Indian Defence Review

Trump’s Swinging Diplomatic Stands: How does it Affect India?

In the meeting of US President Trump with Russian President Putin in July 2018 in Helsinki, immediately after organizing Football World Cup, Putin seems to have scored a diplomatic goal over Trump in context of US accusations of Russians muddling in their elections. On return to Washington, under pressure from his...

Republic Day Parade 2019 – Chief Guest Donald Trump

Going by media reports, US President Donald Trump has been invited by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to be the Chief Guest at the Republic Day Parade 2019. The news says that the invite is learnt to have been sent a few months back, which probably was formal follow up to what Modi had said at the White House in June 2017...

Helsinki Summit: Global and Regional Implications

Indians should be pleased with the outcome of the Helsinki summit between Russia and the US as that resolves some of the major security dilemma faced by India. The problem was that while we wish to improve relations with the US, yet we would like to keep going our long term defence ties with Russia that have stood the...

Trump’s Swinging Diplomatic Stands: How does it Affect India?

Republic Day Parade 2019 – Chief Guest Donald Trump

Helsinki Summit: Global and Regional Implications

Surface Air Defence Missile Systems – Potent and Relevant

Air is increasingly the medium for launch of offensive operations as it offers the advantage of inter-continental range, short-notice employment, high speed of delivery, high accuracy of weapons with low collateral damage and concentration of fire power. Ground based AD weapons have to take on satellite-based weapons,...

Tejas Delayed – is it by design?

Media reports, Tejas, the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) has missed yet another deadline of getting its final operational clearance (FOC) by June 2018, 35 years after approval of the LCA project in 1983 This is after several revisions and repeated declarations by the government that FOC will be given by June...

Empowered Committee – evaluating rifles, carbines?

On July 3, 2018 media reported that Ministry of Defence (MoD) had sent a team of military experts headed by a Brigadier to five countries to scout for rifles and carbines. The nine-member “Empowered Committee” reportedly left on June 30 for the Australia, Israel, South Korea, United Arab Emirates and the US. They...

Coming - Another Kargil Anniversary

Come July 26, India will celebrate Op ‘Vijay’ Diwas; another anniversary synonymous with the date of culmination of the Kargil Conflict during 1999. There will be wreath laying at Amar Jawan Jyoti at India Gate, and much bigger ceremony to pay homage at the Kargil War Memorial at Dras in J&K in presence next of kin...

Situation in Kashmir is improving with every passing year

Nitin Pai, Director of the Takshashila Institution, an independent centre for research and education in public policy, has recently written an opinion piece on Kashmir titled, “What Kautilya would have prescribed for the Kashmir problem.” The piece has been carried by The Print on 30, June, 2018 and subsequently by...

The unbearable stench of ‘Tukde-Tukde’ Gang

Recently, at a function in a university in Kashmir, some students displayed deliberate disdain of the national anthem. These young boys ensured that nobody rose in respect when the national anthem was played. This was condoned by a segment of intellectuals, who dubbed it as misdemeanor of the youth. The same...

Maiden Ground Run of First Green ALH Dhruv Mk-III for Indian Coast Guard

HAL Conducts Maiden Ground Run of First Green ALH Dhruv Mk-III for Indian Coast Guard; First Time A Contract with ICG on PBL Support The first green helicopter earmarked for Indian Coast Guard has completed its build with installation of basic systems and had a successful maiden ground run here today. It was handed over...

LCA Tejas: Time to go Indigenous?

By placing an order for 123 LCA Tejas Mk1/1A and a commitment for the Mk-2 variant, the IAF has encouraged indigenous production of combat aircraft. This time, the IAF must not kill indigenous combat aircraft design capability the way it did after the HF-24 Marut project. The LCA Tejas project may have numerous flaws,...

Russian Helicopters overhauled 6 helicopters of the Indian Border Security Force

Russian Helicopters Holding Company (part of Rostec State Corporation) delivered six Mi-17-1V helicopters to the Border Security Force of the Republic of India. The helicopters were overhauled at Novosibirsk Aircraft Repair Plant (NARP). “NARP performs activities associated with the repair and overhaul of Mi-8/17...

The Kargil War: Indian Army’s Victorious Feat is Unparalleled in Annals of...

‘‘I have confidence in the ability of our armed forces. The armed forces shall accomplish this task and ensure...

Better Civil-Military Relations Needed for Improved Security of Indian State

Only a diehard optimist would expect that India’s elected representatives would find the time to reflect on national...

Kargil: India’s first Televised War

‘Their’s not to reason why’ The Kargil conflict, India’s first televised war, more than anything else, reinstated the Indian Army to its rightful status in the public minds of being the finest fighting force in Asia, after the by-then fading images from the bad dream that was Sri Lanka. But that doesn’t mean that whatever happened that made this war necessary was an inspiring...

Post-Doklam, China and India work to Manage Bruised Ties

The Chinese yen for order and harmony is visible across Kunming city and throughout southwestern Yunnan province, which borders Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam and India’s Northeast. Wide, well laid out, clean roads, flanked by wind-and solar-powered streetlights and rows of spanking...

Pakistan has a record of Murky Elections; This will be no different

It is important to recall the history of elections in Pakistan, given that Pakistanis will go to the polls on July 25 to elect a new government. The loaded question is: will it be Pakistan’s people or its all-powerful military which will decide who assumes power after the...

Yumemania continues

I often mentioned Yume (or Yumai or Yumed) the tiny hamlet, north of the McMahon Line (Upper Subansiri district of Arunachal Pradesh), on this blog. Since it was adopted by President Xi Jinping through a letter to two sisters living in Yume, yuans have been pouring. In fact, it...

India and the United States: A Delicate Balance

These are the bad days for the Indo-US relations. Some of the recent decisions by the Donald Trump Administration have complicated matters for India. The bad health of the relationship is not necessarily due to the sudden cancellation of the first two-plus-two dialogue — between their foreign and defence ministers — in Washington on July 6. Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman and external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj were supposed to be...