Defence Weekly Current Affairs Quiz: 14–20 September 2026

The answer is two. At the Bengaluru ceremony the Air Force received five aircraft in total, and the split is what the question turns on: two Tejas twin-seat trainers at Final Operational Clearance standard, plus three HTT 40 basic trainers. Candidates who remember only the total of five will get this wrong.

The fourth number in the story belongs elsewhere. Four Dhruv helicopters of the Next Generation variant went to Pawan Hans Limited, a civil operator, not to the Air Force. That is also why two ministers attended, one holding Defence and the other Civil Aviation. A clean way to hold all of it is as three pairs: two Tejas trainers, three HTT 40 trainers, four Dhruv NG helicopters, with the first two going to the Air Force and the third to Pawan Hans.

The correct answer is Sri Lanka. SLINEX is the bilateral maritime exercise between the navies of India and Sri Lanka, and the Ministry of Defence has described SLINEX-26 as its 13th edition, held at Visakhapatnam from 17 to 21 September 2026. The name itself carries the answer: SL for Sri Lanka, IN for India and EX for exercise. The Sri Lankan side is represented by SLNS Sindurala, while India has fielded INS Kavaratti and INS Jyoti.

Singapore, Thailand and the Maldives do not take part in SLINEX. The release names only two navies, the Indian and the Sri Lankan, and presents the exercise as a way of strengthening the maritime partnership between India and Sri Lanka, so options A, C and D are wrong. When a question gives you the name of an exercise, decode it first, because many bilateral exercise names are built from the initials of the partner countries.

The correct answer is Hawk Mk132. The Ministry of Defence says the Suryakiran Aerobatic Team flies nine distinctive red-and-white Hawk Mk132 aircraft, licence-manufactured in India by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). These jets have also been modified in India with smoke pods that produce coloured smoke, which let the team paint the sky in saffron, white and green.

HAL Tejas, Kiran Mk II and Pilatus PC-7 are aircraft names that often appear as distractors in defence questions, but the release names none of them as the aircraft of SKAT, so options A, C and D are wrong. When you revise, link the team to its aircraft and the aircraft to its manufacturer: Suryakiran, Hawk Mk132, HAL. Also note the number of aircraft in the display, nine, because SKAT is known as the only nine-aircraft aerobatic team in Asia.

The correct answer is Cochin Shipyard Limited, Kochi. The Ministry of Defence stated that the keel laying ceremony of the first ship of the Indian Navy's Next Generation Missile Vessel project was held at Cochin Shipyard Limited in Kochi on 18 September 2026, with Vice Admiral Sanjay Sadhu, Controller of Warship Production and Acquisition, as the Chief Guest. The contract for construction of the NGMVs had been concluded with Cochin Shipyard Limited in March 2023, so the same yard that holds the contract also laid the keel.

The other options name shipyards that the release does not connect with this ceremony. Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders in Mumbai, Garden Reach Shipbuilders in Kolkata and Hindustan Shipyard in Visakhapatnam are not mentioned anywhere in the Ministry's statement on this event, and attributing the NGMV keel laying to any of them would be incorrect. For the examination, the pairing to memorise is straightforward: NGMV project, first ship, Cochin Shipyard Limited, Kochi, 18 September 2026.

The correct answer is the Centre for Joint Warfare Studies, commonly abbreviated as CENJOWS. According to the Ministry of Defence, the Combined Operational Review and Evaluation Programme 2026 was organised by Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff and conducted by CENJOWS, concluding at the Manekshaw Centre in New Delhi. Candidates should keep the two roles distinct, because questions often test which body organised an event against which body conducted it.

The other options name institutions that the release does not connect with this programme. The National Defence College, the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses and the Defence Research and Development Organisation are all well known in the defence sphere, which is precisely what makes them effective distractors here, but none of them is mentioned in the Ministry's statement on the CORE Programme. Fix the pairing in memory as HQ IDS organised, CENJOWS conducted, Manekshaw Centre hosted.

