Category Archives: DRDO

Gutting the Tejas or Seventies’ fighter for 21st Century IAF zindabad!

Posted on November 1, 2016 by Bharat Karnad

The Narendra Modi-led BJP government has waxed “nationalistic” but almost every step and decision it has taken in the defence industrial sector to-date has not only regressed the possibility of India emerging as a military aviation and aerospace power but … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, arms exports, Asian geopolitics, China, China military, corruption, Culture, Defence Industry, domestic politics, DRDO, Europe, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's Pakistan Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Indian ecobomic situation, Indian Navy, Latin America, Military Acquisitions, Missiles, Pakistan, Pakistan military, Relations with Russia, russian assistance, society, South Asia, Technology transfer, United States, US., Weapons, Western militaries | 26 Comments

Mindless military procurement – S 400

Posted on October 15, 2016 by Bharat Karnad

The BJP government of Narendra Modi seems well set on the course of mindless military procurement. With so many strategic military areas to cover and a host of choices to strengthen national security available, trust Modi, Parrikar and Co. to … Continue reading →

Posted in Asian geopolitics, China, China military, DRDO, Europe, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Indian Navy, Military Acquisitions, Missiles, Nuclear Policy & Strategy, Nuclear Weapons, Relations with Russia, Russia, russian assistance, russian military, society, South Asia, Strategic Forces Command, Strategic Relations with the US & West, United States, US., Weapons, Western militaries | 29 Comments

Utilizing phased-out fighter aircraft for educational purposes

Posted on September 25, 2016 by Bharat Karnad

There’s little the Bharatiya Janata Party government of Narendra Modi and the Ministry of Defence under Manohar Parrikar, under a cloud after their studied non-response to the latest Pakistan-supported terrorist provocation (in Uri), can do, considering the Indian military has … Continue reading →

Posted in corruption, Defence Industry, domestic politics, DRDO, Great Power imperatives, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, society, South Asia, Technology transfer, United States, US. | 48 Comments

White elephant — Rafale, and missed opportunity with Su-35 in N-role

Posted on September 15, 2016 by Bharat Karnad

The phrase ‘White elephant’ refers to an acquisition exorbitantly costly to buy, run, and upkeep and is derived from the story of a rare pachyderm that was acquired by the Thai court as a symbol of its Hindu power and … Continue reading →

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“Subcontinental drift?” — an American take on recent writings on India, the US, and South Asia

Posted on September 13, 2016 by Bharat Karnad

Reproduced below is a review article by Daniel Markey, former US State Department official and currently on the faculty of the School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University, Washington, DC, published in ‘The American Interest’ and available at:http://www.the-american-interest.com/2016/07/01/subcontinental-drift/ The … Continue reading →

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Mistake upon strategic mistake

Posted on September 12, 2016 by Bharat Karnad

Analysts at home and abroad have noted Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s curious efforts to siddle up to the US president Barack Obama at the recent G-20 summit, as if seeking little pats on the back for finally committing India to … Continue reading →

Posted in Afghanistan, arms exports, Asian geopolitics, Central Asia, China, China military, civil-military relations, corruption, Culture, Defence Industry, disarmament, 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, indian policy -- Israel, Iran and West Asia, Iran and West Asia, Military Acquisitions, Missiles, nonproliferation, Nuclear Policy & Strategy, Nuclear Weapons, Pakistan, Pakistan military, Relations with Russia, Russia, russian assistance, SAARC, society, South Asia, South East Asia, Strategic Relations with the US & West, Technology transfer, United States, US., Weapons, Western militaries | 27 Comments

LEMOA — A most serious strategic mistake, and Consequences

Posted on August 30, 2016 by Bharat Karnad

India has signed the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) with the United States, with Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and Defence Secretary Ashton Carter doing the formalities in Washington. It is, perhaps, the most serious strategic mistake made by the … Continue reading →

Posted in Afghanistan, Asian geopolitics, Central Asia, China, China military, corruption, Culture, Defence Industry, disarmament, domestic politics, DRDO, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Indian democracy, Indian Navy, Indian Ocean, Indian Politics, Internal Security, Iran and West Asia, Japan, Military Acquisitions, nonproliferation, Northeast Asia, Nuclear Policy & Strategy, Nuclear Weapons, Pakistan, Pakistan military, Relations with Russia, Russia, russian assistance, russian military, SAARC, satellites, society, South Asia, South East Asia, Strategic Forces Command, Strategic Relations with South East Asia & Far East, Strategic Relations with the US & West, Technology transfer, United States, US., Weapons, West Asia | 53 Comments

Scorpene subs now good only for junking: Thank you DCNS!

Posted on August 24, 2016 by Bharat Karnad

The Indian Navy’s fleet of the French Scorpene submarine — the first of which, Kalvari, has entered service, is now completely compromized. The most secret data about the performance attributes and technologies incorporated in the Scorpene are now common knowledge, … Continue reading →

Posted in arms exports, Asian geopolitics, Australia, China, China military, civil-military relations, Cyber & Space, Defence Industry, domestic politics, DRDO, Europe, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's Pakistan Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Indian Navy, Indian Ocean, Latin America, Military Acquisitions, Missiles, Pakistan, Pakistan military, society, South Asia, Strategic Relations with the US & West, Technology transfer, United States, US., Weapons, Western militaries | 10 Comments

Narrowing the Seas: Security Ramifications of the SCS Verdict

Posted on August 20, 2016 by Bharat Karnad

There’s an aspect of China’s seeking to acquire dominance in the South China Sea that the verdict on July 11, 2016, by the International Court of Arbitration at the Hague, did nothing to address and, which difficult military problem, curiously, … Continue reading →

Posted in arms exports, Asian geopolitics, China, China military, Defence Industry, DRDO, Europe, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Army, Indian ecobomic situation, Indian Navy, Military Acquisitions, Missiles, Northeast Asia, SAARC, society, South Asia, South East Asia, Strategic Relations with South East Asia & Far East, United States, US., Vietnam, Weapons | 9 Comments

Ditching the Excalibur and every other indigenous armament project

Posted on August 10, 2016 by Bharat Karnad

The army brass in 2012 decided they wanted a multi-purpose infantry weapon with interchangeable barrels — 5.56x39mm for conventional warfare and the 7.62x51mm for distant kills. Foreign weapons — CM 901 from Colt (US), VZ 58 from Ceska (Czech Republic), … Continue reading →

Posted in Asian geopolitics, civil-military relations, corruption, Culture, Defence Industry, domestic politics, DRDO, Europe, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Indian democracy, Indian ecobomic situation, Indian Navy, Indian Politics, Israel, Military Acquisitions, Russia, SAARC, society, South Asia, United States, US., Vietnam, Weapons, Western militaries | 22 Comments