'So far, Pakistan leads India in subsonic cruise missile development, having tested and operationally deployed the Babur cruise missile that has a range of 700 km, significantly less than the Nirbhay's.'
IAF pilots would no longer have to fly deep into heavily defended airspace to strike enemy bases, they can launch a Brahmos from as far away as 295 km.
The political-electoral calculus favours spending thousands of crores on vanity projects like Sardar Patel's statue and the Central Vista over building up our military to handle the confrontations and conflicts that loom large, points out Ajai Shukla.
With the Rafale contract in limbo, the upgrade of IAF's Mirage 2000 and Jaguar fighters has become vitally important.
A Court of Inquiry investigating the February 1 crash that killed two pilots is confronting the worrying possibility of a glitch in the flight computer that kicks in without warning, causing the aircraft to behave unpredictably.
DRDO to develop an army version of the medium range surface-to-air missile.
Internal simmering in the army has come to a boil after the government tries to retain a discriminatory promotions policy.
The 155-millimetre, 52-calibre Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System, which was successfully tested in Pokhran, demonstrated its potential to be a world-beating system.
Action has been taken according to a memorandum that requires 'periodic review of performance of government servants'.
With both aircraft likely to meet the IAF's performance requirements, the winning bid could be the one that offers the lowest cost and the best industrial proposal.
It earlier took 19 months to build a Tejas, now it takes 11 months, says HAL chief.
The operational alert allows troops to get acclimatised to high altitudes, renovate the bunkers and trenches from which they would fight, break out ammunition, and carry out the coordination needed to fight an integrated defensive battle.
Once in each President's term in office, he or she carries out a "naval fleet review", a deliberately public assembly of the entire fleet.
The Kamov-226T indigenisation has been complicated by an unusually detailed Inter-Governmental Agreement.
Defence minister claims MoD 'alive and kicking' after 'getting the weeds out'.
DRDO chief G Satheesh Reddy Reddy is the first Indian to be appointed Fellow of the Royal Institute of Navigation and of the Royal Aeronautical Society.
The navy finds itself fighting for relevance, with navy planners lamenting that its share of the budget has dropped dramatically.
As remarkable as DRDO's contribution in containing and treating COVID-19 has been, its success over the last 15 months has been in its primary role of developing conventional defence equipment and technologies.
Indian Admirals say Malabar 2018 will involve unprecedented complexity, featuring enemy threats in all three dimensions, but especially underwater threats from submarines -- a key Chinese strength. For the first time, officers from all three navies will be posted on other navies' warships. That means Indian Navy officers will obtain the unprecedented benefits of operating on US nuclear attack submarines and Japan's highly regarded Soryu submarines.
Ex-servicemen say the government's award ignores five out of seven demands they had made and only partially meets the other two.
There were 35 defects that still remained to be resolved. Of these, 29 could not have been resolved during the monsoon since they required testing in absolutely calm seas. Nor is the Khanderi being commissioned with a full complement of its primary weapon, the torpedo.
After a decade-long wait, the IAF will transform 80 ageing Jaguar fighters into highly capable, multi-role, combat aircraft.
'After decades, there is movement on multiple fronts in artillery development. Now let us see how quickly we can get these guns into service'
'Defence does not new 'planning commissions'; it needs an implementation commission.'
'The Andamans are strategic territory for India.' 'We need at least three full-length, 10,000-feet airfields here.'
Beyond the British and Russian strands interwoven into the Indian Navy's equipment profile and the strong drive towards indigenisation evident today, its future in aircraft carriers appears increasingly linked with America.
The creation of a CDS has got the head right. Issues that were not talked about for years are now being discussed, points out Ajai Shukla.
In the event of a Chinese attack on Arunachal, troops and equipment from mainland India will travel on the existing south bank railway till Bogibeel, cross the Brahmaputra on the new bridge and then head further east on the Strategic Rail-Road Link, once it is ready.
Admiral Puri says it would be wasteful to buy a foreign helicopter, pay for transfer of technology, and develop manufacturing capability in an Indian private sector strategic partner when all this already exists with HAL.
Still, there remains a worrying shortfall of frigates, which are the navy's workhorses. 'We need to have at least 24 frigates,' says a senior admiral. 'Currently we are 10 short.'
General Bakshi is understood to have been assured by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar that the process was under way to appoint him as India's first tri-service commander, a post that would, at least nominally, place him senior to General Rawat.
Among the programmes suffering from this lack of leadership is the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft project.
Ordnance Factory Board officials say upgrading the 39-calibre FH-77 into the 45-calibre Dhanush has increased the gun's range from 27 to 38 kilometres, using enhanced range ammunition.
'Is the appointment of a CDS likely to achieve the creation of battle-ready, tri-service military commands, from the current 17 single-service commands?', asks Ajai Shukla.
Seconds into the test, the anti-ballistic missile deviated from its planned path and it quickly became clear that it would not hit the target.
Modi's hardline policy towards Pakistan and J&K has created numerous leverages and bargaining positions that New Delhi can bring to the bargaining table and translate into concessions, argues Ajai Shukla.
The DARIN-III navigation attack system allows a Jaguar pilot to feed in the coordinates of targets deep inside enemy territory.
For both India and China, the most likely option -- and the most challenging -- appears to be a freezing of the status quo.
Boeing expects the IAF to soon place an inquiry for twin-engine fighter jets to bridge a 200-aircraft gap in its armoury. And the Super Hornet is ready to fly in.
'Today's India is fearless and is on track to be a great power. But this is definitely not happening without women, who form 48 per cent of our population.'
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