The correct answer is Women's 10m Air Rifle. On 20 September 2026, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Sonam Uttam Maskar, Elavenil Valarivan and Vidarsa K Vinod on winning the silver medal in the women's 10m air rifle event at the Asian Games 2026, and credited the result to hard work and teamwork. Later the same day Elavenil added an individual silver in the same discipline.

The other three options are genuine shooting events, which is what makes them look plausible, but none of them is the event named in the Prime Minister's message. The women's 10m air pistol, the 25m pistol and trap are separate events, and the releases of that day record no Indian medal in them. Remember the pattern of 20 September instead: both medals mentioned came in the women's 10m air rifle, first in the team event and then individually.

The answer is Pawan Hans Limited. The ceremony had two recipients, and separating them is the whole point of the question. Military trainers, the Tejas twin-seaters and the HTT 40s, went to the Indian Air Force. The four Dhruv helicopters of the Next Generation variant went instead to Pawan Hans Limited, which runs civil helicopter operations.

That division explains the guest list. Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh attended for the defence side and Shri K Rammohan Naidu, the Minister of Civil Aviation, for the civil side. The other options name forces that do operate rotary-wing fleets, which makes them plausible, but none of them figures in this handover. Remember the recipient alongside the aircraft type and the question becomes straightforward.

The correct answer is INS Kavaratti. The Ministry of Defence lists two Indian ships in SLINEX-26: INS Kavaratti, an indigenous Anti-Submarine Warfare Corvette, and INS Jyoti, the Fleet Tanker. INS Kavaratti also hosted the opening ceremony and the reception for the visiting Sri Lankan crew at the start of the Harbour Phase.

INS Jyoti is taking part, but as the fleet tanker, a support ship rather than an anti-submarine warship, so option A is wrong. SLNS Sindurala is not an Indian Navy ship at all; it represents the Sri Lanka Navy in the exercise, which rules out option C. INS Vikrant is not among the ships the release names for SLINEX-26, so option D is also incorrect. A common trap in such questions is to mix up the ships of the two navies, so note the prefix each name carries: INS for India and SLNS for Sri Lanka.

The correct answer is 1996. According to the Ministry of Defence, SKAT was established in 1996 and holds the distinction of being the only nine-aircraft aerobatic team in Asia. Over its 30-year journey it has performed more than 800 displays in India and abroad, including international air shows in China, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Singapore, the UAE and Dubai.

1982 is earlier than the year the ministry gives, while 2002 and 2011 are later and would not fit a team that has now completed 30 years, so options A, C and D are wrong. A quick check helps with questions like this: the release speaks of a 30-year journey up to 2026, which points back to 1996. Pair the founding year with the team's two headline distinctions, Asia's only nine-aircraft aerobatic team and the Ambassadors of the Indian Air Force.

The correct answer is March 2023. The Ministry of Defence release states that the contract for construction of the NGMVs was concluded with Cochin Shipyard Limited in March 2023. The keel laying of the first ship then took place on 18 September 2026, so candidates should keep the two dates separate: the contract date marks the order, while the keel laying date marks the formal start of construction on the slipway.

Option C, September 2026, is the month of the keel laying ceremony rather than of the contract, and it is the most likely confusion in this question. Options B and D give years that the release does not associate with the NGMV contract at all. Examiners frequently test exactly this distinction between the year an order was placed and the year construction began, so note both dates together along with the yard, Cochin Shipyard Limited, and the ministry concerned, the Ministry of Defence.

The correct answer is Defence, External Affairs and Home Affairs. The release states that the five-day programme brought together senior officers from the three Services along with officials from the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Home Affairs, for deliberations on contemporary and emerging national security challenges.

The combination matters because the programme's stated purpose was to strengthen inter-departmental coordination and inter-agency jointness, and these are the three ministries whose remits meet on national security: military, diplomatic and internal. The other options each swap in a ministry the release does not mention, such as Finance, Commerce or Science and Technology. Note alongside this the phrase the deliberations reinforced, a Whole-of-Nation approach to national security, which is the kind of formulation examiners like to quote directly.

