ASB Thermal Battery: The Power of Reliability

A Review of Advances in Thermal Battery Technology
New generations of Aeronautic systems demand high power capabilities, even for miniaturised defence systems. The modern power source requires being more robust to cope with higher velocity and environmental conditions, more reliable due to the high costs of modern systems,

Friendship to Partnership

Historical Background
To grasp the intricacies of Indo-French relations in the field of defence and security, it is necessary to first have a look at some issues which may seem unrelated, but which will help us to understand the historical background and get clearer perspectives on the future.

India’s Borders

Unending Threats and Challenges
With a landmass of sub-continental proportions, India occupies a predominant strategic position in Southern Asia and dominates the northern Indian Ocean with a coastline that is 7,683 km long, and an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) that is over two million square km in size. India’s land borders exceed 15,000 km which it [...]

Defence Industry

It is almost seven years since the first set of major policy changes were promulgated by the Government to give a fillip to our stagnating and moribund defence industry.  The fundamental underpinnings to the policy changes were two: firstly, bring in the private sector; and secondly, opening the door for foreign companies by permitting up [...]

India’s Quest for Anti-Ballistic Missile Defence

On 06 Dec, 07 indian scientists launched an indigenously developed solid fuel rocket called the Advanced Air Defence (AAD) interceptor from Wheeler island to destroy a Prithvi target missile launched earlier from the Interim Test Range at Chandipur 72 Km to its North.

India Russia: Strategic Relations

The India-Russia strategic relations with its embedded military ties have been, in the past 15 years, buffeted by the turbulence of international upheavals and domestic events. The collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the cold war have quite dramatically altered the dynamics of this strategic relationship.

Indian Navy: Challenges Beyond The Horizon

The Currency of Power
In the mid-1980s many commentators predicted the end of the role of military force as the “currency of power”. Subsequent decades were however marked by global changes that significantly altered the distribution of international power. Radical shifts in the status of erstwhile subjugated states, the empowerment of newly developed and developing nations, [...]

Indian Energy Security

Setting the Right Priorities
Talking about energy security has become a fashion. Every now and then there is a conference on the subject or someone writes a scholarly article. The flavour of the season could be “equity oil” (buying stakes in oilfields overseas) or it could be “renewables ” such as Solar

Indian Hypocrisy And Security

For any cogent action against a potential or a festering problem, the rudimentary requirement for decision makers is to be convinced that there is a problem, and then define its import. This simple prerequisite, nevertheless, eludes India’s decision makers.

IDR Interview: Rao Inderjit Singh, Minister of State for Defence Production

  “…it is not correct to state that the progress of participation of  the private sector in defence production has been stalled.”

The process of opening the Indian defence industry to the private sector commenced in 2001. It gathered pace with the constitution of the Kelkar Committee. In the recent past, the Ministry of Defence has [...]

IDR Interview: Lt Gen S S Mehta, Director General, CII

  “…all competencies in the country, both in the public and the private sectors must be optimally harnessed.”

With a membership of close to 7500 manufacturing companies, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has been in the forefront in the promotion of defence-industry partnership. It has strived hard to bring various stake holders in the defence industry [...]

The Fall of the Dragon

Why should developments in the American housing / subprime market in 2007 and currently continuing into 2008 be of any interest to the defense analyst ? Well … probably it’s because what’s happening in subprime today has military implications and have the potential to change the balance of power globally. It is also the reason [...]

Iran-US Confrontation

The world has watched most of the last year and the one preceding, the Iran-US confrontation, at times with baited breath as the two seemed to be on hair trigger alert from time to time. The battle of nerves has ebbed and flowed over the last two years and mostly away from the US. Thanks [...]

Carrot and Stick!

Due to New Delhi’s slavish use of ‘carrot’ since  Independence, without any equilibrium with the  ‘stick’, the great power potential of India lies in tatters. In fact it threatens to endanger the writ on its territory. Between Naxals in the Red Corridor, Border States particularly the J&K and the Northeast, New Delhi‘s writ barely runs [...]

India-China Relations: Some Reflections

India’s China policy has been marked by friendship, sentimentalism, fear, diffidence, brinksmanship, wishful thinking and engagement. This mixture of attitudes reflects the complexity of the relationship, our difficulties in managing China’s challenge, the nature of the Chinese regime, China’s strategic advantage over India, and the fulgurating rise of China in recent years.

Possible Collapse Of Pakistan: Quantifying the Fallout

Benazir’s murder has already taken “The political solution” option off the table. So, overall, the situation appears to be quite hopeless, and under these conditions, it is only the army that can keep the country together. A military state of emergency is therefore definitely on the cards. It is also very possible that Musharraf and [...]