Indian Defence Review

A Showdown in Idlib

Idlib is the capital city of the Idlib governorate which is among the 14 provinces of Syria, situated in the northwestern part of the country bordering Turkey and near the Mediterranean Sea. At its closest, it is 50kilometresfrom Bab Al-Hawa Border Crossing- an international border crossing between Syria and Turkey...

Amphibious Capability – needs boost

China has successfully completed on-water trials of its indigenous amphibious aircraft (AF600 or Kunlong) designed for search and rescue missions, which can also be used to transport troops and supplies in disputed waterways. The aircraft recently carried out its first water taxiing trials on a reservoir in central...

Cadre Review: Lean and Mean Indian Army

The Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Bipin Rawat on June 21 ordered a long awaited cadre review of the 1.2 million strong Indian Army to cover wide ranging issues including cutting of 1,50,000 troops in the next four to five years to sharpen the Army’s effectiveness, prepare to defend two pronged offensive from...

A Showdown in Idlib

When India struck a fine strategic balance

This article re-visits Malabar Exercise 2018 and illustrates how India made some fine choices in pursuance to maintaining a fine strategic balance The twenty second addition of the Malabar exercise involving United States, Japan and India started off from 07 Jun till 16 Jun 18. This exercise, was conducted off the...

Indo-US 2+2 Dialogue: An Analysis

After cancellation twice in the last 14 months, foreign minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman held the first high-level 2+2 talks on September 6 with their US counterparts Mike Pompeo and Jim Mattis respectively with boosting cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region and finalising a pact on...

Amphibious Capability – needs boost

Cadre Review: Lean and Mean Indian Army

Army: Caught between Devil and deep blue sea

The Indian Army, as the most disciplined and organized force in the country, carries out every task with complete commitment and to the best of its ability, besides winning wars. This involvement, as the last resort, is necessitated by the successive failures of civilian agencies in delivering results, be they building...

Lateral Entry in Defence (Finance)

The Ministry of Defence is sui generis amongst all Ministries, as it has to provide the policy architecture to protect territorial integrity and sovereignty of India. Defence expenditure is the first charge of a budget, and being a ‘charged expenditure’, as per Article 112(3) of the Constitution it witnesses no...

Kashmir: Sustaining Insurgency

Come January 2019, insurrection in Kashmir will turn thirty. How do we assess the present status of this insurgency in the Valley? Indeed, insurgents are setting the narrative in Kashmir. A report compiled by the J&K Police, in August 2018, establishes this reality. Over the last decade, the number of active...

The politics of Panchayat elections in J&K

The time is closing in for holding of the Panchayat and local body elections in Jammu and Kashmir! It is a Key Result Area for newly appointed Governor, Satya Pal Malik, who has been given a specific mandate to revive the political process in the trouble torn state. Panchayat elections in Jammu and Kashmir have always...

Safran collaborates with IEEE to set up an industry-academia next generation e-mobility centre at Bangalore

As part of its corporate social responsibility commitment, Safran Engineering Services India has signed a partnership with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the world’s largest technical professional organization for the advancement of technology, to set up a state of the art e-mobility...

Tata Motors to showcase its Indigenously Build Combat Vehicles at the BIMSTEC Nations Summit

To showcase India’s First Indigenous Wheeled Armoured Amphibious Infantry Combat Vehicles Supplied over 1.5 Lakh vehicles to the Indian Military, Para-military Forces and State Police forces till now Is the only Asian Company to offer a full range of wheeled Defence vehicles, including a combat range Present across...

Maiden Mid-air Refueling Trial of LCA Successful

The Light Combat Aircraft (Tejas LSP8) has successfully completed the Wet (actual) engagement today by transferring 1900 Kgs fuel from IAF IL78 mid-air refueling tanker. The refueling was carried out at an altitude of 20000 ft. The aircraft speed was 270 knots and all the internal tanks and drop tanks were refueled. A...

Jammu & Kashmir: The Way Forward

“Kashmir is an integral part of India” is not a cliché, but a historical fact much before the happenings of...

India distributes its strategic dependence: Prioritising US, but no dilution...

The twice-postponed 2 plus 2 talks between India and the USA which brought the foreign and defence ministers of...

Under Shadow of the 2+2 Dialogue

The inaugural Indo-US 2+2 Dialogue has happened finally. The media worked overtime, giving minute to minute progress – statements, critical comments and whatnot. As the dust settled there have been multiple articles about the dialogue – some for and some against. But the fact remains that the Indo-US Strategic Partnership will remain ‘one’ of the crucial partnerships for India in...

Afghanistan Geo Political Situation End 2018- Revisted

Geopolitically, Afghanistan in end-2018 can best be characterised that it has certainly not turned out as United States second not so victorious Vietnam War despite Pakistan’s effort in collusion with China to forge a China-Pakistan-Russia Trilateral to adversely tilt the...

The new panacea for the Middle Kingdom’s problems?

Railways have recently been in the news in the Chinese press, particularly new railway lines on the Tibetan plateau and its periphery. Yesterday, an article dealt at great length about the ‘LaLin’ section of the Sichuan-Tibet Railway. ‘Lalin’ is a short form for...

The Arithmetic of India-US relations and the Russian Factor

The 2+2 dialogue is a relatively new phenomenon which provides states with an opportunity to combine the discussion on security matters with general issues of international and bilateral affairs. Such a format helps widen the agenda and yield more fruitful results. The ‘recent...

The love affair with Imran Khan is over, its back to business in Kashmir

The terror machinery operating from Pakistan has reactivated itself in a big way. The big words that he spoke of taking two steps forward if India takes one have proved to be just that – words. He has done nothing whatsoever to curb his wayward army and its nefarious arm of fundamentalist militants who keep the pot of terror boiling in Jammu and Kashmir. The last few days have witnessed a spike in terrorist activity. Infiltration attempts...