The correct answer is second. In his message on X, the Prime Minister congratulated Elavenil Valarivan on the silver in the women's 10m air rifle individual event and noted that it was her second medal of the day, which made it even more special. Her first medal that day was the silver she won in the women's 10m air rifle together with Sonam Uttam Maskar and Vidarsa K Vinod.

Option A is wrong because the team medal came first, so the individual silver could not be her first. Options C and D are wrong because the releases of 20 September mention only two medals for her that day, the team silver and the individual silver. Examiners like to turn a detail such as this into a question, so remember the full picture: two silvers, one team and one individual, both in the women's 10m air rifle.

The answer is Bengaluru, in Karnataka, where the ceremony took place on 18 September 2026. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited operates from several locations across the country, which is exactly why a question of this kind works as a test: the candidate has to recall the specific venue rather than a general association.

Speaking there, Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh framed the handover as a milestone towards building aerospace capability within the country and towards the technological self-confidence that goes with it. He also pressed for closer work between public sector undertakings and private firms, and asked young scientists and engineers to pursue transformative technologies. Pair the city with the date and the two ministers, and the full set of testable details is covered.

The correct answer is 2005. The Ministry of Defence says SLINEX was conceptualised in 2005 and has since grown into an important forum through which the two navies work on maritime cooperation. SLINEX-26, held at Visakhapatnam from 17 to 21 September 2026, is the 13th edition of the series.

The other years do not match the release. 2001 is earlier than the year the ministry gives for the start of the series, while 2010 and 2014 are later and would make the series younger than it is. A question like this is usually framed around the start year and the latest edition together, so remember both numbers as a pair: conceptualised in 2005, 13th edition in 2026. Also keep the venue and dates of the current edition, Visakhapatnam from 17 to 21 September, since those are asked just as often.

The correct answer is Nashik. The Ministry of Defence describes the smoke pods as a significant indigenous modification to the Hawk Mk132, developed in India at the Indian Air Force's Base Repair Depot, Nashik. The pods produce coloured smoke, so the team can paint the sky in the colours of the national flag: saffron, white and green.

Bengaluru, Kanpur and Chandigarh are not named in the release in connection with this modification, so options B, C and D are wrong. Take care not to confuse two different facts about the aircraft: the Hawk Mk132 itself is licence-manufactured in India by HAL, while the coloured-smoke modification was carried out at the IAF's own Base Repair Depot in Nashik. Questions on indigenisation in defence often ask about exactly this kind of detail.

The correct answer is Nagoya. Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, speaking in the city on 20 September 2026, said the Asian Games had begun in Nagoya, Japan, and that India had a contingent of more than 500 young athletes there. On the same day he led the 91st edition of the Fit India Sundays on Cycle ride at Meijō Park in Nagoya with members of the Indian diaspora.

Hangzhou, Jakarta and Incheon are all Asian cities, which is why they appear as distractors, but none of them is the venue named for the 2026 Games; the ministry's release places the Games in Nagoya, Japan. Host cities of major sporting events are a regular one-liner in general awareness papers, so learn the host city together with the host country, and note the size of India's contingent as well.

The correct answer is Sundays on Cycle. The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports said Dr Mansukh Mandaviya led the 91st edition of Sundays on Cycle at Meijō Park in Nagoya, Japan, on 20 September 2026, bringing the Indian diaspora together to cheer for the Indian contingent at the Asian Games. The ride is organised by the ministry with the Cycling Federation of India, the Raahgiri Foundation and MY Bharat, and more than 6000 NAMO Fit India clubs hold it every week across the country.

The Fit India Freedom Run and the Fit India Plogging Run are different fitness campaigns, and the Khelo India Youth Games is a sports competition rather than a weekly ride, so none of them matches the event described in the release. Options A, C and D are therefore wrong. Note the edition number too, the 91st, since questions sometimes ask for it.