His background as an Indian Institute of Technology graduate and as a chief minister with an excellent track record as an administrator equipped him to initiate defence industry and policy reforms that are only now beginning to bear fruit.
The INS Chakra III will be ideal for 'sea denial' missions, in which the submarine denies the enemy the use of the sea.
'Its aim is to force the Bhutanese government to cede territory that China wants elsewhere in Bhutan to give Beijing a military advantage in its struggle with New Delhi.'
Commander Abhilash Tomy of the Indian Navy will set sail from France on the 30,000-mile Golden Globe Race only with a compass, printed maps, star and planetary movements and 140 litres of fuel.
16 Indian Army divisions face China, 20 face Pakistan and two divisions are reserves. This powerful signal can hardly be missed in China or Pakistan, notes Ajai Shukla.
'The enemy knows he cannot defeat us in a conventional conflict. So today we showcase our ability to punish, our ability to insert and extricate our troops from hostile territories.'
Time and cost overruns are endemic to most Indian warship building projects. A central reason is the Indian Navy's operational assessment that it is better to get a warship late and ov
This is causing a shortfall of critical ammunition within the army at a time when the MoD is making emergency purchases from the global arms market to cater for a possible clash with China.
Sukhoi-30MKI fighters will be based in Thanjavur. Tejas Mark 1 aircraft will be based in Sulur. The Rafale squadron will be based in Ambala.
Like most army combat uniforms, this one has been designed to serve two requirements: First, protection against harsh climatic conditions, including extreme heat and cold. Second, the need to provide soldiers' outfits with field camouflage, so as to increase his battlefield survivability.
Landing on an aircraft carrier deck is the ultimate and most daunting challenge for a fighter pilot. This takes India into a select group of nations -- the US, the UK, Russia, France, and China -- that have developed such jets.
The activation of diplomatic channels is likely to yield better results than a simmering hostility, recommends Ajai Shukla.
New Delhi sought a sovereign guarantee to prevent Paris from ever citing the Arms Trade Treaty to interrupt, modify or cease delivery of the Rafale fighter at any stage.
Exercise Tiger Triumph -- a full-scale, tri-service beach landing operation -- is a capability India is seeking to build.
General Bajwa, unlike many of his predecessors, believes the Pakistan army's long-term interests lie in reducing tensions with India, reports Ajai Shukla.
HAL is poised to sell the Philippines at least seven Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopters and eight Dornier 228 aircraft for Rs 30 billion, reports Ajai Shukla.
Building 6 conventional submarines is one of the Indian Navy's most important weapon construction programmes.
Air Chief Marshal R K S Bhadauria's plan includes building 83 Tejas Light Combat Aircraft in quick time to fill the light fighter vacancies left by the retirement of MiG-21 and MiG-27 fighters.
These next generation ships can patrol the oceans for three or four months compared to the navy's current patrol boats, which can be at sea for a maximum of 45 days.
DRDO is offering a 30-35-tonne light tank that it says will be a match for what the army faces -- China's new Type-15 light tank.
India joins exclusive club of US, Europe, Russia and China.
Within the army, there is growing concern that New Delhi will allow the Chinese to retain the territory they have occupied in the last month.
The greatest unknown in this risky initiative lies in the way human relationships will play out -- not just between the Agniveers, who will be competing with their fellows for permanent jobs beyond their four-year tenures -- but also between the Agniveers and existing full-time soldiers, warns Ajai Shukla.
'The future is about autonomy and tanking.'
Most of the scanty 6.35% rise in the defence budget is accounted for by manpower and running expenses.
Given the military's requirement for watertight cyber and communications security, L&T will establish a Security Operations Centre which will deal with security threats.
The military is 'totally prepared to stand up to the demands made by the government and the people.'
Army gave three good reasons why it could not build the bridges for Ravi Shankar's event. Defence ministry overruled the army's objections, reveals Ajai Shukla.
Airbus' $99 million payout puts a new light on Eurofighter's 'unsolicited bid' to the Modi government, reducing the cost of the Typhoon fighter by 20 per cent, making it in retrospect significantly cheaper than the Rafale.
Rather than going through the tedious, hit-or-miss process of physically designing hull forms and superstructures for warships and then determining how visible they are to radar, the company will simulate this process on supercomputers.
Capable of flying at Mach 2.5 (two-and-a-half times the speed of sound), the F-15EX is the world's fastest fighter aircraft. It carries 13.5 tonnes of weapons load, more than the Rafale or the Sukhoi-30MKI.
The LCH can provide our soldiers fire support in 15,000-16,000 feet-high contested areas like Depsang, Galwan and the heights north and south of the Pangong Tso, where Indian soldiers are facing off against Chinese intruders.
Armed with rockets and missiles, these helicopters can rain fire on the enemy in rarefied altitudes.
New Delhi's regional partners in restraining a belligerent China -- primarily the US, Japan, Australia and Singapore -- would like the Indian Navy to lock down the Indian Ocean Region, while the other partners can focus on deterring the PLA (navy) in the South China Sea, explains Ajai Shukla.
The CDS will have a significant role in higher defence planning and operational aspects of India's nuclear arsenal.
With Pakyong now usable by AN-32s, the Indian Army can quickly move soldiers, weapons and supplies to this highly sensitive sector, which includes flashpoints like Doklam, Nathu La and the Siliguri Corridor.
The full grant of OROP would raise annual military pensions to Rs 75,000 crore, only slightly less than the salary bill of Rs 93,216 crore.
It has been argued that India should have held back on disengagement from the Kailash Range, using that as a trump card to force Chinese concessions in areas such as Depsang, where they hold the advantage.
The AFT was intended to reduce military related cases in civil courts. Instead, the backlog in defence-related cases has increased from 9,000 to 16,000 after the AFT's creation.
The retirement of the Jaguar would create a six squadron gap in the IAF's combat fleet which would cost $20 billion-$30 billion to fill.
