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

Source- Wikimedia Commons / Author- Yuriv Bugrov Source- Russia & India report Author- Ajay Kamalakaran It came as a surprise to few when Russia decided to co-sponsor the India-initiated United Nations Resolution to mark June 21 as the International Day of Yoga. Russia’s most famous practitioner of the Indian spiritual, physical and mental discipline is Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, under whose presidency in 2004-8, yoga gained immense popularity in the country. The Indian diplomatic missions in Russia are partnering with regional governments, the Yoga Federation of Russia, socio-cultural organisations and Yoga centres to organize events across the country on June 21. The biggest such event is being organized in Moscow’s historic Sokolniki Park, where over 3000 people are expected to gather for a yoga demonstration. Other Russian cities are also celebrating the day with enthusiasm. Vladivostok is expected to have more than a thousand participants in its progra

Image source- Internet Source- The Diplomat Author- Franz Stefan-Gady The U.S. Navy and Air Force agreed to jointly work on a next generation air superiority fighter with multirole capabilities and the ability to execute manned and unmanned missions, Kris Osborne over at military.com reports. According to Rear Admiral Michael Manazir, the U.S. Navy’s Director of Air Warfare: There is an opportunity to field an unmanned system in the F/A XX program. We are collaborating with the Air Force on the technologies that would be required to operate an air system that gives us enhanced capabilities in the future. The new aircraft, named the F/A XX, is meant to start replacing the majority of the United States Navy’s F/A-18 Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler aircraft by 2035. The F/A XX is also intended supplement the F-35C Lighting II and the UCLASS unmanned aerial vehicle. U.S. military officials stress that the work is purely conceptual at this stage and that no pla

Sukhoi SU-35 ( Source- Wikimedia Commons / Author- Aleksander Markin) Source- The National Interest Author- Zachary Keck Russia appears intent on selling China its most advanced fighter jet by the end of the year, a move that will greatly enhance Beijing’s ability to project military power in the South China Sea. Speaking to reporters at the Paris Air Show this week, Yuri Slyusar, chairman of United Aircraft Corp, a Russian civilian and military jet manufacturer, said his company is aiming to ink a deal with China to sell Beijing 24 Su-35 fighter jets. “Our position is that we still believe that we will sign the contract to sell 24 aircraft this year,” Yuri said, according to multiple Western defense news outlets. He added that the decision would have to be approved by the “federal service on military cooperation.” China and Russia have been in negotiations for years over the potential sale of the Su-35, which Moscow refers to as a 4++ generation multi-role fi

J-20 ( Source- Wikimedia Commons / Author- Alexandr Chechin) Source- The National Interest Author- Harry J.Kazianis “Aggressive,” “coercive,” “antagonistic,” and “hostile” are some of the words various Asia-security experts have used over the last several years to describe recent Chinese foreign-policy choices. Such talk heated up dramatically in November 2013 when China declared—with no official advanced warning—an Air-Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) in the East China Sea, a geographic flashpoint between various powers in the region. This unilateral action sparked intense global debate as to the logic of such a move, but also amplified larger concerns over Chinese intentions throughout the Asia-Pacific and wider Indo-Pacific regions. This essay, divided into several sections, offers a rationale for China’s ADIZ declaration, with an eye towards an even more important question: Will Beijing declare such a zone in the area of the South China Sea? This author believes

Source- Wikimedia Commons / Author- Balti Sahib Source- Eurasia Review Author- Jai Kumar Varma / South Asia Monitor Pakistan exploits Shia-dominated Gilgit, Baltistan (GB) as its colony. The area, which is under direct rule of Islamabad, was governed under the repressive Frontier Crimes Regulations till 1975, and even after repeal of this draconian regulation the oppression continued. The inhabitants of the area are disgusted not only with Pakistan but also with the people of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) as they point out that residents of POK showed no sympathy towards them when Punjabi- dominated Islamabad subjugated them. Hence, neither do they want to be part of Pakistan nor do they want to be associated with POK. The inhabitants of the area claim that the Gilgit Baltistan Self Empowerment Package 2009 gave more powers to Islamabad and made the residents more dependent on the central government. The federal government with the ulterior motive of changin

Sukhoi T-50 ( Source- Wikimedia Commons / Author- Alex Beltyukov) Source- The Diplomat Author- Franz Stefan-Gady This week, the head of Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) announced that a full R&D collaboration contract would be signed in 2015 with New Delhi for joint work on the derivative Indian version of the PAK FA T-50 fifth-generation fighter jet, the Perspective Multi-role Fighter (PMF). The contract could be signed as early as July, as a follow-up to Indian Prime Minister’s Narendra Modi’s visit to Russia. Defense News reports that according to an unnamed source within the Indian Ministry of Defense (MOD), India is compromising on various points of conflict over the joint R&D program. Most interestingly, the draft agreement will include a fixed order of 154 PMFs, and include a compromise on work share, a firm commitment to the number of single- versus double-seat PMF (aka Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft) jets, and steps that specifically

Arjun MBT ( Source- Wikimedia Commons / Author- Anirvan Shukla) Source- The Diplomat Author- Franz Stefan-Gady Last week, the Indian Army released a global request for information (RFI) inviting responses by 31 July to develop a multi-purpose Future Ready Combat Vehicle (FRCV) in order to replace older license-built Soviet-era main-battle tanks (MBTs). “The Indian Army is planning to design and develop a new generation, state-of-the-art combat vehicle platform for populating its armored fighting vehicle fleet in the coming decade. This vehicle, which will be called the future ready combat vehicle (FRCV), will form the base platform for the main battle tank which is planned to replace the existing T-72 tanks in the Armored Corps,” the RFI reads. The Indian military envisions the FRCV system as a platform for as many as 11 different tracked vehicles, including light tracked, wheeled, bridge layer and trawl tanks, self-propelled howitzers (SPH), air defense guns, art