NEW DELHI — India will soon swap out its Prithvi ballistic missile for the newly developed Prahar missile as part of the Indian army’s ongoing transformational efforts. The Prithvi I missile, with a strike range of 150 km (93 mi.), will be “soon phased out” and replaced by the solid-propelled Prahar missiles,which are “more advanced, more competent and more accurate,” an official at India’s Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) tells Aviation Week.

NEW DELHI — In the first contract awarded to an Indian company to support its CH-47F Chinook, Boeing has chosen precision components maker Dynamatic Technologies Ltd. to supply aft pylon and cargo ramp assemblies for the tandem-rotor helicopter. The Indian air force (IAF) has opted for the CH-47F over the upgraded Russian Mi-26T2 to fulfill its requirement for 15 heavy-lift helicopters.

NEW DELHI — The Indian space agency’s Mars Orbiter Mission is on target to lift off in the third week of October. “The Mars mission is getting ready at our Satellite Centre in Bengaluru [in southern India],” says Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) Chairman K. Radhakrishnan. “We are planning to start stacking [the launch vehicle] from July 29, and the launch will be any day from Oct. 21 from the spaceport at Sriharikota.” Following the launch, the mission is expected to take eight months to reach Mars.