'The first and most basic responsibility of any government is to protect its people from external threats and internal harm.' 'Budget 2025-2026 has to focus on meeting this responsibility,' asserts R Jagannathan.
The Tridents squadron which is now also known as the "Defender of the North" has replaced the MiG-21 squadron at the Srinagar air base which has traditionally been responsible for taking care of the threat from Pakistan.
As Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi, United States President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met at the Kantei palace in Tokyo on Tuesday, May 24, 2022, to give the Quad a boost, Chinese and Russian warplanes on Tuesday conducted joint air patrols over the Sea of Japan, the East China Sea and the West Pacific Ocean.
What despots and dictators, jammers and competitors, had not managed to do in 83 years -- what the Soviet Union had failed to counter during the Cold War; what China had failed to crush during the Tiananmen Square uprising -- a US President had succeeded with his own hand, notes Krishna Prasad.
Will never let the sacrifice of our braves of Galwan go in vain, Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria said.
According to the Pentagon report, the PLA is creating options for dissuading, deterring, and defeating external intervention in the Indo-Pacific region.
"We continue to be operationally deployed and ever vigilant," he said, adding the IAF continues to monitor all Chinese activities along the LAC.
India has allocated Rs 1.72 trillion, or 27.67 per cent of the total defence budget to cater to modernisation of the country's arsenal. Modern militaries spend up to 50 to 60 per cent of their total defence budget so that they go into combat with superior weaponry and equipment.
The Indian Army bravely prevented the Chinese PLA's attempts to unilaterally change the status in the Yangtse area of Arunachal Pradesh's Tawang sector on December 9 and confronted it with firmness, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Tuesday.
It is learnt that Chinese Air Force planes had refuelled in Pakistan and Iran last month while on their way to Turkey to participate in a joint air exercise with the Turkish Air Force. On the way back, they refueled only in Iran. The air exercise preceded the recent visit of Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao to Turkey.
China's Sheng Lihao claimed his second gold of the Paris Olympics on Monday by winning the men's 10-metre air rifle event.
'The next war will be fought by China-Pakistan against India and we have to fully be prepared. We must read the writing on the wall.'
Donald Trump's exaggerated opinion of his dealmaking capacity can get him into trouble, observes R Sriram.
Disengagement of Indian and Chinese troops has started at two friction points in Demchok and Depsang Plains in the Eastern Ladakh sector, defence officials said.
two Mirage fighters landed on a freeway in southern Taiwan as China launched a huge military excercise in the strait.
The American platforms at the exercise 'Cope India' that started off Kalaikunda will also include a fleet of F-15 E fighter jets, C-130 and C-17 transport aircraft.
'Their air force is no match to ours!'
The use of firearms along the LAC marks a serious escalation in border tensions as the previous instance of shots being fired at the de-facto border was in 1975.
'...and then get scaled down somewhat.' 'It will be difficult for any side to occupy meaningful territories, maybe just a bit here and there, and the destruction may vary on either side.'
'It is a game of patience. We have to stand firm and tire them out, which we are doing.'
The biennial Theatre Level Operational Readiness Exercise (TROPEX) is aimed at 'validating and refining' the Navy's concept of 'operations' as well as to test overall combat capabilities, officials said on Tuesday.
Gen Rawat carried out an aerial recce of certain areas and was briefed about key aspects of the security matrix in the region by senior military commanders.
Since Tibet's occupation, China has disrupted the natural flow of rivers by pursuing a series of ill-conceived environmental and developmental policies such as the Great Leap Forward, the South-North Water Diversion Project, etc, the report said, adding that, this has led to a dam-building spree on the Tibetan plateau with disastrous impacts on Asia's major rivers.
The commanders are also expected to specifically deliberate on deployment of first batch of around six Rafale fighter jets which are expected to join the IAF's fighter fleet later this month, they said.
'With continued focus on votes, upcoming by-polls and purchasing politicians, the political hierarchy has little time for national defence.' 'They would do well to heed a veteran scholar, who says, "There will be war with China in the next few years. The next full scale war will have the involvement of Pakistan and terror elements, insurgents and intelligence assets operating inside India",' warns Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
'Nine missiles from India had been pointed towards Pakistan, to be launched any time that day'
United States Vice President Joe Biden arrived in Beijing on Wednesday for meetings with top Chinese leaders amid an international spat over China's new air defence zone over the disputed islands in the East China Sea.
The Indian Air Force is probing the incident, an IAF source said.
In what could be a lesson learnt from the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war where anti-tank missiles have played a big role, the Indian Air Force is arming its Russian-origin helicopters with the Israeli 'Non-Line of Sight (NLOS) ATGMs' which can hit ground targets from distances up to 30 km.
The force also stated that such incidents happen due to differing perceptions of the LAC and there are established mechanisms to resolve such differences.
If the initial analysis of this YJ-21 is correct, then China becomes the first country in the world to operationally field such a missile from a naval vessel.
The balloon, which was being used by the People's Republic of China in an attempt to surveil strategic sites in the continental United States, was brought down above US territorial waters.
Shanghai on Monday reported 425 confirmed and 8,581 asymptomatic domestically transmitted cases, the highest daily increases since the latest outbreak, bringing the total number of COVID-19 infections in the city to over 60,000.
General Zhao Zongqi is well known in India for having commanded the Chinese troops during the Dokalam episode. Zhao knows every inch and corner of the Indian border, at least the Eastern and Central sectors, including the Naku La area which witnessed fist-fights between Indian and Chinese troops in April/May. Claude Arpi introduces us to the PLA generals masterminding the Chinese aggression in Ladakh.
Another major announcement that came was an MoU signed between GE and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited to jointly produce fighter jet engines for the Indian Air Force.
China last year pegged its defence budget at 1.45 trillion yuan, a 7.1 per cent increase. This year the defence spending is increased to 1.55 trillion yuan.
The Indian and Chinese troops are engaged in a five-month bitter standoff in eastern Ladakh.
As soon as one lands at the Leh airfield, one can see the Indian Air Force C-17s, Ilyushin-76s, and C-130J Super Hercules aircraft flying in with rations and supplies for the troops deployed on the forward locations opposite the Chinese forces.
Pakistan is evaluating, among other options, three or four Chinese surface-to-air missiles, including the advanced 'HQ-18', Air Chief Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman told China Daily.
The capability of operating fighter aircraft from this area would strengthen the air force's ability to tackle any misadventures by the adversary in a faster way.
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