The August 2013 Sindhurakshak and the February 2014 Sindhuratna submarine tragedies are stark reminder of the absence of a deep submergence rescue vessel in Indian Navy. Since the first accident occurred on the harbor, the navy was saved from the responsibility to perform mid sea rescue. Though the Indian Navy possesses one vintage submarine rescue system which is capable of rescuing the crew at depths less than 150 metres, the requirement for the present era… Read More »DSRV for Indian Navy

If it were not for the tragic nature of the situation in which the Ordnance Factories Board and by extension the Artillery Regiment of the Indian Army find themselves it would be comic. After the Bofors scam brought artillery to a near standstill in the country the immaturity of the political classes in India held the nation to ransom for the better part of a quarter century till the fine performance of the weapon during… Read More »Howitzer Acquisition

India has paid a heavy price in human lives both on its borders as well as in the internal security situation to mines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) deployed by the Pakistan army on the borders and the Line of Control and by its agents in various crowded localities all over the country. There could be some respite and a great psychological turnaround in counter-insurgency operations in the device created by a laboratory of the… Read More »Mine detection

These days there is an increasing interest in underwater surveillance systems both for military and non-military applications. There seems to be an increasing fear of saboteurs and terrorists going underwater to reach their vicious goals. Locations to be protected may be naval bases, sensitive installations connected with offshore oil-and gas production and transport, nuclear power plants etc. Also concern about the pollution status of the subsea environment is creating a demand for monitoring of this… Read More »Maritime surveillance

For the Indian Army the benchmark for communications appears to have fixated to scenario of the terrorist attack in Mumbai in 2008 with the basic tools for operations-the Tactical Communications System and the Battlefield Communications System-absent from the network. It is some small consolation that each of the three Services -Army, Navy and Air Force-have their own networks that have reasonable levels of safety incorporated but talk of jointmanship is more fiction than reality. Jointmanship… Read More »Radio communication

Well before the government came out with enhanced FDI policy of 49 percent limit for multinational companies in defence sector, some of the leading Indian private defence players had formed alliances with the foreign partners to take part in India’s US$ 4 billion artillery modernization program. The foreign partners would have preferred to directly sell their guns to India, but considering the new offset laws under which there is compulsion to source 30 to 50… Read More »Private industry in defence

Military transport aircraft are vital workhorses for modern armies but everything about the acquisition of the Boeing C-17 Globemaster heavy transport aircraft by India through the US Foreign Military Supplies route was tinged with hurry. The Indian Air Force selected the aircraft in June 2009. In February 2011 the IAF and Boeing agreed to terms for the sale of ten aircraft with option to buy six more later. The Cabinet Committee on Security approved the… Read More »Transport aircraft

The process for the finalization of the contract for the acquisition of 126 combat aircraft under the MMRCA (Medium, Multirole Combat Aircraft) tender by sealing the deal with Dassault Aviation whose Rafale fighter had emerged a winner by overtaking the five other rivals seems to be acquiring “some speed” . As it is, for more than two years now, the finalization of the deal has been affected from one uncertainty to another over the issues… Read More »Kaveri engine

The extraordinary combat duty performed by the American Predators and the Reapers in the Af-Pak arena have fascinated the Indian armed forces, who therefore have projected to the MoD combat role and requirements for them in the future. The three services have conveyed to the Integrated Headquarters of the Ministry of Defence the requirement of unmanned combat aerial vehicle and its future employment strategy on the borders. Though the Indian DRDO inspired by the Predators… Read More »UCAVs in battlefield

Camouflage is a mind game that makes you believe that you are not seeing something that is there before your eyes. The modern-day stealth technology is an exercise in visual deception that has evolved considerably since the first hunter found a way to get close enough to his prey to hurl his spear to be able to ensure that he and his cave mates will have dinner on the table. Camouflage techniques have played a… Read More »Modern camouflage