'If the other side knows you are coming, then you are the guy who is going to be dead.'
The IAF faces a 'fighter gap' of 13 squadrons. The IAF would be caught seriously short in a two-front war -- the worst-case planning contingency in which China and Pakistan attack India simultaneously, points out Ajai Shukla.
'He consulted widely, both formally and informally and acted quickly on pragmatic suggestions.' 'To his credit, Parrikar took the initiative to reduce excessive litigation against armed forces veterans and widow over small sums of pensionary and disability benefits,' points out says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
'At 1.58% of GDP, the defence budget is one of the lowest since the Chinese aggression of 1962.' 'The government of the day has lost sight of the fact that defence of the country is as important as its growth,' says Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd).
India has shortlisted five of the 17 hi-tech items of military hardware offered by the US for co-production and co-development under a one-of-its kind American offer to boost bilateral defence cooperation.
Images that capture what it was like living through 2021.
Thousands of mourners on Saturday joined the formal funeral procession for Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani, the head of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force, who was killed a day before near Baghdad's international airport in an air strike ordered by United States President Donald Trump.
Around four lakh people who attended the event were treated to a spectacular flying display of fighter, civilian aircraft and helicopters.
'If deterrence through India's conventional superiority is to be established now, then India will have to escalate to a point where its greater resources make the difference.' 'This is, to put it mildly, both difficult and dangerous and thus inadvisable,' points out Mihir S Sharma.
The final deal may be clinched by May-end.
'At this point, neither the army or the IAF has that immediate, punitive deterrent power against Pakistan.' 'Forget a three-week war; on the LoC, where the action is, Pakistan has until now fielded better infantry weapons, body armour, sniper rifles, and matching artillery' points out Shekhar Gupta.
The coordinated assaults in the morning set off fierce fighting between the army and the militants that is currently ongoing, with soldiers and police chasing the attackers using ground and air force, security sources said.
Israel has launched its first massive ground offensive in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip in five years, after 10 days of bombardment from the air and sea killed nearly 260 Palestinians but failed to stop the militants' rocket attacks on the Jewish state.
While the Saudi drone strike has put the focus back on anti-drone measures, caution also stems from the fact that India has a number of large oil refining assets close to India-Pakistan border.
'Drone warfare has come to stay.' 'India should exploit the expected Reaper acquisition from the US to build an effective counter terror campaign,' argues Group Captain Murli Menon (retd).
The Rafale will surely be flying in Indian skies next year. But the way the BJP government has botched this will cast a shadow on defence acquisitions in the years to come.
The IAF has insisted it hit its targets. If that is indeed true, then the lack of obvious damage could mean it has used a different bomb -- possibly procured secretly from Israel.
'It appears that Prime Minister Modi has to undo 50 years of State monopoly in the defence sector during which public undertakings like HAL or DRDO monopolised defence production and development with disastrous consequences.'
Moments that shaped the world from the week that was
Stepping up its offensive, Israeli military killed 26 Palestinians, including eight members of a family, in overnight raids on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, taking the death toll to more than 300 in the 12-day long conflict that has displaced thousands.
Israeli warplanes resumed bombings on Gaza after a five-hour truce ended abruptly with Hamas militants launching rocket attacks despite hectic diplomatic parleys to broker a ceasefire to end the 10 days of conflict that has killed 237 Palestinians.
After three decades of glorious service, the Sea Harrier jets of the Indian Air Force will fly into the sunset on Wednesday.
The DARIN-III navigation attack system allows a Jaguar pilot to feed in the coordinates of targets deep inside enemy territory.
Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip on Friday killed six persons, including a pregnant woman and two children, taking the Palestinian toll to 815, as the 18-day conflict threatens to spread to the West Bank after deaths of two youths in anti-Israel protests in north of Jerusalem.
The Long Range Surface to Air Missile jointly being developed by India and Israel is an answer to potential threats from Pakistan's anti-ship missile.
Even while rejecting Israel Military Industries' petition, the court has effectively granted foreign vendors the constitutional right to be treated equally with Indian companies.
'Indian diplomacy in West Asia under the present government has been a success story -- and with Saudi Arabia in particular,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Amid deepening ties between India and Israel, Chief of Air Staff N A K Browne has held strategic talks with his Israeli counterpart and will meet defence top brass, furthering the ongoing bilateral military cooperation.
Israel on Thursday launched a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip even as hectic diplomatic efforts continued to broker a ceasefire to end the 10 days of conflict that has killed 237 Palestinians.
China has been commissioning three new destroyers every year while India has barely completed one destroyer every 2-3 years.
The aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya, formerly the Admiral Gorshkov, expected to join the Indian Navy later this year, is already late by five years and its price has risen three-fold, from $947 million (about Rs 5,735 crore) in 2004 to $2.3 billion (Rs 13,928.8 crore) today.
TMC and other opposition party members rushed into the well of the House as Vaishnaw was called to make a statement over the issue.
Israel is no longer the valiant and beleaguered underdog, but increasingly seen as an increasingly arrogant oppressor seeking to crush another old nation under its jackboots, says Mohan Guruswamy.
In a break from protocol, Netanyahu received Modi at the Ben-Gurion International Airport.
Prime Minister Modi needs to call Biden next month and clearly say: 'Mr President, the threat from China is clear and present. We, in New Delhi, have determined it to be an urgent national priority to outfit our submarines and aircraft carriers with nuclear propulsion and we want to cooperate with America on this programme",' advises Ajai Shukla.
Top 20 images of all the events of the week that was.
'The response to savagery and mass injustice is never a persistent howl.' 'There will be, among the victims, those who choose to forget the scars, those who go on living, those who challenge the overall environment of sentimentality.' 'And the more effort you put into including these other voices, into assimilating these spoilsports, the more balanced your depiction of the tragedy in question will be,' observes Sreehari Nair.
'The bigger challenge and dilemma for Pakistan would be if the US and Saudi Arabia go full throttle against Iran and enforce regime change in Tehran.' 'That would be bad news for Pakistan, especially with the current instability in Balochistan,' notes Brigadier Narender Kumar (retd).
'But India, increasingly, is not that far behind, which is a story I never expected to tell.'
A round-up of Wednesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
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