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

Image credits- Flickr / MEA Official photo gallery, Government of India Source- The National Interest Authors- Jon Huntsman Jr & Bharath Gopalaswamy Although India’s economic story has been the subject of much discussion in the United States in the past decade, its foreign policy has not received similar attention. This has something to do with the consensus in Washington about India’s hesitancy in the exercise of realpolitik. Last month, however, India’s newly appointed foreign secretary and leading strategist Subrahmanyam Jaishankar delivered an attention getter. In a major speech, Jaishankar emphasized that India was intent on playing the role of a “leading” instead a “balancing” power in Asia. This statement comes as a significant shift to the prevailing perceptions concerning India’s reluctance to actualize its role as a great power.   Until recently, India was seen as a power that could serve as a counterweight to China and help the United States in bal

Dassault Rafale ( Image source- Wikimedia Commons / Author- United States Air Force by Capt Jason Smith)  Source- The Diplomat Author- Ankit Panda With Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s big announcement in Paris that New Delhi would purchase 36 Dassault Rafale multi-role fighters off-the-shelf (prêt-à-porter, if you will) in a government-to-government deal, the future of the $20 billion tender for India’s medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) that was being negotiated between France’s Dassault Aviation and the Indian government fell into limbo. That ambiguity was resolved on Monday, three days after Modi’s announcement, when Indian Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar clarified that the $20 billion tender would not move forward. Just like that, the “mother of all defense deals,” as India’s MMRCA project was known, was dead. Though Parrikar avoided shutting the door on the project entirely, he emphasized that the Indian government would not move forward with thos

INS Kamorta ( Image source- Wikimedia Commons / Credits- Indian Navy) In continuation of our series "Make In India", today we feature Kamorta class Corvette. She is the first of a new class of corvettes designed and built in India with high level indigenous content. Built as an Anti Submarine warfare corvette, Kamorta is highly capable and a real force multiplier.  Kamorta class corvettes are the Indian Navy's next-generation anti submarine warfare platform, built under Project 28. They are being built at Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata. All the four corvettes are planned to be handed over to the Indian Navy by the year 2017. Project 28 is the primary project for driving localisation and developing the warship construction industry in India. The aim with this project is to stipulate unprecedented standards while providing opportunities to Indian vendors to develop expertise with the technology. The project, driven by the Navy's D

Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / Author- United States Military Source- The Russia & India Report Author- Rakesh Krishnan Simha  n the Russian view, there is another serious threat that should be discussed: Pakistan. Pakistan is a nation with nuclear weapons, various delivery systems and a domestic situation that is highly unstable. Russia assesses that Islamists are not only seeking power in Pakistan but are also trying to get their hands on nuclear materials. – Wikileaks, November 2010. The Russian assessment of the Pakistani nuclear threat has to be seen in the backdrop of Islamabad’s insecurity-fuelled weapons programme. The country has not only cranked up its production of nuclear warheads, it is doing so primarily in the area of battlefield nuclear weapons designed for use against the Indian Army’s armour and troop concentrations. While Pakistan’s strategic arsenal is said to be under constant scrutiny by US intelligence agencies, the tactical warheads wil

"Make in India" is the new initiative by the Government of India to indigenously develop the products in India rather than import and rely on foreign vendors. India relies on foreign products and services to drive it's massive economic growth. WHAT IS "MAKE IN INDIA" India after independence had closed it's economy to foreign investors and opted for public undertakings to build it's industrial base. A take from the socialistic era, the early planners wanted the Indian economy be driven by the public sector, but the private sector was allowed to continue, but was severely hampered by the so called "license raj" which saw a lot of bureaucratic impediments and red tapism.  Massive industries were set up in the public sector in areas ranging from steal to locomotives, sugar and aeroplanes. They formed the base for building a strong industrial infrastructure which saw the break from buying everything from tooth brush to nails from a

Agni-5 launch from Cannister ( Video credits- DRDO)

Image credits- MEA Official Gallery Source- The Eurasia Review Author- Sameer Patil On January 25, India and the U.S. renewed their bilateral defence pact for 10 more years. The ‘2015 Framework for the U.S.-India Defense Relationship’ strengthens cooperation between the two countries in the areas of defence technology, military exchanges, and counter-terrorism.[1] For the first time, co-production and co-development are at the core of the defence engagement outlined in the framework, indicating the importance for India of technology transfers and indigenous manufacturing. The agreement makes India part of a group of nations that includes Japan, U.K., and Taiwan, with whom the U.S. cooperates on defence technology. Specifically, four pathfinder projects for co-production and co-development were identified through the Defence Technology and Trade Initiative of 2012, which serves as the guiding principles for the framework for cooperation. All the projects are experi

Image credits- DRDO Source- The National Interest Author- Robert Farley India’s nuclear weapons program is a cornerstone of New Delhi’s security strategy for the 21st century. For most of the post-war period, India badly trailed the established nuclear powers in weapon quality, quantity, and the sophistication of delivery systems.  In recent years, however, India has indicated a willingness to take the steps necessary to becoming a first rate nuclear power. This article examines the development of the nuclear program over history, the current state of the program and its associated delivery system projects, the strategic rationale of India’s nuclear efforts, and the likely future contours of the program.  The current balance of nuclear power in South and East Asia is unstable, and likely to result in a nuclear arms race involving Pakistan, India, and China. History of the Program: Indian work on nuclear technology began even prior to independence from the Unit

INS Arihant ( Image credits- DRDO/ Indian Navy) Source- The Russia & India Report Author- Rakesh Krishnan Simha In June 2012 a nuclear-powered attack submarine of the Russian Navy quietly entered the Gulf of Mexico. Armed with long-range nuclear cruise missiles, the Akula class vessel operated undetected for several weeks and its movement in strategic US waters was only confirmed after it left the area. The silent  Akula  left a lot of red faces in the American defence establishment in its wake. In November 2013 Russia  launched  its advanced stealth diesel-electric Novorossiysk . The Project 636 submarine is said to be virtually undetectable when submerged. “Our potential opponents call it the ‘Black Hole’ due to the very low noise emission and visibility of the submarine,” Konstantin Tabachny, the captain of the  Novorossiysk , told the media. “To be undetectable is the main quality for a submarine. And this whole project really fits its purpose.” After deca