Articles By Air Commodore KB Menon
Precision Air-to-Ground Weapons beset with problems
By: Air Commodore KB Menon | Issue: Vol. 26.4 Oct-Dec 2011 | Date: 04 Oct , 2015
The collateral damage in the drone attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan are a constant reminder that the use of precision air-to-ground weapons is still beset with problems. Results have shown...
UAVs in the Neighbourhood
By: Air Commodore KB Menon | Issue: Vol. 29.3 Jul-Sep 2014 | Date: 30 Sep , 2015
Reports of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) being used for private and commercial use are a regular feature in the media. Does it mean that there is going to be sudden surge of UAVs flying in the...
Modernisation of India's Military Aviation
By: Air Commodore KB Menon | Issue: Vol 26.1 Jan-Mar 2011 | Date: 06 Oct , 2014
Indian military aviation went through its first phase of modernisation during the mid sixties and the second phase was in the late seventies to early eighties. Today India’s military aviation...
Inter Service Rivalry and its Impact on National Security
By: Air Commodore KB Menon | Issue: Vol. 28.3 Jul-Sep 2013 | Date: 28 Sep , 2013
Inter-service rivalry is as old as the services themselves. Competition amongst the services and within the individual service is a good thing if it develops esprit-de-corps but at times, the...
Operation Geronimo: Lessons for India
By: Air Commodore KB Menon | Issue: Vol. 26.3 July - Sept 2011 | Date: 09 Feb , 2013
The Pakistani town of Abbottabad is named after a Major James Abbot who established the district of Hazara in 1853. Known for its salubrious weather, Abbottabad is a quiet army cantonment town 50...
UAVs: Dilemmas in the application of air power
By: Air Commodore KB Menon | Issue: Vol. 28.1 Jan-Mar 2013 | Date: 08 Feb , 2013
The use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) is not new and dates back to World War II, when the Germans used a remotely controlled 2300-lb flying bomb steered by a pilot from a mother ship. Since...
Helicopter as a Combat Platform
By: Air Commodore KB Menon | Issue: Vol 26.2 Apr-Jun 2011 | Date: 05 Jan , 2013
The Helicopter in Battle The two widely disparate views cited above on the utility of the helicopter have influenced the use of this versatile platform in military operations. Any discussion on...
The Tejas Fleet for the IAF - to be or not to be?
By: Air Commodore KB Menon | Issue: Vol 27.3 Jul-Sep 2012 | Date: 27 Aug , 2012
An ambitious project like the LCA is fraught with risks, more so when the design and development teams are venturing into uncharted waters driven by an insistence to forego any external help....
Evolution of the Air-To-Air Missiles: Options for the IAF
By: Air Commodore KB Menon | Issue: Vol. 27.2 Apr-Jun 2012 | Date: 18 Jul , 2012
Cannons once again found their way into the design of fighter planes. The problem with cannons is that they had to be fired at aerial targets from the astern quarters and any manoeuvring by the...
China's Palace in the Skies
By: Air Commodore KB Menon | Issue: Vol. 27.1 -Mar 2012 | Date: 14 May , 2012
On September 29, 2011, China launched the Tiangong-1 unmanned module from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in North-West China. The unmanned module was launched by a Long March 2FT1 carrier...