Manoj Ambat's Blog dealing with Defence, Foreign Affairs, Strategic Affairs and Politics

Boeing P8I ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons/ Indian Navy) Source- NDTV The Indian Navy is working towards a new fleet of aircraft and helicopters for maritime surveillance, electronic warfare and anti-submarine and anti-ship warfare, its top commander has said. According to the naval chief, Admiral R.K. Dhowan, it was imperative to expand its "maritime surveillance footprint to meet operational requirements" with 12 Boeing P-8I long range maritime reconnaissance (LRMR) aircraft, nine yet to be identified medium range maritime reconnaissance (MRMR) aircraft and 12 Dornier-228 short range maritime reconnaissance (SRMR) aircraft. "The induction of these aircraft will provide the Indian Navy with the required surveillance capability in support of our operational roles," Adm. Dhowan told India Strategic magazine ( www.indiastrategic.in ) in an interview. At present, Boeing has a contract to supply eight P-8Is, six of which have been delivered on

Image credits- Indian Army Source- The Eurasia Review/ South Asia Monitor Author- Sudip Talukdar China, emerging as one of the most powerful global players in recent years, is pursuing its geostrategic interests with enormous military and economic might. Being in the immediate vicinity, India has to bear the brunt of its muscle-flexing over incursions and territorial claims, which occurs with a vexing regularity, besides erection of temporary structures on our soil. China watchers, strategic experts and peaceniks have usually been counselling India to keep a low profile for fear of antagonizing the mighty neighbour. The common refrain is that India is no match militarily and would be worsted in any conflict, often against the backdrop of the humiliating defeat in 1962, almost 52 years to the day. But could one ignore ground realities in assessing potential threats and eventualities. It may be true that well trained and heavily armed People’s Liberation Army

Indian Army in action ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons) Source- The Diplomat Author- Ali Ahmed With the dust having settled after the heaviest artillery and mortar exchange of the past decade on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir, the situation is now clearer. India has intimated a change in policy, from merely having a shield to also wielding a sword. Defence Minister Arun Jaitley insisted that Pakistani “adventurism” would meet with “pain.” However, National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval also promised that if Pakistan behaved then India would be willing to let the rising tide of its economy lift all regional boats. For its part, Pakistan has used its prime minister’s foreign policy and the NSA to spell out that it will not accept India’s hegemonic designs and will settle only for “meaningful” talks that lead to a settlement on the outstanding issue of Kashmir. Its army chief has vowed an “effective” response, while the more colorful former military d

Indian Navy Fleet ( Image credits- Indian Navy)  Source/ Copy Right- The Hindu Author- Y. Mallikarjun India is looking to export indigenously developed hull-mounted sonars and negotiations are at an advanced stage with the navies of three to four friendly nations. SONAR (an acronym for Sound Navigation and Ranging) is used to detect underwater targets. Like radar, used to detect long-range aerial and other targets, sonars have applications in underwater surveillance, communication and marine navigation. Three units of these sonars have been exported to Myanmar. Officials from Bharat Electronics Limited and the Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory visited the neighbouring country and installed them a fortnight ago. BEL produced the sonars while the Kochi-based NPOL, a naval lab of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), designed and developed them. BEL had signed the Rs.150-crore contract for the three sonars with Myanmar in January 2013. D

INS Kolkata ( Image credits- Indian Navy) Source- The Business Insider Author- Preetam Kaushik A recent study by Britain's ministry of defence has predicted that India is likely to be among the top three military powers in the world by 2045, along with the US and China, with a projected defence outlay of $654 billion. Though India's military-industrial acumen is unlikely to surpass technological sophistication of the US by 2045, it may, along with China, rival it in terms of size. It is also likely to surpass Japan, Australia and South Korea (which will be ahead of other regional military powers) by developing sizeable and technically advanced armed forces, including ocean-going navies, capable of delivering an enduring and capable maritime presence both regionally and further afield, according to the study titled 'Global Strategic Trends - Out to 2045'. This projection explains why the Narendra Modi government is aggressively pushing its defence agen

Nirbhay Cruise Missile ( Image credits- DRDO) Source link- The Diplomat Author- Ankit Panda On Friday, India successfully test fired an indigenously developed nuclear-capable sub-sonic cruise missile dubbed the “Nirbhay.” The missile has a range of 700-1,000 kilometers and is ultimately expected to take up the role of a nuclear delivery device for India’s strategic deterrence. Nirbhay, like so many other indigenous Indian defense technologies, was developed by the state-run Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO). The Diplomat reported on the preparation for the Nirbhay’s testing earlier this year. What sets Nirbhay apart from other missile technologies in use or being tested by India is its high degree of maneuverability, rendering it a particularly potent nuclear device delivery vehicle. This is typical of cruise missiles (a shining example of which would be the United States’ Tomahawk), but not of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) such as India’s

