Among the first weapons system not driven by the need to match the Chinese was initiated almost as soon as the Defence Research and Development Organisation transited from being the Defence Science Laboratory to its current over-arching responsibilities. In 1959 a study to assess the feasibility of a first generation anti-tank guided missile was initiated. It did receive a boost after the Chinese aggression of 1962 with an infusion of Rs 6 lakh in the… Read More »Anti-tank missile development

The tank warfare just few years ago was being dubbed as ‘history’ after the invention of military satellite, ISR technologies, unmmaned aerial vehicles and robotic technologies but Russia has once again proved in Ukraine war that tanks are still relevant for 21st century warfare. Suddenly, both Russia and the US are caught in crossfire for developing robotic and most sophisticated tanks for their militaries. While the NATO will go for CV90 Adaptive tank and US… Read More »Modern tactical battlefield

The evolution of multidimensional new age battlefield has rendered the modern MBTs insignificant and vulnerable to attack from air and hence the future battlefield will have an entirely different scenario. To make them play an effective role, the Indian Army recently conducted a multidimensional exercise Drad Sankalp involving the deployment of T-90 MBTs. The MBT’s are used only in cross border offensive missions and defensive role in land warfare. But land warfare in modern battlefield… Read More »MBT in modern land warfare

Any military action requires political will. Does the Bharatiya Janta Party which leads the National Democratic Alliance government at the Centre have the political acumen to be able to present a politico-military response to the continuing creation of new kinds of facilities through the heart of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir connecting China’s Xianjiang Province (and hence the whole of China) with the Pakistani province of Balochistan in the Persian Gulf? Its current flip-flop in foreign policy vis-à-vis… Read More »China-Pakistan infrastructure in PoK

With concerted attempts to make the oceans transparent and the development of technologies that could make the quietest of submarines detectable, India, with its nuclear doctrine predicated totally to the importance of being undetectable will have to reduce its overdependence on a submarine-based nuclear deterrence. The “No First Strike” nuclear doctrine is based on the presumption of the inviolability of secrecy and deployability of India’s nuclear strike capability. The proviso that India would resort to… Read More »Undersea sensors capability

Maritime sovereignty disputes in the region, particularly in the South China Sea, have been a source of tension and a destabilizing factor in the Asia-Pacific region. To translate the vision of “a peaceful and prosperous Community” into reality, ASEAN needs to address internal differences and garner a collective power of unity that pushes for a peaceful and durable solution to the South China Sea issue, such as setting up mechanisms to maintain maritime order and… Read More »South China Sea

High mountain terrain is often inaccessible, uninhabitable or of no apparent value, yet peoples and states still fight to possess it. Long, bloody wars have been fought, and are being fought. Over the past six decaded, high-altitude combat has raged in Africa, Asia, and South America. High altitude and cold weather warfare are specialized military operations that require special training, special gear, and very special troops. Mountains present unique challenges to soldiers and commanders alike… Read More »Fighting tactics

Submarine force is the most vital component of any military and it is the ultimate deterrence against the enemy but if the navy loses its platform and human resources in the midst of a war then it can be a big disaster to overcome. There are dozens of incidents since 19th Century where submarines and crews lost their lives in a critical manner and it ultimately led to innumerous pain and lingering agony, taking decades… Read More »DSRV technology

By dint of constant deployment over decades in the Himalayas in some of the highest battlefields in the world, Indian troops have accumulated significant expertise in difficult terrain warfare. However, the threats to Indian territorial integrity are not confined to mountain warfare. They include the deserts of Rajasthan and Gujarat, the forested mountains of Jammu and Kashmir and the North-east, and the salt-water creeks along the Indo-Pak border and the Indo-Bangladesh border. Each requires clothing… Read More »Terrain warfare

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Act East diplomacy was in full play during his recent visit to Seoul, South Korea. Though the two countries enjoy warm friendly relations since decades and the South Korean economic engagement with India has become so deep rooted that Korean companies have become household names in India , the two countries have only recently begun to realize the strategic potentials of partnership. This is why during Modi’s visit to Seoul, the… Read More »Defence cooperation