Indian Defence Review

New Space and India

Global Space community is eagerly awaiting the upcoming broadband constellations that are likely to redefine the role of space services in digital communications. These new services are expected to drive the digital revolution by bringing in world-wide connectivity and low latency, at an affordable cost. World Space...

More Sparks in the Valley

On June 12, 2019, J&K Governor Satya Pal Malik asked terrorists to give up arms and invited them to hold talks, saying dialogue is the only way through which they can get what they want within ambit of the Constitution. He also said India cannot be made to bow through violence and the problem of militancy exists in...

Hong Kong’s Pro-Democracy Protests also influence China’s Neighbours, especially Taiwan

Protests in 2003 Hong Kong citizens were quite agitated that mainland China ( PRC ) was in the process of bringing out the National Security Act, which was meant as an enablement legislation to frame charges and arrest, or, even arrest for life, citizens on charges of treason, sedition, secession, or subversion. This...

Hong Kong’s Pro-Democracy Protests also influence China’s Neighbours, especially Taiwan

Kyrgyzstan – and India’s Central Asia Connect

India and Central Asia shares ancient and cultural bonds over centuries. History shows that many invaders came to India through Central Asia. This, along with Indian kings establishing empires up to the 800 km Hindu Kush Mountain Range, worked as high-value links between India and Central Asia through the mediums of...

US- Iran Stand Off: Implications of Geography

Escalating Tensions In May this year US terminated its waiver for all nations importing Iranian oil. This has dwindled Iranian oil exports from 2.5 billion barrel per day (bpd) in 2018 May to 400,000 bpd per day this May. In early May this year, citing confirmed intelligence reports of Iran’s threat to its interests...

New Space and India

Time and Opportunity for Radical Rethink on Defence!

It has been a long standing demand/suggestion of many military thinkers like late Lt. General Eric A. Vas and Maj. Gen. Keshav Pendse, that defence and security issues should be part of the planning commission agenda. It is widely accepted that economic development and national security are two wheels of national...

Is Bollywood out of sync with Indian soldiery?

Bollywood has now latched on to surgical strikes and military campaigns as a way to garner popularity and box office successes, having practically exhausted the staple of love stories, song and dance sequences, sex and sleaze. In its long journey, the film industry has neither developed the will nor the capacity to make...

More Sparks in the Valley

Pushing the Red Line: Analysing India’s Response Post Pulwama

Balakot as a target was diligently selected after confirmed intelligence reports of presence of terror camps. Words were carefully chosen to justify the strikes and garner the needed international support. “Non-military” meant that the strikes were not carried on any military targets but on selected terror hubs....

National Security Challenges

The hype created about uncertainty of the outcome of election 2019 has ended with the nation re-imposing its faith in the leadership of Prime Minister Modi and expressing satisfaction with the performance of the government led by him. The new government has been sworn in, is firmly in saddle and has begun its work from...

India’s 5G Network

As the 5G networks begin taking shape world over, medical researchers are raising fears of health hazards from 5G. These include overall adverse effects on health and the DNA, leading to cancer, tissue deterioration and disruption of cell metabolism and the like. But then, medicos also warn of radiation effects because...

Eric Beranger appointed as CEO of MBDA

Eric Beranger is to be MBDA’s new Chief Executive Officer, with effect from 1 June 2019, replacing Antoine Bouvier. Over the past 20 years Eric has worked in a number of senior positions in Airbus Defence and Space, and most lately led Global Communications Company OneWeb. Speaking of the news, Eric Beranger said:...

INS Vela: The Fourth Scorpene Class Submarine

Vela, the fourth Scorpene class submarine being constructed by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited for the Indian Navy, was launched on 06 May 2019, by Mrs Veena Ajay Kumar, wife of Dr Ajay Kumar, IAS, Secretary Defence Production, who was the Chief Guest on the occasion. Vice Admiral AK Saxena, CWP&A was also present...

Lessons from the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meet

Relations between New Delhi and Islamabad have been quite tense for the last five years. The 14 February, 2019,...

Northern Command, Indian Army: Committed in service of the Nation

The Indian Army has a rich legacy of valour and chivalry. The qualities that make the Indian soldier stand apart in...

Space warfare: The aspiration-constraint challenge for India

Media reports indicate that India is organizing its first simulated space-warfare exercise in late July, ostensibly to counter China’s growing capabilities in this hi-technology domain that borders on science fiction. Space warfare conjures up images of satellites and laser weapons in outer space being used to obtain a significant military advantage against an adversary. During the last...

Toward Post Terror Stability in Sri Lanka

A few weeks ago, a security expert who has studied the so-called Islamic State (IS) rightly said to this author, that “Your country was ‘staged’.” While the IS attempted to take credit for the attacks, they do not appear to have been directed by the group. Those who...

India and Pak at the SCO

The recent Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) conference attended by the Prime Minister at Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, dominated headlines mainly because of the cold shoulder given to Pakistan. By Modi refusing to overfly Pak despite having been given clearance was...

China-Tibet concord dream fading fast

One man has destabilized China. For the purpose, he has used something which hardly existed a decade ago, Twitter. Though his messages are sometimes eccentric, President Donald Trump has changed the course of the US-China relations. For the first time in recent years, the US has...

Design and Development of Equipment by DRDO, DPSUs and Ordnance Factories

Paragraph 72 in Chapter II of the Defence Procurement Procedure 2016 (DPP 2016) sets out the procedure for awarding design and development (D&D) projects to the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) and Defence Publics Sector Undertakings (DPSUs). There are at least three issues concerning this procedure that merit attention. One, after professing the creation of a level-playing field (supposedly...