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

Image credits- The National Interest Source- The National Interest Author- Zachary Keck The U.S. Navy’s next generation air superiority fighter will not be “super-duper fast” or employ much in the way of stealth, a senior navy official announced on Wednesday. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert, the Navy’s top officer, divulged some details about the Navy’s so-called Next Generation Air Dominance F/A-XX fighter jet during a speech at an industry conference. “I don’t see that it’s going to be super-duper fast, because you can’t outrun missiles.” Greenert said, the Washington Examiner reported. “And you can’t become so stealthy that you become invisible — you are going to generate a signature of some sort,” he also noted, adding “You know that stealth may be overrated…. If something moves fast through the air and disrupts molecules in the air and puts out heat – I don’t care how cool the engine can be – it’s going to be detectable.” In lieu of steal

Image credits- MEA Official gallery Source- The Diplomat Author- Rohan Joshi On December 3, 1971, while Indian and Pakistani forces were engaged in pitched land and air battles, then-U.S. National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger convened a meeting of the National Security Council’s Washington Special Actions Group (WSAG). “I’m getting hell every half hour from the President that we are not being tough enough on India,” Kissinger is reputed to have said to the WSAG, “…he does not believe we are carrying out his wishes. He wants to tilt in favor of Pakistan.” By the ninth day of the war and with Indian troops barely 100 kilometers away from Dacca, the capital of East Pakistan, the U.S. aircraft carrier USS Enterprise sailed into the Bay of Bengal ostensibly on a rescue and relief mission for stranded U.S. citizens in East Pakistan. Although this did little to influence the eventual outcome of the 1971 India-Pakistan war — Pakistani forces surrendered to the Indian army

Agni-5 during the 2013 Republic day Parade ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / Author- Robbyrules0510) Source- The Diplomat Author- Jhinuk Chowdhury India’s defense arsenal received a significant boost with the successful test of the Agni-V – considered India’s first true intercontinental range ballistic missile (ICBM). The Agni-V’s effective range covers all of China and part of Europe. With this addition to its arsenal, India has now joined the elite ICBM club with just five other countries across the world: the United States, Russia, France, China, and Britain. While the country conducted two tests earlier in 2012 and 2013, the current version of Agni-V is said to be significantly cutting-edge in its navigation and guidance capabilities. The Agni-V can be launched from effectively anywhere in India, giving the country the ability to hit back and maintain a second-strike capability even after facing a nuclear strike. The missile, likely to be inducted soon in

ISIL Militants ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons/ Author- Menendj) Source- International Policy Digest Author- Robert Sharp The catalogue of atrocities committed by Daesh pails in comparison to any committed even by Al Qaeda core. Their public executions by beheading and now by burning alive, must be stopped. Today’s execution of Jordanian Lieutenant Moaz al-Kasasbeh, the pilot hostage, represents a strategic inflection point, and a game changer that suggests: “enough is enough, time to act!” Advocates of diplomacy will likely refer to a trinity of escalating political measures against Daesh through persuasion, coercion and then a threat or show of force. Politics have been in play throughout, with Jordan recently engaging Daesh directly in their valiant attempt to save Lieutenant Moaz and also Japanese hostage Kenji Goto following the beheading of his countryman Haruna Yukawa a few days earlier. Politics is failing. Advocates of informational approaches talk abo

Chinese President Xi Jinping ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons/ Author- Antilong) Source- International Policy Digest Author- Margaux Schreurs Official data has shown that China’s GDP grew by 7.4 percent in 2014, a decrease from 7.7 percent in 2013, and the lowest growth figure the country has recorded in 24 years. At a time when the global economy is still recovering from the economic crisis, this may be a bigger issue than it seems, regardless of the attitude taken by Chinese government officials. For them, lowering GDP is part of a “new normal” and sustainable development. In line with the publication of 2014 GDP figures, the Mayor of Shanghai announced that the city would start to focus on qualitative goals instead of quantitative goals. It did not provide a predicted growth rate for 2015, after 2014 predicted rates were all off the mark. On top of that, reports coming out of China say that businesses are struggling and strikes are becoming increasingly common. F

Taliban in Herat ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons) Source- The Strategic Culture Author- Nikolai Bobkin The leaders of the Islamic State (IS) have announced their intention to spread the group’s activities eastward, including Afghanistan and Pakistan. The US does not rush to recognize the fact of Islamic State’s presence in Afghanistan, but Kabul does not deny the information that the group’s militants coming from Syria and Iraq are operating in the country.  According to Afghan official sources, the Islamic State is recruiting in Afghanistan with dozens of propagandists sent to spread the group’s ideas among the ranks of young people. «We will either become captors or martyrs», say propaganda messages from the Islamic State published in Fatah, a pamphlet published in local languages and distributed to Afghans. These pamphlets invite citizens of Afghanistan to pledge allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the self-declared caliph of IS, and join the jihad against non-b

PLAN Aircraft carrier Liaoning ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons) Source- The Diplomat Author- Shannon Tiezzi A local government inadvertently confirmed that China is building a second aircraft carrier on Sunday, sparking a wave of media analysis of China’s maritime ambitions. According to Reuters, the government of Changzhou, a city in Jiangsu province, posted on its microblog that a Changzhou-based power cable manufacturer had been awarded a deal to supply products for China’s new carrier. The reports were also carried by a local newspaper before being scrubbed. China currently operates one aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, the pride of China’s navy (which last year was even the subject of musical paeans). Yet the Liaoning was not domestically produced – the carrier is a refitted version of Ukraine’s Varyag, as South China Morning Post described in great detail in a recent series. The goal all along has been for China to use the Liaoning as a training platform, a

Image credits- Wikimedia Commons Source- The National Interest Author- Michael Mizza Vietnam and the Philippines, which have long-standing territorial disputes in the South China Sea, are forming a strategic partnership. Worried over the rise of China and, in particular, Beijing’s increasingly belligerent actions in pursuit of its own territorial claims, Hanoi and Manila are banding together. The two rivals are moving beyond symbolic displays of unity—sports matches on disputed islands—and on to substantive cooperation: joint naval exercises and patrols as well as new trade initiatives. Neither country wants to see China extend control over the entirety of the South China Sea, which seems to be its aim. Both Vietnam and the Philippines have come to realize that China poses a greater threat to each than they do to each other. That Manila and Hanoi are choosing to balance rather than bandwagon may come as somewhat of a surprise to Beijing, which offers the promise o

Malabar Exercises 2014 ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons, United States Navy / Author- Mass Communication Specialist Alonzo M. Archer) Source- The Diplomat Author- Robert Farley One of the potentially most interesting developments to emerge from President Obama’s recent trip to India was news that the United States and India have decided to embark on cooperative efforts with respect to naval aviation.  Of course, India and the United States already enjoy some degree of collaboration, as the U.S. has assisted the Indian Navy with pilot training and deck management for several years. Still, the open discussion of this relationship implies a more expansive, longer-term cooperative framework than has previous been clear. India has taken a much different road with its carrier force than the United States. It’s current carriers are transplants from the United Kingdom and Russia, albeit with significant modification.  Instead of pursuing a common design for its three carrie

"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