The report authored by Ashley Tellis, the top American expert on India and South Asia, states that the IAF's fighter force is weaker than numbers suggest.
Giving an account of India's overall military modernisation, Lt Gen Pande also said that an in-principle approval has been given to new combat formations called the Integrated Battle Groups (IBGs) which can mobilise fast with a more effective approach.
The new minister must commit himself to supporting long-term defence plans or else defence modernisation will continue to lag and the growing military capabilities gap with China will assume ominous proportions, warns Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
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.
'India enjoys the maneuverability of a coming big power.' 'It is this possibility that has persuaded Moscow to humour India and stayed Washington from getting punitive about India's neutrality on the Ukraine issue.'
The raids, taking place mainly in South India, was termed by the NIA as the 'largest ever' investigation process 'till date'.
Armed with rockets and missiles, these helicopters can rain fire on the enemy in rarefied altitudes.
Women in war-torn countries battle on the front lines
Though Singh will receive the first of the 36 Rafale jets on Tuesday, the first batch of four aircraft will come to India only by May next year.
'The government must provide more funds to enable the armed forces to fight and win tomorrow's wars,' states Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
The delivery of the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) to the Indian Air Force under a Rs 48,000-crore deal will begin from March 2024 and around 16 aircraft will be rolled out annually till the completion of the total supply of 83 jets, Chairman and Managing Director of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited R Madhavan said on Sunday.
'...Cliffy with utter disregard to his personal safety, charged through the fire zone, closed in on the enemy, threw hand grenades inside their bunkers and killed six enemy soldiers!' '...He was hit by a volley of bullets. Even before breathing his last, Cliffy killed a Pakistani soldier in hand-to-hand combat...' Captain Keishing Clifford Nongrum, who was just 24, received the Mahavir Chakra posthumously for his superhuman act of valour in the Kargil War just 18 months after he joined the Indian Army. Archana Masih/Rediff.com remembers one of India's Bravest Of The Brave as the nation salutes the 527 soldiers who made the supreme sacrifice for the Motherland on Vijay Diwas.
Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Radhakrishnan Hari Kumar said on Friday that his force is fully capable of confronting any security threat and fully backed the ambitious tri-services reforms that included setting up of a maritime theatre command.
"The meeting demonstrated the depth of India-France bilateral partnership, especially in the defence sector, that has significantly strengthened in recent times. Both leaders resolved to take the relationship to the next higher level," said a statement issued by the ministry after the 35-minute meeting.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday said India is a peace-loving nation that never resorts to any kind of aggression but is always prepared to give a befitting reply if provoked or threatened.
'The government has belied the hope that many harboured of change, efficiency and dismantling old practices as the defence ministry continues to pursue the same well trodden and wasteful path.'
India and five Central Asian countries on Thursday decided to establish a joint working group on Afghanistan at the senior officials' level, ministry of external affairs secretary (West) Reenat Sandhu said.
20 defence ministry reforms 'is a reflection of the resolve of the government to make the defence sector stronger and more efficient.'
Defence Minister Arun Jaitley said perhaps for the first time after Independence, such a big and 'far-reaching' reform process is being initiated in the Army.
The IAF had said that during the aerial engagement on February 27, one of its MiG-21 Bison shot down a F-16.
Here is how the two countries stack up militarily, according to a report in AlJazeera.com.
China has blocked a proposal by the US and India at the United Nations to blacklist Abdul Rauf Azhar, the brother of Jaish-e Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar and the deputy chief of the Pakistan-based terror group, in the second such move by Beijing in less than two months.
The United Kingdom on Sunday handed over its last base in Afghanistan to the Afghan forces, marking an official end to the 13-year-long combat operations that claimed over 450 British lives in the war-torn country.
A bench headed by Justice D Y Chandrachud rejected the Centre's argument of physiological limitations and social norms for denying them permanent commission and command postings, saying it is disturbing and against the concept of equality.
Given how the armed forces struggle to attract talent, they cannot rule out hiring half the population, says Nitin Pai
They'll be allowed to drive tanks, fire mortars, and lead infantry soldiers into combat. They'll be able to serve as Army rangers and green berets, Navy SEALS, Marine Corps infantry and Air Force para jumpers.
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Monday mooted the idea of raising an all women battalion and stationing of women on warships besides opening the doors of the National Defence Academy and Sainik schools for them.
The defence ministry took the decision to hold the biennial event as scheduled following inputs from major stakeholders including the domestic defence industry and global aerospace majors, official sources said.
The Chinese air force is now a 400,000-person force that flies some 2,000 combat aircraft -- more than thrice the size of the Indian Air Force.
Singh received the aircraft at the Rafale fighter jet handing-over ceremony at Merignac in the presence of French Minister of Armed Forces Florence Parly. Members of the top military brass of France as well as senior officials of Dassault Aviation, the makers of Rafale, were also present at the ceremony.
The 'request for proposal' for the indigenous construction of the six submarines will be issued soon, they added.
'It is only when Beijing sees a country with an infirm political will such as India that it acts up as the PLA has done in eastern Ladakh.'
Mere shuffling of resources or cosmetic changes to prove a point would be counterproductive in the long run, observes Commodore Venugoptal Menon (retd).
If New Delhi finds itself out in the cold in Afghanistan, both the Congress-led UPA and BJP-led NDA have only themselves to blame. Each has been in power for a full decade from 2001, without reaching out to the Taliban, points out Ajai Shukla.
It is the first-ever visit by a head of the Indian Army to South Korea.
Group Commander (coordination) B K Jha was admitted to the Central Armed Police Forces Hospital in Greater Noida after he contracted COVID-19 and breathed his last early morning.
A senate panel has approved a legislation which blocks $300 million United States military aid to Pakistan.
'It's waging an offensive with no seeming precedent.' 'The fact that it's now entering cities, as opposed to remaining massed around their perimeters, is a game changer.'
The Light Combat Helicopter will enable the army to provide fire support to soldiers at altitudes of 15,000 to 20,000 feet, where the oxygen-depleted air prevents them from carrying weaponry heavier than their personal rifles and light machine guns.
Lieutenant General B S Raju, who will take over as the new DGMO, handed over the charge of the strategic XV Corps of the Army, which guards the Line of Control in Kashmir Valley, to Lt Gen D P Pandey.
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