The USD 12 billion order is so important for arms vendors that at a recent defense seminar in New Delhi, one of the speakers, a representative of a foreign air force was told, first politely, and then rather sharply, to wrap up his speech because it seemed to be more of a sales-pitch for one of the aircraft in contention for the MMRCA deal, than an academic talk on his experiences with aircraft from different generations.
Category: News
‘Cut down red tape’: Antony
by •
The Defense Minister’s repeated statements on cutting down unnecessary delays in arms procurement seems to be a reflection of a new purpose towards arms procurement by India. Air Chief Marshal Fali Homi Major has echoed that sense of purpose, expecting the Indian Air Force to be able to spend all monies budgeted for procurement this year.
Aero India 2009: Bigger than ever
by •
The 25 participating countries include UK, USA, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, India, Italy, Ireland, Israel, Malaysia, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Netherlands and Ukraine. China will be participating at this year’s Air Show for the first time.
Macedonia sets up mission in India
by •
The Macedonian Foreign Minister, Antonio Milososki talks about his country’s interests in the region, mutual interest with India in containing terrorism and enhancing trade with India, on the occasion of the inauguration of his country’s embassy in New Delhi.
Noose around Poonch terrorists comes undone
by •
“It is difficult to explain precisely how the terrorists could have evaded the cordons,” says one Special Forces officer.
Indo-Russian naval drills this month
by •
The exercise INDRA-2009 includes the largest non-carrier warship, the Kirov class nuclear battle cruiser Peter the Great. The warship recently participated in Russo-Venezuelan joint naval exercises in the Caribbean. It also has a controversial technical maintenance history with the Russian navy chief in 2004 having said the warship could ‘explode any moment’.
Deconstructing the Pakistani Response to the Mumbai Attack
by •
Islamabad’s response to the Mumbai attack highlights its unwillingness to accept the involvement of Pakistani entities. Such an attitude diminishes further the credibility of Pakistan’s commitment to counter-terrorism and has longer-term implications for South Asian security.
Pakistan Army doctrine says ‘Attack First’
by •
The idea is to take the battle into Indian territory and get a hold over as much territory as possible. Pakistan can then use this territory as a bargaining chip on the negotiating table.
Indians warned against travel to Pakistan
by •
There have been reports in the Pakistani media that several Indian nationals have been arrested over the last two days in Lahore and Multan, and are being accused of being terrorists. Since it has also been reported in the Pakistani media yesterday that the senior police officer in Lahore was unaware of the arrest in his city, it seems that this is the work of other agencies in Pakistan that operate outside the law and civilian control. Indian citizens are therefore advised that it would be unsafe for them to travel or be in Pakistan: Ministry of External Affairs
Air strikes on terror: No surprise, no problem says former bomber pilot
by •
The lack of surprise would not deter the Indian armed forces in their role in deterring Pakistan from supporting terrorism in India, especially keeping in mind the multiplicity of targets.
The story of a glacial trust deficit
by •
The issue that dominates the peace process pursued by the Indian and Pakistani governments on Kashmir since 2004 is about the control of the Siachen Glacier in the region, the world’s highest battlefield. Although a ceasefire has been in place since 2003, thousands of troops on both sides continue to eyeball each other across the extreme terrain.
Blog: The idiosyncracies of Indian Army Generals
by •
The Indian army is abundant with stories of the peculiar demands Generals present to aides, junior officers et al. These stories usually come out and are exchanged during the Commanders’ Conferences, when all the brasshats get together in Delhi and the junior/middle-rung officers at Delhi Cantonment are left bemused at the requests(orders) they have to accommodate.
India going the diplomatic distance with Kasab’s letter
by •
There are indications that the Indian government wants to completely play out all its diplomatic options so that the government can focus on other measures if required.
Lashkar rivals Al Qaeda
by •
Lashkar is also in some ways, more of a threat than Al Qaeda.
Meet to prepare diplomats and get feedback
by •
The purpose is not just to brief diplomats about their strategies in their parleys with their host countries but also an act of public diplomacy in terms of symbolism.
