Category Archives: civil-military relations

What, Rafale as a nuclear delivery system?!

Posted on December 5, 2017 by Bharat Karnad

(Rafale) Indian Express first carried a story Sept 18, 2016 justifying the purchase of 36 Rafales announced in Paris by PM Narendra Modi  17 months earlier because of its supposedly strategic role as nuclear weapon delivery system, http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/behind-rafale-deal-their-strategic-role-in-delivery-of-nuclear-weapons-3036852/ . On … Continue reading →

Posted in arms exports, asia-Pacific/Indo-Pacific, Asian geopolitics, China, China military, civil-military relations, corruption, Culture, Decision-making, Europe, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's Pakistan Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Indian ecobomic situation, Military Acquisitions, Military/military advice, Nuclear Policy & Strategy, Nuclear Weapons, Pakistan, Pakistan military, Relations with Russia, Russia, russian assistance, russian military, society, South Asia, Strategic Relations with the US & West, United States, US., Weapons, Western militaries | 34 Comments

China in the Maldives

Posted on December 5, 2017 by Bharat Karnad

Rajya Sabha TV panel discussion in ‘India’s World’ programme on the subject of China at India’s backdoor in the IO. It was broadcast yesterday evening at 10PM.

Posted in arms exports, Asian geopolitics, China, China military, civil-military relations, Decision-making, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, Indian ecobomic situation, Indian Navy, Indian Ocean, Intelligence, Japan, Maldives, MEA/foreign policy, Military/military advice, society, South Asia, South East Asia, Special Forces, Sri Lanka, Strategic Relations with South East Asia & Far East, United States, US. | 3 Comments

Litigating Tejas LCA’s quality & utility

Posted on November 22, 2017 by Bharat Karnad

(Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa in the Tejas) No pilot who has actually flown the indigenous Tejas light combat aircraft has had anything but the highest praise for the fighter plane. This includes two recent … Continue reading →

Posted in arms exports, asia-Pacific/Indo-Pacific, Asian geopolitics, civil-military relations, corruption, Culture, Decision-making, Defence Industry, domestic politics, DRDO, Europe, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Indian Navy, Military Acquisitions, Military/military advice, Relations with Russia, Russia, SAARC, society, South Asia, Strategic Relations with the US & West, Technology transfer, United States, US., Weapons | 40 Comments

Defence Manufacturing — Dawn of a New Era?

Posted on November 19, 2017 by Bharat Karnad

Panel discussion on the subject with Air Marshal NV Tyagi, former Deputy Chief of Air Staff, Behera of IDSA and self, broadcast on Thursday, Nov 16

Posted in arms exports, asia-Pacific/Indo-Pacific, Asian geopolitics, civil-military relations, corruption, Culture, Decision-making, Defence Industry, DRDO, Europe, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Indian ecobomic situation, Indian Navy, Military Acquisitions, Military/military advice, society, South Asia, Technology transfer, United States, US., Weapons | 12 Comments

Stop the vilification campaign against Tejas

Posted on November 13, 2017 by Bharat Karnad

(Tejas LCAs lined up on tarmac) A planned vilification campaign is now underway against the indigenous Tejas Light Combat Aircraft programme. It has been initiated in newspapers and internet sites. Next one can see television — with TV channel reporters … Continue reading →

Posted in arms exports, asia-Pacific/Indo-Pacific, Asian geopolitics, civil-military relations, Culture, Decision-making, Defence Industry, DRDO, Europe, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Indian ecobomic situation, Indian Navy, Military Acquisitions, Military/military advice, society, South Asia, Strategic Relations with the US & West, Technology transfer, United States, US., Weapons | 55 Comments

Is Pakistan going back on its commitments on terror?

Posted on October 21, 2017 by Bharat Karnad

Rajya Sabha TV –‘The Big Picture’ program – panel discussion with Rana Banerji, Maj Gen AS Siwach, Smita Sharma of Tribune, and your truly broadcast Oct 13, uploaded Oct 16.  

Posted in Afghanistan, Asian geopolitics, Central Asia, civil-military relations, Decision-making, domestic politics, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, guerilla warfare, India's Pakistan Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Army, Indian Politics, Intelligence, Internal Security, MEA/foreign policy, Military/military advice, Pakistan, Pakistan military, society, South Asia, Special Forces, Terrorism | 1 Comment

Will India Ever Be A Great Power? Swarajya — extended interview

Posted on September 21, 2017 by Bharat Karnad

https://swarajyamag.com/defence/will-india-ever-be-a-great-power-heres-what-bharat-karnad-has-to-say-about-it If time is available, I suggest listening to the podcast of the interview in extenso in the above URL. You’ll avoid some of the mistakes in transcription that have crept into the published Swarajya version of the interview. ————– … Continue reading →

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Takeaways from Abe’s Visit

Posted on September 15, 2017 by Bharat Karnad

Rajya Sabha TV program — The Big Picture, broadcast September 14, 2017

Posted in arms exports, Asian geopolitics, Australia, Bhutan, China, China military, civil-military relations, Decision-making, Defence Industry, DRDO, Europe, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's Pakistan Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Indian ecobomic situation, Indian Navy, Indian Ocean, Japan, Maldives, MEA/foreign policy, Military Acquisitions, Military/military advice, Northeast Asia, Nuclear Policy & Strategy, Nuclear Weapons, Pakistan, Pakistan military, Russia, society, South Asia, South East Asia, Strategic Relations with South East Asia & Far East, Strategic Relations with the US & West, Technology transfer, Terrorism, United States, US., Weapons, Western militaries | 4 Comments

Pungyye-ri blast — Time India resumed thermonuclear testing (re-titled)

Posted on September 8, 2017 by Bharat Karnad

North Korea did it. Exploded at the Punggye mountain site a genuinely full-bore thermonuclear weapon. The Richter scale registering 6.3 level seismic shock wave followed by a 4.1 level quake and huge rockslides, translatable to around 250 KT yield, though … Continue reading →

Posted in arms exports, Asian geopolitics, China, China military, civil-military relations, Decision-making, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's Pakistan Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Indian Navy, Japan, MEA/foreign policy, Military Acquisitions, Military/military advice, Missiles, North Korea, Northeast Asia, Nuclear Policy & Strategy, Nuclear Weapons, Pakistan, Pakistan military, Pakistan nuclear forces, SAARC, society, South Asia, South East Asia, Special Forces, Strategic Forces Command, Strategic Relations with the US & West, Taiwan, Terrorism, United States, US., Vietnam, Weapons, Western militaries | 21 Comments

The Priority List For Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

Posted on September 5, 2017 by Bharat Karnad

Published in Bloomberg Quint 5 September 2017, at  https://www.bloombergquint.com/opinion/2017/09/05/cabinet-reshuffle-the-priority-list-for-defence-minister-nirmala-sitharaman Nirmala Sitharaman’s elevation as the Union Minister of Defence was met with deserved applause for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and, more predictably, a spate of news stories highlighting the “gimme” attitude … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, arms exports, Asian geopolitics, Bhutan, China, China military, civil-military relations, Decision-making, Defence Industry, DRDO, Europe, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's Pakistan Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Indian ecobomic situation, Indian Navy, Indian Ocean, MEA/foreign policy, Military Acquisitions, Military/military advice, Missiles, Nuclear Weapons, Pakistan, Pakistan military, Russia, russian assistance, SAARC, South Asia, South East Asia, Strategic Forces Command, Technology transfer, United States, US., Vietnam, Weapons | 13 Comments