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

Image credits- Wikimedia Commons/ Author- Menendj Source- The Diplomat Author- Arif Rafiq In an audio statement released last week, the former Tehreek-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesman Shahidullah Shahid announced that he and five other commanders from the terror group have given the bay’ah (oath of allegiance) to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the self-styled “caliph” of the group that describes itself as the Islamic State (IS), and is also known as ISIS and ISIL. This is the first public defection of commanders from the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban groups to IS. Their defection portends further divisions within Pakistan’s jihadist community, which has rapidly splintered since the killing of the TTP leader Hakimullah Mehsud last fall in a U.S. drone strike. These divisions could result in heightened violence between anti-state jihadist groups in Pakistan. But Pakistan is also likely to see a rise in both sectarian and overall violence. Down the road, there is a risk that Pak

Wishing you and your family a Happy and a Prosperous Diwali

INS Trikand (F51) ( Image source- Wikimedia Commons/ United States Navy) Source- Russia & India Report Russia offered India three additional Project 11356 or Talwar class frigates, after New Delhi made a formal request, Vladimir Spiridopulo, the general director working on this project at the Northern Design Bureau, said.  Negotiations have been taking place since this spring, TASS said. Russia supplied India with two sets of three Project 11356 frigates, with the last one being the INS Trikand. “Negotiations on the third set of three frigates have been taking place with the Indian side since this spring. India sent us a request and we presented a proposal in response,” Spiridopulo said. “I cannot talk about all the details of the third set of three frigates,” he added. Spiridopulo also would not specify which shipyard might be given the order – the first three ships were built in the Baltic Shipyards of St. Petersburg, and the second set in Kaliningrad’s Yant

Image credits- Flickr/ Narendra Modi Official Source- The Diplomat Author- Tridivesh Singh Maini and Yasser Latif Hamdani The recent violence along the Line of Control (LoC) between India and Pakistan in Kashmir threatens confrontation yet again between the two nuclear armed neighbors. It also underscores the need to rescue the fragile Track II process from irrelevance, because ultimately it is through genuine people-to-people exchange that long-term peace between the two nations is possible. While visiting the other country and forging relationships is a gargantuan task for the average Indian and Pakistani, given the nature of the visa regimes on both sides, there are a few groups of individuals who manage to cross the borders quite frequently: select businessmen, members of civil society, academics, and other privileged individuals. Then there are Track II dialogues which bring together individuals from various professional backgrounds: politicians, retired di

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

When the dust get settled in the elections for the Maharashtra and Haryana legislative assembly seats, the picture that emerges is advantage BJP which stands tall beyond it's nearest competitor. What has been the effects of such a dramatic turn of events needs to be analysed. The biggest factor for the victory of the BJP has been the Modi factor and the general acceptance of the policies of Modiji. The popularity of the PM is ever more evident that has translated into results. For Maharashtra, the equations has dramatically changed with the BJP now becoming the senior partner. For the BJP, it is also evident that it is finally settling down to being a truly national party. It is growing through out India with an increasing foot print even in states where it did not have any presence previously. What further boots the BJP is the growing acceptance within the population.  For the congress, the picture is totally different. The congress has lost big time in these e

Image credits- Wikimedia Commons/ Author- United Stated Navy Source- The National Interest Author- James Hardy It seems these days the world is literally on fire. Conflict continues on and off in Ukraine, there are tensions throughout the Asia-Pacific, Ebola is on the rampage, ISIS continues its bloody war of attrition throughout Syria, into Iraq and on and on. Yet, could something even worse be on the horizon—a conflict with more-severe global ramifications? Before we begin this foray into the five places where World War Three could break out, I should note a few qualifiers and weasel words. First off, what’s World War Three? As illustrated by the Ukraine crisis and the Obama administration’s struggle to define what is going on in Syria/Northern Iraq, “20th-Century Industrial War” is out of fashion and has been for some time. Some of the predictions below envisage regime collapse that leads to war, while the specter of a terrorist WMD attack has the capacity

Nirbhay Misile ( Image credits- DRDO) Source- The Times of India BALASORE (Odisha): India's indigenously developed nuclear capable sub-sonic cruise missile 'Nirbhay', which can strike targets more than 700 kms away, was today test-fired from a test range at Chandipur near here. "The missile was test-fired from a mobile launcher positioned at launch pad 3 of the Integrated Test Range at about 10.03 hours," said an official soon after the flight took off from the launch ground. "Flight details will be available after data retrieved from radars and telemetry points, monitoring the trajectories, are analysed," the official said. It is the second test of the sub-sonic long range cruise missile 'Nirbhay' from the ITR. The maiden flight, conducted on March 12, 2013 could not achieve all the desired parameters as "the flight had to be terminated mid-way when deviations were observed from its intended course," sources sa

United States Marine ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons/ United States DOD) Source- The Diplomat Author- Koh Swee Lean Collin As a natural consequence of the maritime geography and complex array of security challenges within, naval modernization programs in Southeast Asia have always been characterized by the quest for a balanced set of capabilities. They not only reflect unique national requirements but also differing economic circumstances, which dictate the need for prioritization. In this equation, amphibious forces – often regarded as the less “glamorous” branch of navies – have long taken a backseat to other high-end assets such as missile-armed surface ships and submarines. Over the last decade, this has begun to change. Six of the nine member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) – Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam – now possess varying-sized, specialized amphibious ground forces equivalent to the U.