Category Archives: Great Power imperatives

Rafale sliding, BAE edging in with Typhoon?

Posted on April 22, 2015 by Bharat Karnad

Rafale had the shortest run imaginable. With the Modi govt sobering up after the Paris high when the PM merely broached — did not commit — to a G2G deal to buy the Dassault product outright, GOI is backing off … Continue reading →

Posted in arms exports, Asian geopolitics, Defence Industry, domestic politics, DRDO, Europe, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Indian ecobomic situation, Indian Politics, Military Acquisitions, South Asia, Strategic Relations with the US & West, Technology transfer, Weapons, Western militaries | 29 Comments

Rafale discussion on HT TV channel

Posted on April 19, 2015 by Bharat Karnad

For those interested in the Rafale, esp’. interesting ACM Tipnis’position that it’d be “a disaster” if 36 Rafale MMRCA are followed up with some other aircraft as MMRCA in a TV panel discussion hosted by Karan Thapar (April 15, 2015) … Continue reading →

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Impatience Seals Worst Possible Defence Deal

Posted on April 17, 2015 by Bharat Karnad

With the price negotiations meandering into the fourth year, an impatient Narendra Modi intervened, circumventing the elaborate Request for Proposal (RFP) system of competitive bidding under which the medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) deal was initiated. The prime minister decided … Continue reading →

Posted in arms exports, Asian geopolitics, civil-military relations, 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 Politics, Military Acquisitions, Russia, russian assistance, society, South Asia, Strategic Relations with the US & West, Technology transfer, United States, US., Western militaries | 11 Comments

Rafale deal — live webchat hosted by Reuters news agency

Posted on April 15, 2015 by Bharat Karnad

Interesting stuff! The Trading India Forum live webchat with me on the Rafale deal was hosted by Reuters on April 13, 2015. It may be accessed at http://blogs.reuters.com/india/2015/04/13/rafale-deal-an-unmitigated-disaster-bharat-karnad-of-cpr/

Posted in arms exports, Asian geopolitics, China, China military, civil-military relations, Defence Industry, domestic politics, DRDO, Europe, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Indian democracy, Indian ecobomic situation, Indian Politics, Military Acquisitions, Russia, russian assistance, South Asia, Strategic Relations with the US & West, Technology transfer, Weapons | Leave a comment

The Great Hanut, RIP

Posted on April 14, 2015 by Bharat Karnad

The death yesterday of the greatest armoured tactician and battlefield commander the country has ever produced, Lt Gen Hanut Singh, is a personal loss to those who served under him and the few civilians privileged to have known him. I … Continue reading →

Posted in Asian geopolitics, civil-military relations, Great Power imperatives, India's Pakistan Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Pakistan, Pakistan military, society, South Asia | 19 Comments

Unexpected windfall for France with Rafale?

Posted on April 10, 2015 by Bharat Karnad

It was surprising news from Paris about the Indian govt finally settling on the purchase of some 60-odd aircraft as a via media between ditching the entire deal and continue struggling with Dassault for a compromise solution for the lot … Continue reading →

Posted in arms exports, Asian geopolitics, civil-military relations, Defence Industry, domestic politics, DRDO, Europe, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, Indian Air Force, Indian democracy, Indian ecobomic situation, Military Acquisitions, Russia, russian assistance, russian military, society, South Asia, Strategic Relations with the US & West, Technology transfer | 16 Comments

‘India Conference’ at Harvard University — Panel discussion on Sino-Indian relations

Posted on April 7, 2015 by Bharat Karnad

On the first day of the 2015 ‘India Conference’ at Harvard University, Boston, May 7, was scheduled the keynote panel discussion on Sino-Indian relations featuring the former NSA, Shivshankar Menon, and myself and moderated by Gary Samore, Executive Director, Belfer … Continue reading →

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Summiting with Purpose

Posted on April 3, 2015 by Bharat Karnad

After the fiasco of the “Savile Row” suit at his “chai pe charcha” with president Barack Obama, prime minister Narendra Modi learned, at some cost to his personal reputation, the need to dress austerely. As regards the more serious side … Continue reading →

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Holdover Foreign Policy

Posted on March 20, 2015 by Bharat Karnad

Earlier in the year, the Pakistani columnist Ayaz Amir voiced the futility, apropos prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s efforts to get imaginative policies out of the advisers around him, of churning butter from water. A similar problem may be affecting prime … Continue reading →

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Terminate the Rafale Deal

Posted on March 8, 2015 by Bharat Karnad

Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha has repeatedly and publicly declared “there’s no Plan B”, that in effect it is Rafale or nothing with respect to the Indian Air Force’s dubious Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) requirement. … Continue reading →

Posted in arms exports, Asian geopolitics, China, China military, civil-military relations, 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 ecobomic situation | 4 Comments