Articles By Gp Capt AK Sachdev
Impact of UAVs on Strategic Air Warfare
By: Gp Capt AK Sachdev | Issue: Vol. 38.2, Apr-Jun 2023 | Date: 09 Aug , 2023
Emerging technologies, with splendid assistance from Artificial Intelligence (AI), are driving remarkable Research and Development (R&D) in the area of unmanned systems for use on land, over and...
Hypersonic Weapon Systems for India
By: Gp Capt AK Sachdev | Issue: Vol. 38.2, Apr-Jun 2023 | Date: 13 Jul , 2023
In the beginning of March this year, Russia launched its biggest aerial attack in its ongoing war with Ukraine. The attack comprised a variegated weapon mix, the most interesting one of which was...
IAF’s Squadron Strength: Crystal Gazing at the Next Two Decades
By: Gp Capt AK Sachdev | Issue: Vol. 38.1, Jan-Mar 2023 | Date: 03 May , 2023
In May last year, a report titled Global Air Power Rankings (2022) published by World Directory of Modern Military Aircraft (WDMMA) placed the Indian Air Force (IAF) above China’s People’s...
The IAF’S Weapons Systems Branch: A Prognosis
By: Gp Capt AK Sachdev | Issue: Vol. 38.1, Jan-Mar 2023 | Date: 28 Apr , 2023
The nature of warfare and consequently, the conduct of air warfare, are undergoing significant and rapid transformation as a result of the munificence of emerging technologies. The Indian Air...
How should India Exploit Space for Military Advantage?
By: Gp Capt AK Sachdev | Issue: Net Edition | Date: 09 Jan , 2023
In December 2019, as per a declaration issued by the Heads of State and Government participating in the meeting of the North Atlantic Council in London, formally recognised space as an...
Role of Artificial Intelligence in Military Aviation
By: Gp Capt AK Sachdev | Issue: Vol. 37.3, Jul-Sep 2022 | Date: 27 Oct , 2022
The discovery of gunpowder in the ninth century and the invention of the atomic bomb in the twentieth century may be considered the first two revolutions in warfare. The third revolution in...
The need for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for the IAF
By: Gp Capt AK Sachdev | Issue: Vol. 37.3, Jul-Sep 2022 | Date: 20 Oct , 2022
Unarmed Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) began as desirable supplements to military inventories, but these have grown rapidly in technological sophistication to become essential complements of the...
India’s Potential as a Global Aerospace Industry Hub
By: Gp Capt AK Sachdev | Issue: Vol. 37.2, Apr-Jun 2022 | Date: 11 Jul , 2022
One of the first steps that Prime Minister Narendra Modi initiated after coming to power was self-reliance. A few months after his government came to power, he introduced the ‘Make in India’...
Drone Swarms: Asset and Threat – is India Ready?
By: Gp Capt AK Sachdev | Issue: Vol. 37.2, Apr-Jun 2022 | Date: 04 Jul , 2022
Military drones are disrupting warfare in the three domains of air, land and sea. Their exploits in the Ukraine war continue to excite interest even as this is being written. In recent years,...
Sixth Generation Fighter Aircraft: Its Prospects
By: Gp Capt AK Sachdev | Issue: Vol. 37.1, Jan-Mar 2022 | Date: 13 May , 2022
Classification of fighter aircraft into ‘generations’ dates back to the 1990s and there are several diverse classification criteria applied by air historians, the National Aeronautics and...
Atmanirbhar in Aerospace and Defence Manufacturing: A Dream or Reality?
By: Gp Capt AK Sachdev | Issue: Vol. 37.1, Jan-Mar 2022 | Date: 25 Apr , 2022
Self-reliance has been a prominent agenda for Prime Minister Narendra Modi since his ascent to the Prime Minister’s chair in 2014. Later that year, he introduced ‘Make in India’ as a...
Artificial Intelligence in Avionics
By: Gp Capt AK Sachdev | Issue: Vol. 36.1, Jan-Mar 2021 | Date: 17 Apr , 2022
The term avionics was first used in late 1940s as a portmanteau conjoining ‘aviation’ and ‘electronics’ but since then, both aviation and electronics have undergone tremendous...
UAVs: A Great Operational Asset
By: Gp Capt AK Sachdev | Issue: Vol. 35.4 Oct-Dec 2020 | Date: 14 Feb , 2022
The precursor to modern day Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) flew more than a century ago as the Curtiss-Sperry Flying Bomb manufactured in 1917 – a 230kg empty weight aircraft capable of...
C4ISR and Autonomous Capabilities
By: Gp Capt AK Sachdev | Issue: Vol. 36.4, Oct-Dec 2021 | Date: 04 Jan , 2022
A military leader, as a pre-condition, must be able to exercise Command and Control (C2) over the forces subordinated to him if he is to accomplish his mission. The United States (US) Department...
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited: The Need for Privatisation
By: Gp Capt AK Sachdev | Issue: Vol. 36.3, Jul-Sep 2021 | Date: 06 Nov , 2021
The IAF as the largest captive client for HAL, as well as the other two services, have never been happy with HAL as quality, reliability and punctuality have been issues that have constantly been...
The Concept of Theatre Command in the Indian Context
By: Gp Capt AK Sachdev | Issue: Vol. 36.3, Jul-Sep 2021 | Date: 10 Oct , 2021
On July 02, the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Bipin Rawat stated, “Do not forget that Air Force continues to remain a supporting arm to the armed forces, just as artillery or the...
Challenges of Integrated Air Defence
By: Gp Capt AK Sachdev | Issue: Vol. 36.2, Apr-Jun 2021 | Date: 25 Jul , 2021
There is a need for taking it slow and not plunging into a hastily set up arrangement just because the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) wants it done within his tenure. Possibly, a national security...
Apache and Chinook: Enhancing the Effectiveness of the Helicopter Fleet
By: Gp Capt AK Sachdev | Issue: Vol. 36.2, Apr-Jun 2021 | Date: 15 Jul , 2021
Offensive rotary wing capability of the Indian Air Force (IAF) goes back to the 1960s when Chetak (Allouette III) helicopters were used with French AS 11 B1 Anti Tank Guided Missiles (ATGMs), but...
114 Multi-Role Fighter Aircraft: Is there an Urgency for Procurement?
By: Gp Capt AK Sachdev | Issue: Vol. 36.1, Jan-Mar 2021 | Date: 22 Mar , 2021
The ignominious drubbing of 1962 was a shock for the Indian military, which was unprepared for a war due to its being ill-equipped and having shortfalls in war-making materials and munitions....
Make in India and The Aerospace Industry
By: Gp Capt AK Sachdev | Issue: Vol. 35.4 Oct-Dec 2020 | Date: 04 Feb , 2021
This article delves into ‘Make in India’ and India’s aerospace industry, the two regimes have a lot in common. Each has immense potential, but is hobbled by policy dilemmas. Each is...