'It is hard to justify $225 million a plane for an increasingly obsolete mission.' The purchase of the 36 Rafales has changed little for the IAF.
Rediff reader Major Punjab Singh tells us how he found love.
From banking reform to financial reconstruction, the bullet train, Navi Mumbai airport, choosing a new medium fighter aircraft to be made in India... time is running out for Modi. How could a leader as energetic and astute as Modi have left it for so late, asks Shekhar Gupta.
A Few Good Men and the Angry Sea: 2004 Tsunami, the IAF Story, is the incredible story of survival, guts, resilience and indomitable spirit of the air warriors and their families, civilians and the government's efforts in rebuilding the strategically important military Car Nicobar air base.
Currently women are allowed in a number of select areas including in medical, legal, educational, signals and engineering wings of the army.
Thirty-four years after he traveled to space, Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma tells Rediff.com's Archana Masih that he looks forward to Gaganyan, India's first manned space mission in 2022.
The attorney general admitted that there is no sovereign guarantee, but asserted that there is a letter of comfort by France which would be as good as a governmental guarantee.
Engaged in a territorial dispute with China, Japan on Thursday sought to rope in India's support over "the recent Chinese provocative actions" saying a message needs to be sent to it collectively that status quo cannot be changed by force.
The J-20 fighter is called Beijing's answer to the US F-22 stealth fighter and the F-35 that will be soon deployed in the Pacific by the United States and Japan.
As the United States and China joust for supremacy, India might remain on the sidelines with its limited resources.
The majestic Rajpath saw a scintillating display of India's military might as the country celebrated its 69th Republic Day on Friday, with the leaders of all the 10 countries of the ASEAN attending the parade. Take a look here.
At a time when Donald Trump is making belligerent noises, Chinese President Xi Jinping responds by overhauling the People's Liberation Army and restructuring the command of the PLA Navy to emphasise Beijing's resolve to dominate the South China Sea.
DRDO says it is working with the navy to fit the Rustom-1 with an Automatic Identification System that will identify Indian fishing vessels along the maritime boundary
Instead of ramming through change, Mr Parrikar has tied his own hands by placing reform at the mercy of numerous committees, says Ajai Shukla.
Air Vice Marshal Arjun Subramaniam lists the major operational takeaways from the 1971 War in his new book 'India's Wars, A Military History, 1947-1971'.
With ambitious generals knowing that political patronage might be rewarded, a worrying era of politicisation of the military looms ahead, observes retired Colonel Ajai Shukla who has known Generals Rawat, Bakshi and Hariz for a long time.
In a powerful signal to New Delhi that the United States is a reliable defense partner, Senators Mark Warner and John Cornyn introduced US-India Defense Technology and Partnership Act in Senate
Lieutenant Colonel Desmond Hayde was awarded the Mahavir Chakra, the second highest honour in battle, for winning an epic battle in Pakistan. In a brilliant and gruesome assault, what he and his men achieved that September 50 years ago had never been seen before.
The 19th edition of the Malabar naval exercise saw the Indian, US and Japanese maritime forces participated jointly in the routine.
The party desperately needs another state where, unfettered by the Centre, it can fly its flag.
Accurate and sustained firepower against Pakistan during the Kargil War helped Indian soldiers to reduce the enemy to rubble.
Just 21 then, a young air force officer looks back at the 1971 war, which was like a baptism by fire in the fauj.
The HAL wants the IAF to buy 80 Tejas Mark I-A to keep the production line occupied from 2020 to 2023-24
One of the most sought after exhibitions in Asia, as many as 549 companies are participating this year with 53 fighter aircraft on display.
No one really knows what proportion of the nation's wealth and income are available for defence
The deal which is worth 7.87-billion (Rs 58,363 crore) comes with a saving of nearly 750 million (Rs 5,611 crore).
'Belonging to a Muslim family, I obviously had my own set of issues to deal with but I don't remember my father saying 'no' to anything.'
The British administration ignored the mounting evidence of violence between Hindus and Muslims... Military historian Barney White-Spunner traces the countdown to the tragedy in his book, Partition.
An ill-informed public narrative centres on expensive weapons platforms instead of the little things that would improve capability.
We get tangled up in our own crooked web on purchases, and the murky arms bazaar knows it, says Shekhar Gupta.
'India was in no position to wage another war in 1965, having suffered a morale-shattering defeat in 1962. The three services were in the middle of a modernisation and expansion phase and therefore not fully trained or battle-ready.'
The National Democratic Alliance government has adopted half measures instead of moving decisively on defence.
Powerful senators write to US Defense Secretary Hagel to support a robust defence relationship with India to achieve shared goals and form an unwavering bond between the world's two largest democracies. Aziz Haniffa in Washington, DC
'He is a man whose utterances have been so virulent and communalistic.' 'That's why many people did not look at him as the party's choice for chief minister.' 'UP is the state that reports the largest number of communal incidents every year.' 'Modi may not be using the Hindutva card, but he never condemns the incidents too.'
He was ready even to take on Germany's collective guilt over the Holocaust
'Other countries go out on a limb to save even a single life.' 'What to talk of civilian accidents and disasters, even our military does not have a priority for Combat Search and Rescue,' says Group Captain P I Muralidharan (retd).
Decorated with a Vir Chakra for leading an attack that destroyed four tanks, Risaldar Ayub Khan shared a name with the Pakistani president who ordered the invasion of India in 1965. India's Ayub came from a family of soldiers and made his country proud.
'Coordination between our 50 teams, each with a strength of 45 men, played a key role in rescuing flood-affected people in Chennai. In all, we succeeded in rescuing over 20,000 people.'
Rahul Bedi explains how 'miscellaneous' factors have posed a major hurdle in negotiating the Rafale deal.
Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar is underwriting the revival of a vintage Dakota as a gift to the Indian Air Force.
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