast. Helina was launched from an Army chopper and the weapon system was tested for its full range at 12:55 PM near the Integrated Test Range in Chandipur in the Balasore District of Odisha.Developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Helina is said to be one of the most advanced anti-tank weapons in the world. It is guided by an Infrared Imaging Seeker (IIR)operating in the lock-on-before-launch mode.

Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba commissioned the new Naval Air Base 'INS Kohassa' in Andaman and Nicobar Islands on 24 January 2019. The airbase will be used to handle operations of helicopters and small aircraft like the Dornier. INS Kohassa will be India's fourth air base and the third naval air facility in the Andamans that overlooks key sea lanes of communication and strategic points.