According to a 2010 CAG report on warship building, this year the navy will have just 44 per cent of the destroyers it needs; 61 per cent of the frigates; and 20 per cent of its requirement of corvettes, reports Ajai Shukla.
Ajai Shukla reports from Bangalore, where Asia's biggest air show opened on Wednesday
The underwater leg of the nuclear triad has always been regarded as the most survivable. Going by the January 27 test, the K-15 missile is well up to the task. Ajai Shukla reports
The notion that New Delhi can talk Beijing into engaging the hated 'Dalai clique' is entirely fanciful, says Ajai Shukla
Quotas rule promotions in a "Mandalised" army, finds Ajai Shukla
The sharp increase in firing between Indian and Pakistani posts on the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir raises the question: is the decade-old ceasefire of 2003 dead? If one side or both are staging cross-border raids and fire is being exchanged daily, it might seem that the ceasefire has irretrievably broken down, even if New Delhi and Islamabad have not acknowledged that, says Ajai Shukla
To date none of the companies that Defence Minister A K Antony publicly named have been told the charges against them, nor has any CBI charge sheet been filed. Ajai Shukla reports
The military's earthquake relief operations in Gujarat, Kashmir and Sikkim, and rescue work during the Ladakh flash floods highlight that it is the only effective disaster response force in the country, says Ajai Shukla
Seven years before its scheduled completion, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has already announced a two-year delay in the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) India and Russia are to jointly develop, says Ajai Shukla
The Indian Navy is on its way to becoming a major air force, with the fleet air arm having achieved several landmarks this year, reports Ajai Shukla.
Peace talks with Pakistan will resume yet again later this month as Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao meets with her counterpart Salman Bashir. The result is predictable -- the dialogue will go nowhere. India instead should renew its military-to-military ties for a positive outcome with its neighbour, believes noted defence analyst Ajai Shukla.
Amid a raging debate over AFSPA, a focused internal political dialogue must be launched in Kashmir to reassure the army that yet another hard-won peace will not be squandered by political lethargy, writes Ajai Shukla
The J-20 fighter prototype, a 5th generation combat aircraft built by China's Chengdu Aircraft Industry, made its first flight on January 11, 2011. This necessitates a re-evaluation of the IAF's procurement of 4th generation medium fighters, which is close to being finalised. Ajai Shukla reports
New Delhi, as the only agent that enjoys trust in all the key capitals, must offer itself as a back-channel interlocutor, says Ajai Shukla
The Union defence ministry is pressing ahead with the Rs 1,800 crore purchase of seventy-five PC-7 Mark II basic trainer aircraft from Pilatus Aircraft Ltd of Switzerland.
The indigenisation programme of the Ministry of Defence has been an illusion, wrapped in a fallacy, cloaked in deception, writes Ajai Shukla
The indigenisation programme of the Ministry of Defence has been an illusion, wrapped in a fallacy, cloaked in deception, writes Ajai Shukla
Students and observers of the Indian military and the structure of its relationship with the defence ministry, and the government of India unanimously agree that, over time, the boundaries of "objective control" have been breached says Ajai Shukla.
After cost inflation, this year's allocation will buy significantly less than last year's, says Ajai Shukla
The selection of Dassault's Rafale as India's new MMRCA fighter was only the latest step in the Air Force's long and painstaking process to pick itself a winner, writes Ajai Shukla.
India's tactical and operational response demonstrated its ability to prosecute tri-service operations, even without a formal tri-service doctrine or the higher command structure needed to coordinate it, points out Ajai Shukla.
Former cricketer Imran Khan's December 25, 2011 rally at Bagh-e-Qaid, Karachi which was attended by some 1,00,000 people, a bigger crowd than any political rally in the last two decades. Ajai Shukla reports.
During these seven decades, the IAF has lost 2,374 aircraft to crashes. They include 1,126 fighters and 1,248 non-combat aircraft. In addition, 229 trainers and 196 helicopters have crashed. These crashes have resulted in the deaths of 1,305 skilled pilots, note Ajai Shukla and Devesh Kapur.
The INS Shivalik, now completing sea trials, is a world-class frigate built at Indian prices.
India's indigenous defence complex is at a crucial moment where a resolute decision could make it a genuine supplier of high-end artillery equipment, writes Ajai Shukla.
Where did outgoing army chief V K Singh go wrong, analyses Ajai Shukla.
It is time for India to open a dialogue track with the Quetta Shoora of the Taliban, which increasingly chafes at restraints and controls imposed upon it by Pakistan, write Ajai Shukla
It is time for India to open a dialogue track with the Quetta Shoora of the Taliban, which increasingly chafes at restraints and controls imposed upon it by Pakistan, write Ajai Shukla
For the Indian Army, Siachen symbolises a superhuman feat of arms, sustained over decades. All that Indian Army generals are hoping is that all their effort is not undone by the latest round of Indo-Pak talks on Siachen, reports Ajai Shukla
Ajai Shukla feels that for Islamabad, engineering China's new tilt is about doing down India. For Beijing, however, this appears to be less about India than about reducing insecurity on a sensitive border.
DRDO's latest tank will face trial in Rajasthan's summer which will be followed by 'user trials' ahead of facing battle in high-altitude deserts of eastern Ladakh and Sikkim, reports Ajai Shukla.
A general battling an insurgency among an often hostile populace while labouring hard and openly to win hearts and minds is not usual, but that is what Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain, commander of the Srinagar-based 15 Corps, has been at since taking charge four months earlier.
Mahindra's LSV is an extremely agile combat vehicle with all round protection against small arms fire.
Throughout 2022, China turned to the PLA as an increasingly capable instrument of Statecraft, strengthening its ability to 'fight and win wars' against a 'strong enemy', points out Ajai Shukla.
HAL is working closely with GE to develop the LCA's export potential.
Indian policymakers must realise that in buying small quantities of equipment, it becomes hard to start manufacturing them in India, explains Ajai Shukla.
Top military officers, including Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, had been summoned to make presentations on military uniforms.
The fast interceptor craft delivered can patrol the coastline at a scorching speed of 45 knots.
'Rajnath Singh's message was very clear: India's focus is on developing self-reliance.'
While Pakistan enjoys rough parity with India in legacy weapon systems, it is beginning to enjoy superiority in drone warfare, thanks to the RPVs supplied by China, explains Ajai Shukla.
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