Indian Defence Review

Ladakh Standoff: Beijing’s Muscle-Flexing Backfires

Many views are being expressed regarding the disengagement of Indian army and Peoples Liberation Army [PLA] from Gogra Heights-Hot Springs area near Patrolling Point-15 [PP 15] in Eastern Ladakh. While hawks see this move as a retrograde step that’s impinging on India’s territorial integrity, the fact of the matter...

Putin’s Folly: The Long Road to Self-Destruction

Ever since President Putin ordered the occupation of Ukraine in a ‘Special Military Operation’ this February, he has been at the receiving end of a stream of bad news. Neither were the Russian Armed Forces welcomed with open arms, as they had expected, nor were they able capture Kiev and force a regime change, as...

Pakistani Taliban is a Volcano waiting to Erupt

Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in June this year declared an indefinite ceasefire to facilitate peace talks being brokered by the Afghan Taliban. But there have been regular clashes between TTP and Pakistan security forces since then, despite both sides confirming that the truce is still on. Recently, questions were...

Ladakh Standoff: Beijing’s Muscle-Flexing Backfires

Putin’s Folly: The Long Road to Self-Destruction

Pakistani Taliban is a Volcano waiting to Erupt

Rightsizing the Army

Media reports of July 2022 stated that existing manpower shortages in the Armed Forces are as follows: Army – 7779 officers and 1.08 lakh soldiers; Navy – 1446 officers and 12,511 soldiers, and; Air Force – 572 officers and 5,151 airmen. This cumulatively totals up to manpower deficiency in the Indian Military to...

Role of the Armed Forces in Preserving the Nation

As India completes 75 years of independence, it also creates a new landmark in 5000-year-old history of India. If we count the period under British imperial rule (1857 to 1947), then India (most of it) has remained one political entity for 175 years. This is an unprecedented event in Indian history. Going back to...

DRDO successfully test fires indigenously developed laser-guided ATGMs

Indigenously developed Laser-Guided Anti-Tank Guided Missiles (ATGM) were successfully test-fired from Main Battle Tank (MBT) Arjun by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Indian Army at KK Ranges with support of Armoured Corps Centre & School (ACC&S) Ahmednagar in Maharashtra on August 04, 2022....

Indian Army’s Unmatched Resilience

While the nation was celebrating ‘Azadika Amrit Mahotsav’ [grand celebration of Freedom’s Nectar] to commemorate India’s 75th Independence Day, on the icy heights of Siachen Glacier, an Indian army patrol recovered the mortal remains of Lance Naik Chandra Shekhar Harbola, of 19 Kumaon Regiment which was the...

Targeted Killings: Kashmir Fights Back!

Wednesday’s killing of three Pakistan backed Lashkar-e-Taiba [LeT] terrorists [including self-styled LeT commander Lateef Rather] in the Waterhail area of Budgam district in Central Kashmir is indeed a major success for the security forces and J&K police. What makes this operation all the more special is that despite...

Yasin Malik: Kashmir’s Most ‘Artful Dodger’

From an ordinary public event disruptor to waging Pakistan sponsored armed insurrection in J&K [in the course of which he was actively involved in killing security forces personnel and innocent civilians alike], Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front [JKLF] chief Yasin Malik has not only come a long way. What’s really...

Thales Alenia Space to lead EROSS IOD, On-Orbit Servicing project

European Horizon programme will deploy advanced space robotics to support sustainability in space by enabling satellites’ life extension and life enhancement to reduce space debris Thales Alenia Space, the joint venture between Thales (67 %) and Leonardo (33 %), and its Partners have been chosen by the European...

Two Cheers To INS Vikrant

India has the dubious reputation of being the largest importer of conventional arms (SIPRI Yearbook). Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, heading a committee to suggest improving India’s self-reliance quotient, assessed our SRI (Self Reliance Index) to be 30% only (1993) and suggested a road map to improve it to 70% by 2005....

INS Vikrant: The First Indigenous Aircraft Carrier

INS Vikrant is designed by Indian Navy’s in-house Warship Design Bureau (WDB) and built by Cochin Shipyard Limited, a Public Sector Shipyard under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways, Vikrant has been built with with state of the art automation features and is the largest ship ever built in maritime history of...

Battle of Dograi: Reminisces of a War Veteran

Like all infantry officers, Captain [later Colonel] Harendra Kumar Jha who was commissioned in ‘Third Battalion of...

Taliban is Islamabad's Redline; Avoiding it and Relations with New Delhi will...

The India and Afghanistan Friendly Relations Recently, the Government of India sent its Foreign Ministry...

Bangladesh Foreign Policy in the Context of South Asia

Ever since the people of the world learnt the need for homogeneity –be it cultural, linguistic, religion, tribal of for the necessity to band together and felt the need to acknowledge the existence of a world beyond their own, diplomacy has been playing a role either as a friend or foe. I would argue that regardless of the size or the economic strength of a country practice of democracy...

Pakistan’s ‘Terrorist Hunting’ Season

When it comes to any terrorism related issue, Pakistan insists on taking the high moral ground and never tires of repeatedly reminding the world about its participation in the most extensive war against terror in history. And herein lies the paradox because ever since 2018, the...

Polity at War with National Security

The Bengal police recently arrested two BSF personnel for alleged rape of a 23 year old woman. She was apprehended while attempting to cross the border from India to Bangladesh. Strangely, the accused duo comprised a Sub Inspector and a jawan. This kind of partnership between a...

Pakistan-TTP Ceasefire on Thin Ice

One third of Pakistan is under flood waters on an unprecedented scale; over 1100 lives have been lost, half a million displaced and 33 million affected. Pakistani Army Chief General QJ Bajwa has appealed to the world for aid though internally he may be happy that the IMF has...

A Commentary on the Tejas Programme (based on the DRDO’s recent book- Radiance in the Indian Skies: The Tejas Saga)

Several years ago, Air Marshal Rajkumar (PR) and Mr. Srikanth (BRS) had written a smaller book with a similar sounding name. Though the present book “Radiance in the Indian skies: The Tejas Saga” is authored by Air Marshal Raj Kumar and Mr Srikanth, this present avatar of the book appears to be an effort by DRDO to explain the Tejas Aircraft Project, its achievement and its delays. Just for that the book is welcome. The criticism of...