'The range of purchases throw a light on India's threat perception as also its perceived role of being a stabilising influence in the region,' says Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd).
'India placed the order, primarily due to the IAF's 'critical operational necessity'.' 'The complexity of the IAF's requirements delayed the process for months.' 'It is these requirements which cannot be made public.' 'Can you image Indian politicians publicly discussing the pros and the cons of such military equipment?' 'It would provide India's enemies with indications about the IAF's tactical plans in case of a conflict.' 'It is crucial that they should remain secret to protect India's defence preparedness,' explains Claude Arpi.
'A fierce crusader against communalism, George joined hands with majoritarian forces, never to revisit or re-assess his saffron association.' 'He was a Union minister in 1998-2004, a time when people like Graham Staines were lynched in Orissa.' 'On the Gujarat pogrom of 2002, George went on to kind of justify the slashing of pregnant women, by saying in the Lok Sabha that this was nothing new for India.' 'Thus, he was in sharp contrast to what he had himself stood for in the heyday of his political career in the 1970s and 1980s, says Mohammad Sajjad.
IAF is focused on Rafale; argues the fifth generation fighter aircraft would not meet Indian expectations
Claude Arpi reveals how Wing Commander Jag Mohan Nath won a second Maha Vir Chakra in the 1965 War.
During a war, there are just four possibilities a soldier faces. One: Victorious and safe. Two: Wounded. Three: Killed in action. Four: Prisoner of War. It was my fate to face the fourth, says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd) on the year spent as a prisoner of war in Pakistan during the 1971 War.
The NSA will meet with officials of the French external intelligence agency to forge a very close counter-terrorism relationship with India, reveals Rajeev Sharma.
or the first time, the size and specifications of the Indian Navy's future aircraft carrier have been officially acknowledged.
A fighter aircraft's lethality in air-to-air combat is governed by the air-to-air missile that it carries. Since the Independence, the Indian Air Force has mounted French, Russian and British missiles on its fighters. On Sunday, an IAF Sukhoi-30MKI fighter conducted the first test launch of the indigenous Astra air-to-air missile, which the Defence R&D Organisation is developing at its missile cluster in Hyderabad.
Cautioning against various threats facing the subcontinent, President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday said it was imperative for India to have an effective deterrence and strong defence to promote development and it must be prepared to use its "might" if the need arises.
As the Cabinet approves the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter jets, Nitin Gokhale/Bharatshakti.in reveals how India brought down the price of the Rafale deal.
The 1971 war reaffirmed the importance of inspirational senior leadership in battle and heralded the emergence of a new fighting class amongst officers and men of India's armed forces.
'If this were to happen, it won't exactly be a game changer because Pakistan is known for treating arrested terrorists as 'political prisoners', who are generally given VIP treatment,' says Rajeev Sharma.
'If this were to happen, it won't exactly be a game changer because Pakistan is known for treating arrested terrorists as 'political prisoners', who are generally given VIP treatment,' says Rajeev Sharma.
The bogey of the 1962 defeat must be laid to rest with a finality that is unquestionable. The myth of Chinese invincibility is a tall tale that belongs to an era gone by, says Vivek Gumaste.
'If we had sent a few airplanes (into Tibet), we could have wiped the Chinese out.' 'And everything could have been different in the 1962 War.' 'They did not believe me there was no Chinese air force.' 'Can you imagine what would have happened if we had used the IAF at that time?' 'The Chinese would have never dared do anything down the line.'
The campaigning for the Mumbai Cricket Association's biennial elections, on October 18, is approaching the slog overs, and 'Cricket First', which is still at the crease, is launching a fantastic assault, promising voters the best possible value for their votes.
Indian Air Force on Friday raised its first squadron of the home-grown Light Combat Aircraft Tejas with the induction of two aircraft into the force at the Aircraft System Testing Establishment in Bengaluru.
'Sameer and Chhagan Bhujbal's arrest is directly the impact of the PIL filed by the AAP in the Bombay high court.'
Here are highlights of the 68th Republic Day parade.
By undertaking medical mercy missions, the Indian Air Force will win immense political and national goodwill.
'The ISI is bound to exploit narcoterrorism.'
Nitin Gokhale reports on how quick decisions saved a repeat of a Mumbai-like carnage at the key Punjab air force base.
'Jihadi outfits backed by the ISI are now prepared to attack targets not just in J&K, but also in Punjab. This signals an escalation in the range and scope of cross-border terrorism, which cannot be ignored,' says Ambassador G Parthasarthy, former high commissioner to Pakistan.
SAAB's Sea Gripen constitutes a new option as the INS Vikrant's light fighter
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif sees his victory in Pakistan's election as a mandate for peace with India, saying an arms race between the two countries must end and they should settle their dispute over Kashmir.
'There is a consensus within the Indian security establishment -- at least among those who draw their conclusions from data instead of speaking from nationalist sentiment -- that India lacks the offensive capability to defeat Pakistan in a short war.'
'If enough of us take up the issue with their elected representatives, politicians will get the message.'
Even as three Rafale fighters line up in Bengaluru for eye-popping aerobatics displays at the Aero India 2015 exhibition this week, senior ministry of defence sources say the proposal to buy the French fighter is "effectively dead".
India must develop structured multilateralism to its defence buys
In bilateral interfaces relations with China have also to be given due weight, opines Premvir Das
'It's like your own private Boeing 747 which you can fly yourself. This concept brings the aeroplane closer to passengers and opens the cockpit to everyone.'
The terrorists were armed with AK-47s, grenades, pistols, knives, many rounds of ammunition. Sepoy Jagdish Chand's weapons were his bare hands and enormous courage. He died, but not before he felled one of them. Archana Masih/Rediff.com speaks to the family of Sepoy Jagdish Chand, one of the 7 soldiers martyred in the terrorist attack on the Pathankot Air Force Station.
India's enemies be warned: The Rafale deal will bring a sea change in India's defence preparedness.
The remarkable story of Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma, the first Indian in space, will be seen in a film featuring Aamir Khan.
The National Democratic Alliance government has adopted half measures instead of moving decisively on defence.
India-Vietnam relationship has its own imperatives and dynamism. In India's look east policy Vietnam has been the major pivot, at least in terms of security and strategic imperatives, says Rup Narayan Das.
With the United States delivering an increasing share of India's arms imports, New Delhi must work with it to retain control of our regional waters
While the Rafale deal seems to be the main order of business during French President Francois Hollande's visit, other aspects could help sweeten the deal, says Claude Arpi.
'He is still compulsively an operations man. Just a whiff of a live operation, and he is back in the field, at least in his mind. That is why the immediate decision to send the NSG to Pathankot.' 'But there is a difference between classical intelligence or counter-terror operation and dealing with a larger threat to a place as sensitive and sprawling as an air force base. This is what led to confusion and mix-ups,' says Shekhar Gupta.
