Indian Defence Review

Politics and the Military

History bears witness that a strong, sovereign and independent state has always been backed by a strong army, in today’s context military, yet paradoxically, the military is a threat in being for the ruling elite and polity; the spectre of the ‘man on horseback’. Therefrom follows the requirement and doctrine of...

Iran Stepping out of JCPOA : Repercussions

President Donald Trump was elected president of USA in 2016, the year that the nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), was signed after hectic negotiations between Iran and the “P5+1” nations, namely Britain, France, Germany, Russia, China and the ‘one’ being USA, which...

Another Face Off With PLA in Pangong Tso Area

Another face off between an Indian Army patrol and PLA occurred north of Pangong Tso Lake on September 11, 2019, which some media reports describe as “scuffle”. Media quoting an unnamed source says, “Indian soldiers were on a patrol when they were confronted by PLA soldiers, who strongly objected to their...

Iran Stepping out of JCPOA : Repercussions

Another Face Off With PLA in Pangong Tso Area

370 and Indian State of Jammu & Kashmir

Top ten Sri Lankan cricketers have refused to play T20 series in Pakistan owing to security reasons, yet Pakistan was unabashed in going to the UNHRC complaining about India’s human rights violations in the ‘Indian State’ of Jammu and Kashmir. It may be underscored that the Foreign Minister of Pakistan Shah...

Politics and the Military

Creating the CDS – Not the What but the How

Two recent announcements by the government – creation of a Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) for the armed forces and merger of public sector banks – though diametrically opposite in context, have a common concept; bringing about synergy so that the whole is more than the sum of the parts. While the merger of banks being...

Indian Air Force inducts eight Boeing AH-64E Apache helicopters

Boeing formally handed over eight of 22 AH-64E Apache helicopters to the Indian Air Force at the Air Force Station, Pathankhot. Air Chief Marshal B.S. Dhanoa, Chief of Air Staff, officers from the Indian Air Force and officials from Boeing attended the induction ceremony. The Apaches arrived at the Air Force Station,...

Integrating Madrassa Education

It is no secret that the deep state of Middle East and the West were behind the installation of Mohamed Morsi as President of Egypt following the Egyptian Revolution in 2011. Morsi led the ‘Freedom and Justice Party’ launched by the radical Sunni-islamists outfit ‘Muslim Brotherhood’, which latter described as...

Government is determined to strengthen democracy and usher development in J&K

“We as a nation, as a family, have taken a historic decision. A system due to which brothers and sisters of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh were deprived of many rights and which was a big obstacle to their development, that system has been done away with,” said Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his address to the Nation on...

Depoliticizing Kashmir is the way out

Upturning of a plethora of Kashmir political rubble accumulated over seventy years is the sum and substance of Governor’s recent interview to some pressmen. It is for the first time that the Governor has demystified the inscrutable facade of Kashmir politics. Some commentators will call it a browbeating....

Autonomous Aerial Weapons & Platforms

The modern military drone was the brainchild of John Stuart Foster Jr., a nuclear physicist and aero modeling hobbyist, who in 1971, had the idea that these models could be applied to building weapons. He drew up plans and by 1973, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) had built two prototypes. They were...

Russian Helicopters presents Mi-171A2 and Ka-226T intended for India at EEF

As part of its joint exposition with the Buryat Republic, Russian Helicopters Holding Company (part of Rostec State Corporation) will present its latest civilian helicopter Mi-171A2 and Ka-226T light-weight multi-purpose helicopter, which are planned to be supplied to India, at the Eastern Economic Forum in...

Rafael expands operations in India and announces New Facility with Astra

Astra Rafael Communication System (ARC), a Joint Venture between Astra Microwave Pvt Ltd. and RAFAEL Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. of Israel, inaugurated their state-of-the-art facility at Hardware Technology Park, Hyderabado. The occasion was graced by Shri G Kishan Reddy, Hon’ble Minister of State, Home Affairs, in...

Iranian Air Defences

On August 22, 2019, Iran unveiled Bavar-373 air defence system. Reportedly based on the Russian S-300, Iran claimed...

Credible Deterrence must remain Leitmotif of India’s Security Policies

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Independence Day announcement on August 15 about the institution of a Chief...

‘No First Use’ is Not Sacrosanct: Need a Theatre-Specific Posture for Flexible Options

What would be the response of India if it comes across credible intelligence that Pakistan is preparing to launch nuclear-armed missiles as a means to escalate military hostilities? Would India wait for Pakistan to undertake a nuclear first strike, possibly on a major population centre like the National Capital Region (NCR), killing a million or more, and then mobilise its second-strike forces...

J&K: What Pakistan can do and how India should respond

The change in status of the state of Jammu and Kashmir carried out in the most legitimate and constitutional manner is essentially an internal matter of the Indian nation. What is galling here is the undesirable and disgusting interference that is being attempted by neighbouring...

India must rethink its Balochistan Policy

That Balochistan, the resource-rich southwestern province of Pakistan, has never been in the news nor captured global attention the way that Kashmir has is perhaps testimony to the PR capabilities of the Pakistani deep establishment. Or is it that since Balochistan was not an...

Appointment of Chief of Defence Staff: A Historic Decision

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rousing Independence Day address delivered from the ramparts of the historic Red Fort covered many issues relating to reforms and development in India. Among the several key announcements made by the Prime Minister was the creation of the post of...

Kashmir As "Disputed Territory" Bogey Fades into History- 2019

Kashmir as ‘Disputed Territory’ bogey nauseatingly maintained by Pakistan ever since 1947 and permissively perpetuated by past Indian Governments due to political timidity faded into history on August 05 2019 when PM Narendra Modi BJP Government steered through Indian Parliament by overwhelming majority for abrogation of Article 370 and bifurcation of State into two Union Territories. In 2019, it must be understood that in terms of...