Indian Defence Review

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...

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...

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....

US- Iran Stand Off: Implications of Geography

Understanding the Riddle of Indian Defence Dependency

Part-1 As the first IDSA military history research fellow, I was engaged in studying the Anglo-Maratha wars of 18th and early 19th century. During my research I came across a very interesting episode. In 1780s while the English were fighting Marathas on one hand and yet on the other hand they also supplied gunpowder to...

Securing India’s Rightful Place in the Comity of Nations

By end-May, a new government will be in power in India. Evidently it will be a NDA government with reinforced mandate in power for the 17th Lok Sabha. However, the wounded opposition is likely to be more aggressive. While in Opposition, the UPA has set a precedent of disruptions in the running of the Parliament during...

Is Bollywood out of sync with Indian soldiery?

Space Warfare – India Finds Focus

Preparations for space warfare and developing weaponry for it commenced globally decades ago. Its scope included ground-to-space warfare like attacking satellites from the earth – anti-satellite (ASAT) weapons, space-to-space warfare like satellites attacking satellites, as well as space-to-ground warfare for attacking...

Balakot Imbroglio: Do tell us what happened at Balakot

Did India over play the “surgical strike” of September 2016 in an effort to draw maximum political millage from that? Pakistan’s reaction had resulted in, increase in cross border firing and more deaths of Indian soldiers and civilians on one part and on the other, an increase in infiltration of terrorists across...

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

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...

Pulwama to Garhchiroli – training and accountability need focus

BJP MLA Bheema Mandavi and the four security personnel were killed as Maoists targeted his convoy of three vehicles, including the MLA’s bullet-proof one, in Dantewada District of Chhattisgarh on April 9, 2019. The incident occurred at Shyamagiri hills when the MLA’s convoy was heading towards Kuwakonda from Bacheli...

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...

Solution of Kashmir problem lies in the removal of Articles 370 and 35A

The main causes of the Kashmir problem stem from the past. They include preventing Indian forces from completely...

A Terrorist State Clamouring for Peace

Hours before leaving for the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization meet, Prime...

Flight Refuellers for the IAF: Lessons from Gagan Shakti 2018

Nine months of planning for Exercise Gagan Shakti brought forth immaculate execution during the period from April 08 to 22, 2018. The stated aims of the Exercise were real time coordination, deployment and employment of air power in a short and intense battle scenario. Almost the entire might of the IAF was exercised to validate its concept of operations and war waging capabilities. Nuclear...

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...

Pulwama, Balakot, and the Future: How the Chips Stack Up

For the time being, the India-Pakistan crisis triggered by the terrorist strike against the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) convoy in February in Pulwama appears to have stabilised. However, India must have no delusions that such acts of terrorism will not recur. Pakistan has...

The Importance of Yatung and Chumbi Valley

Yatung (called Yadong by the Chinese) has been in the news recently. One of the reasons might be the annual opening of the Nathu-la pass for trade between India and China (Yatung is also one of the routes for the Kailash-Mansarovar Yatra for Indian pilgrims). China Tibet Online noted: “The Natho [Nathu] La Pass Trade Channel in Yadong [Yatung] County, Shigatse City, southwest China’s Tibet opened on the morning of May 1.” Note the...