NEW DELHI — India’s defense minister has directed the country’s army to restructure its acquisition procedures to improve oversight and speed purchases. On April 2, Defense Minister A.K. Antony met with top army officials led by service chief V.K. Singh to complete various proposals related to acquisition and procurement of equipment for the service.

Not that long ago, the number of nations wielding sea-based airpower seemed to be headed inexorably downward. Today, the reverse is true.

NEW DELHI — Indian engineering company Larsen & Toubro (L&T) Ltd. and South Korean defense firm Samsung Techwin Co. are joining forces in a bid to build self-propelled artillery guns for the Indian army. According to an announcement made at the DefExpo 2012 here, the two companies have formed a joint venture to compete for the Tracked Self-Propelled Artillery Program.