Air superiority is an essential military mission, and will continue to be so for the foreseeable future. Control of the air is not an end of its own, but rather it provides the flexibility and freedom of action central to a full range of military capabilities. From its earliest days in the skies over the battlefields, air superiority has proven itself as an objective of primary importance for all military forces. The maneuverability and lethality… Read More »Unmanned vehicles
For India it took decades of trial and error and competence building on manned target training aircraft to transit to pilotless target trainers to unmanned aerial vehicles. And now India is preparing to deploy indigenous unmanned combat vehicles that will largely close the gap that exists between the country and the leaders in the technology. Those in contact with the Defence Research and Development Organisation since its conversion from the Defence Science Laboratory were afflicted… Read More »India’s UCAVs
Today’s naval aircraft have come a long way from the Wright Brothers’ flying machine. These modern and complex aircraft require a maintenance team that is far superior to those of the past. Other countries look upon the United States as the leader of the free world. This accomplishment comes partly through its military strength achieved through sea power. The ability to fight in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War came directly… Read More »Naval aviation
India is better prepared to deal with any Pakistan tank attack anywhere along its western front than it has ever been. The two major tank battles that the two fought have been on Indian soil. The first one was in Khemkaran (Assal Uttar) in 1965 where the Pattons were decimated by some brilliant generalship by the Indian commander, who flooded the fields and reduced the ultra-modern Pakistani tanks to sitting ducks. The other one in… Read More »Cold Start Doctrine
There is no way that the Government of India can expedite the acquisition of submarines and anti-submarine assets even if it raids the gold filled vaults of the Thirumalai temple for a one-time payment for all it needs. Events are overtaking it at a very swift pace with the Chinese expanding their presence in the Indian Ocean with special emphasis on Sri Lanka. The Government of India has used the diplomatic channel to convey to… Read More »Chinese submarines in IO
The surprising victory of Donald Trump as the next US President elect, defying all expert predictions, has sent the whole world into shock. While some people and world leaders have displayed their surprise and called Trump’s election as a disaster for the West, few segment has cheered his win and are looking forward to his leadership. Though it cannot be denied that Trump gave a tough competition to Hillary Clinton, the Democratic Party Presidential candidate,… Read More »Foreign policy challenges
In view of escalating tension in Yemen, the Gulf of Aden is witnessing a strong surge of rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia and if not timely intervened then it may lead to a naval blockade against Iran in near future. Iran seems to be aware of the situation. Last month, twice and possibly a third time, US Navy ships on patrol in the Gulf of Aden were attacked by sophisticated cruise missiles. The American… Read More »Impact on Gulf of Aden
China is in Africa for economic reasons. China is home to more than 19 percent of the world’s population but only six percent of the world’s land area. More than 500 million Chinese live on less than $2.50 a day. The country must remain on a high growth trajectory in order to raise these people to middle-income status. An annual growth rate of seven percent, considered a bare minimum by China, requires enormous quantities of… Read More »China’s engagement with Africa
The violent clash between border forces of Afghanistan and Pakistan at Torkham crossing may appear to have ended, but it reflects a deep rooted disconnect between these two South Asian neighbors. Though the clashes in Torkham were triggered by the construction of a border post by Pakistan on its side, the border tensions are a symptom of a larger bilateral problem which if not tackled timely may have big and irreparable consequences. Tensions have been… Read More »Pakistan-Afghanistan border
The joint Sino-Pak military patrol in north Jammu and Kashmir is essentially a method of formalizing an annexation of the Gilgit-Baltistan segment of Jammu and Kashmir into a joint ownership arrangement. It has to be read with the rigging of the elections in that portion of the former princely State and the pre-positioning of several thousand Chinese personnel of the People’s Liberation Army in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir for laying the foundations of the road-rail-pipeline Economic Corridor… Read More »China-Pakistan border patrol