Indian Defence Review

Fifth Generation Fighters and the IAF

The capability of any modern fighter is usually way ahead of its predecessors, especially so if it is replacing decades-old planes such as the MiG-21 and the MiG-27. This is even more applicable to the leader of the pack of six of the world’s best fighter jets. Other air forces in the neighbourhood are also acquiring...

Israel under the Iron Dome - Should India Seek Cover?

The ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict has once again brought into sharp focus the technological disparities between the two adversaries. Although there are news reports indicating use of UAVs by Hamas, most of these are unconfirmed. It could be very much possible that these were rudimentary aero-models with explosive...

The Gaza Debate: A View Point

The Rajya Sabha had been pressing for a debate on the Gaza action of Israel, and with overwhelming pressure, including by threatening to forestall all other discussions in the Rajya Sabha, they were able to pressure an unwilling government to debate the issue. …India will now not sacrifice or de-recognize Israel for...

The Gaza Debate: A View Point

Know Yourself and Your Enemies

Two books titled ‘Deception – Pakistan, The United States and the Global Nuclear Weapons Conspiracy’ by Adrian Levy and Catherine Scott- Clark and ‘Military Inc.- Inside Pakistan’s Military Economy’ by Ayesha Siddiqa are valuable reading for scholars of national security and indeed all those responsible for...

Impact of Talibanisation

The most serious implication of this onward march of the Taliban has been the radicalisation of Pakistan’s armed forces. As the armed forces draw their manpower from the same society, its composition is bound to reflect the biases of the society. General Musharraf, after two assassination attempts, did try to cleanse...

Fifth Generation Fighters and the IAF

Why not have ‘Technical Support Division’ at the Army Corps Level?

The essence of successful conventional defensive battle is in maintaining elasticity and cohesion; thereafter debilitating the enemy’s combat power to the danger zone of exhaustion and over-reach, then in launching own counter-offensive after minimum pause or by use of the ‘indirect approach’ offensive stratagem...

Raising FDI in Defence is not enough

FDI in the Defence Sector has been hiked from erstwhile 26 percent to 49 percent when the Finance-cum-Defence Minister recently announced the Defence Budget amounting to 2.29 Lakh Crores ($38.5 billion) for Financial Year 2014-2015. …analyzed why the 26 percent FDI limit until now barely attracted less than $5 million...

Israel under the Iron Dome - Should India Seek Cover?

Drone Terrorism

Media recently reported the arrest of four persons in Varanasi for filming the ‘Ganga Aarti’ using drone cameras at the Dashashwamedh Ghat without permission. The arrest was possible because the cam-copter was observed hovering in the vicinity. These four persons reportedly belong to Mumbai, Chandigarh, Delhi and...

Kargil: Ours must live, enemy must die!

Even as the nation readies itself to pay homage to the extraordinary bravery displayed by the young officers and the men of the Indian Army during the Kargil conflict, the lessons thrown up raise many questions that reflect the political and the military leadership in poor light. The infiltration by Pakistanis and...

Finmeccanica – Selex ES’s mini and micro UAVs see success in tests

Finmeccanica – Selex ES’s ASIO-B and SPYBALL-B UAVs have passed their factory acceptance tests, leaving them ready for delivery to the Italian Army for its Forza NEC modernisation programme. With the systems ready to be welcomed into operation, the Italian Army will soon be able to benefit from the effective support...

FDI in Defence: Dispelling the Myths

India should adopt a flexible FDI policy to import much needed technologies which cannot be mastered through indigenous efforts in the acceptable time frame. Unfortunately, every time the issue of increasing FDI limit comes up, the opponents resort to their time-tested subterfuge of raising the bogey of security...

Lenco announces successful Blast Test of BEAR Troop Transport Armored Vehicle

Lenco Industries, Inc., the global leader in the design and manufacture of armored police vehicles, announces successful underbody and side blast testing of the BEAR® 17-man Troop Transport Armored Vehicle designed for Military and Government personnel and International Security Forces operating in hostile...

Battle of Hajipir Pass 1965

The cease-fire of January I, 1949 ended the First Kashmir War but did nothing to improve the relations between Pakistan and India. Kashmir remained the bone of contention. Nehruji offered a no war pact to Pakistan. Pakistan said that such a pact could only be signed after an honourable solution of the Kashmir issue....