'India has been preparing for the last 15 days... it won't be easy for Pakistan if it tries to dominate escalation.'
'India has gone some way to meeting its objectives because it has established a deterrent value that Pakistan will have to take into account when it plans future terrorist attacks.'
The government needs to answer the critical question of whether it has accepted any restrictions on its infrastructure creation activities, asserts Ajai Shukla.
Neither the BJP, nor the Congress before it, made any manifesto commitments on defence spending, even though allocations have plummeted from 4 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in the late 1980s to less than 2 per cent today, points out Ajai Shukla.
Almost five years later, the three services have still not fully understood that joint/theatre commands are not a discussion point; they are the prime minister's diktat on a military reform measure that is in line with what armed forces around the world have implemented, points out Ajai Shukla.
Left to fend for themselves by the Indian Army exactly 50 years ago, the Monpas of Tawang refused to cosy up to the well-mannered Chinese soldiers, report Ajai Shukla and Sonia Trikha Shukla.
The structural trends in Pakistan raise the possibility that the army's opinions may increasingly have to parallel, not shape, the public's, says Ajai Shukla
In the confrontation in Doklam, where Indian and Chinese soldiers were lined up eyeball-to-eyeball, senior Indian commanders recount they could sense the uncertainty in the Chinese. While Indian soldiers had to be restrained from pushing the Chinese troops back, our chief interpreter heard the Chinese officers threatening to open fire on PLA soldiers who wavered or withdrew, reveals Ajai Shukla.
New Delhi, which views Pakistan in the context of an outdated and intellectually lazy narrative of implacable hostility, needs a clearer understanding of a rapidly changing Pakistani playfield, feels Ajai Shukla
Although underpowered for fast-moving fighter aircraft, the Defence Research and Development Organisation believes the Kaveri is well suited for the Unmanned Strike Air Vehicle, reports Ajai Shukla
It is difficult to remain idealistic, motivated and dead straight -- the defining characteristics of young Indian Army officers -- when so much wrongdoing is evident at the top. Even honest officers are inevitably corrupted by a system in which outright financial dishonesty is condoned as "perks and privileges of office", says Ajai Shukla
The framework aims at creating a secure cyber space for users to enjoy confidence in electronic transactions, reports Ajai Shukla
Antony will irretrievably sully his legacy by scuttling an operationally crucial appointment, says Ajai Shukla
Tired jargon does not portend transformative change. The new chief needs to focus, says Ajai Shukla
The Indian Air Force is wasting crores of Rupees on replacing the Avro-748, which has been a bits-and-pieces aircraft without any real operational role, says Ajai Shukla
Behind Nawaz Sharif's 'peace with India' stance remain unanswered questions about his role in the Kargil conflict and his family's links with the Jamaat-ud-Dawa and Jaish-e-Muhammad, says Ajai Shukla
Even as the prime minister's office and the foreign ministry deepen ties with Washington, the defence ministry cold-shoulders the Pentagon, notes Ajai Shukla.
For years, New Delhi and Washington have negotiated the purchase of 145 M777 howitzers. Ajai Shukla reports
As a tense stand-off continues on the Sino-Indian border in Ladakh, where a Chinese patrol has apparently established a camp eight km inside India, the ministry of defence is confronted with a difficult decision -- an inexplicable army proposal to shift top generals, which would see key hotspots being placed under new commanders, unfamiliar with the situation.
Ajai Shukla gives the inside story of the controversial AW-101 helicopter deal and finds that corruption is endemic to overseas defence deals in India
Even jihadis infiltrating across the Line of Control into Jammu and Kashmir have been found to have better night vision devices than the lavishly funded Indian Army, says Ajai Shukla
Top DRDO scientists say indigenous missiles would cost barely half as much as a foreign alternative, reports Ajai Shukla.
The Indian Air Force has alleged that the Russians reluctant to share critical design information, besides technical and cost issues. Ajai Shukla reports
The new mountain strike corps, created to deter Chinese adventurism and launch offensives, will financially damage India's military. Ajai Shukla reports
Visiting United States Defence Secretary Leon Panetta on Wednesday, strongly backed America's drone campaign, which flies unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, from Afghanistan into Pakistan's tribal areas to launch missile attacks on terrorists who feature on a detailed hit list, says Ajai Shukla
The only way out of the downward spiral of purchases, scams, cancellations and blacklistings is the systematic and relentless indigenisation of defence equipment, says Ajai Shukla
China will cheerfully discuss human rights, environmental degradation and a raft of issues. But say the word 'Tibet' and the shutters come down, writes Ajai Shukla
Saab believes co-developing Tejas Mark II would end need for Rafale. Ajai Shukla reports
After six decades of floundering through dozens of uprisings, India's govt is facing the Naxal challenge as incoherently as ever, writes Ajai Shukla
New Delhi has consigned to itself the role of the underdog, says Ajai Shukla
Ajai Shukla on the titanic mis-spending of lakhs of crores by the Indian defence forces
Good navies keep their battleships alive. India's first aircraft carrier will be reborn as its first indigenously built carrier, reports Ajai Shukla
Vapid banalities like 'We will provide our brave jawans with the best equipment in the world' encourage IAF buying sprees such as the Rafale and the Pilatus. Ajai Shukla reports
With India becoming the second-biggest victim of cyber-attacks after the United States, the government wants to install a foolproof security cover; but it could invade the privacy of Indians, says Ajai Shukla
Will Gen Kayani's increasingly conservative soldiers fight the Waziri militants, who have long been lauded as a sword arm of Pakistan, asks Ajai Shukla.
It is important to remember the lessons of the 1950s in planning how to counter any Chinese adventurism, says Ajai Shukla
If China's White Paper figures are authentic, the Indian Army, with 1.2 million soldiers, is 50 per cent larger than the PLAA.Ajai Shukla reports
Defence Minister A K Antony, during his visit to Washington, DC, in September, bluntly told US Defence ecretary Robert Gates that India would not sign the agreements, which Washington calls the 'foundation' for transferring high-tech communications equipment to India. Ajai Shukla reports.
A dangerous flashpoint in United States-India relations faces visiting US Secretary of Defence, Leon Panetta, who faces tough questions from Indian officials on Tuesday, writes Ajai Shukla
Establishing dialogue with the Quetta Shura must be recognised as a key strategic requirement. This would allow India to catalyse a favourable settlement in post-2014 Afghanistan, says Ajai Shukla
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