Agni-5 ( Image credits- DRDO) Source- Want China Times India's Defence Research and Development Organization under the country's defense ministry is preparing to test various intercontinental ballistic missiles with the ability to attack targets in the Far East, Africa and even Europe according to the official website of the People's Liberation Army's China Defense Science and Technology Information Center. A source from the Indian military said that the country is ready to test three types of Agni intercontinental missiles after the launch of the Nirbhay subsonic cruise missile in November. The missiles include the Agni-II, with a range 2,000 kilometers, and perhaps even the Agni-IV, with a range of 4,000 km, the source said, while the Defence Research and Development Organization said the Agni-V, estimated to have a range of 5,000-8,000 kilometers, will be tested as well. The Agni-V's first test was in April 2012. On Sept. 15, the Agni-V complete

SU- 30 MKI ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons/ Author- Pritishp333 Sources- Forces India Author- Atul Chandra The Indian Air Force (IAF) in 2024 will have finally arrested the continued decline in its combat aircraft strength and attain a combat fighter aircraft fleet of 42 squadrons. For the first time, its fighter fleet will consist almost exclusively of twin engine fighters in the Rafale, Sukhoi-HAL Prospective Multirole Fighter (PMF), SU-30 MKI (upgraded), MiG-29 UPG and Jaguar strike fighter with the exception of upgraded Mirage 2000s, Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) and few numbers of the MiG-21 ‘Bison’. It would have to cater for retirement from service of its entire MiG-27 fleet (an estimated 80 aircraft) and MiG-21 fleet (approximately 150 aircraft), starting a few years from now.  The IAF currently operates nine squadrons of the venerable MiG-21, including six squadrons of upgraded MiG-21 Bisons. By 2024, however, the indigenous Tejas Mk II production l

Indian Navy's western fleet ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons/ Author- Indian Navy) (I am back again after two days break for the Vijayadhashami Poojas. For my first blog, I have decided to deal with India's greatest security challenge, China) China, the enigma of the modern age. No single word can explain this unique power, be it an economic miracle or a regional bully. China has been a success story with remarkable advances and growth in the economic sector which has transformed a communist country to an economic power house. But China is a country of paradox. On one side, China seeks to develop cooperation economically with it's neighbours but on the other hand it seeks to take the line of confrontation with aggressive military postures that has put it's neighbors at unease.    For India the developments is particularly worrying. India has a long running territorial dispute with China which has seen in recent times to flare up. Three unrelated events p

Akash Missile ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons/ Author) Unleashing further defence industrial reforms, the Department of Defence Production (DDP) announced in early September a Strategy for Defence Exports (SDE) followed by a set of standard operating procedures (SOP) for issue of no objection certificate (NOC) for export of military stores by the Indian defence industry. These two initiatives, which come after the government raised the benchmark defence FDI cap from earlier 26 per cent to 49 per cent, and simplified and streamlined the defence industrial licensing process, are part of the larger reform process for incentivising indigenous arms manufacturing and achieving higher self-reliance. The commentary examines some of the salient features of defence exports reforms. While doing so, it also looks at some of the grey areas that need consideration by the policy makers. It is noteworthy to mention that the SDE is not a policy document as has often been demanded by various com

Image credits- PMO, India Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said al Qaeda will struggle to recruit members in the world's second-most populous nation and he praised Indian Muslims for their commitment to fight for the country. Al Qaeda announced the formation of its first wing dedicated to waging jihad in South Asia earlier this month. A few days later it claimed responsibility for hijacking a Pakistani naval ship. Mr Modi, who was elected in May, said Indian Muslims were patriotic and would not betray their nation, which has a long history of sectarian strife. "Indian Muslims will live for India, they will die for India, they will not want anything bad for India," PM Modi told CNN, which aired excerpts of the pre-recorded interview on Friday. "If anyone thinks Indian Muslims will dance to their tune, they are delusional." Al Qaeda said in a statement that it aimed to end the suffering of Muslims in places such as Kashmir, where violent insurgency raged thro

INS Kamurta ( Image credits- Indian Navy) Following Prime Minister  Narendra Modi’s successful visit to Japan , New Delhi and Tokyo have  upgraded  their relationship to a “Special Strategic and Global Partnership.” For India, the visit has, indeed, been quite “special.” With Japan committing to increase its investment in India’s economy and formally declaring its intention to transfer equipment technology to the Indian defense sector, the takeaways for New Delhi have been substantial. An agreement to accelerate talks on the possible  sale of the US-2 amphibious aircraft  is poised to make the Indian Navy the beneficiary of Japan’s first overseas military sale in nearly 50 years. The  deepening of defense relations  has also raised hopes of a stronger maritime partnership. If the media reports of the various interactions and press-briefings at Tokyo are anything to go by, India and Japan could soon be in a  strategic maritime embrace . Both countries reportedly committed themse