Category Archives: Indian Army

‘Uf yoo ma’ at Ufa

Posted on July 10, 2015 by Bharat Karnad

Remember that song with the nonsensical lyrics — “Uf yoo ma” in that Dev Anand-Asha Parekh starrer of yore, Jab Pyar Kisise Hota Hai? These words meant nothing but denoted joyous and uplifted spirits! In the Russian town of Ufa, … Continue reading →

Posted in Afghanistan, Asian geopolitics, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Central Asia, China, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's Pakistan Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Army, Indian Politics, Internal Security, Maldives, Pakistan, Pakistan military, Russia, society, South Asia, Sri Lanka | 5 Comments

Great developments on the Tejas front; duplicate them for FMBT

Posted on July 5, 2015 by Bharat Karnad

Leadership has often been the difference between a successful and failed indigenous armament or weapons development project to which national prestige is committed. After the departure of Dr Kurt Tank from the HF-24 supersonic fighter project and the sidelining of … 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 Navy, Indian Ocean, Military Acquisitions, Russia, russian military, society, South Asia, Technology transfer, United States, US., Weapons | 27 Comments

Sour Grapes and Screw-ups

Posted on July 4, 2015 by Bharat Karnad

The long rumoured book by AS Dulat, head of RAW during the previous BJP government, has finally hit the bookshops. Haven’t bought the book yet, but from the available news reports on it, the author has avoided genuinely deconstructing many … Continue reading →

Posted in Afghanistan, Asian geopolitics, civil-military relations, Culture, domestic politics, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Army, Indian para-military forces, Indian Politics, Internal Security, society, South Asia, Special Forces, Terrorism | 4 Comments

Incomparable indigenous RLGs — French no match; see!!

Posted on June 26, 2015 by Bharat Karnad

Going to France for ring laser gyros as navaid for the Brahmos cruise missile is a ridiculous thing the Indian govt has done. Whether the Minister of State for Defence Rao Inderjit Singh even understood what he was actually asking … Continue reading →

Posted in arms exports, Asian geopolitics, civil-military relations, Culture, Defence Industry, DRDO, Europe, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Indian ecobomic situation, Military Acquisitions, Missiles, South Asia, Strategic Relations with the US & West | 4 Comments

Why satnav and French RLG on Brahmos?

Posted on June 25, 2015 by Bharat Karnad

If as is being bandied about the French were approached for the ring laser gyro (RLG) as navigation aid on the Brahmos, the story makes even less sense! The VG Sekaran-led Advanced Systems Laboratory, Hyderabad, also produced the RLG for … Continue reading →

Posted in arms exports, Asian geopolitics, Cyber & Space, Defence Industry, DRDO, Europe, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Military Acquisitions, Missiles, Russia, russian assistance, satellites, South Asia, Strategic Forces Command, Strategic Relations with the US & West, Technology transfer, Weapons | 3 Comments

Going to the French for Brahmos guidance?!!!

Posted on June 24, 2015 by Bharat Karnad

An extraordinary development has come to my notice: French electronics/avionics companies, possibly Safran [not Thales], has been approached by some Indian government agency for the guidance system for the supersonic Brahmos cruise missile. This is perfectly ridiculous, considering the Block … Continue reading →

Posted in arms exports, Asian geopolitics, China, China military, 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, Missiles, Relations with Russia, Russia, russian assistance, russian military, South Asia, Strategic Relations with the US & West, Technology transfer, United States, US., Weapons, Western militaries | 4 Comments

Does the Myanmar SF strike redefine Indian policy?

Posted on June 11, 2015 by Bharat Karnad

Listen to Bharat Karnad comment on the Myanmar strike by the Indian army WHETHER IT REDEFINES INDIA’S COUNTER TERRORISM POLICY AND MORE, at http://cprindia.org/news/4435 —- (text of above) Q: The Myanmar strikes are in the news right now. Do you … Continue reading →

Posted in Asian geopolitics, Bhutan, China, China military, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's Pakistan Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Army, Indian Politics, Internal Security, Myanmar, Nuclear Policy & Strategy, Nuclear Weapons, Pakistan, Pakistan military, society, South Asia, South East Asia, Special Forces, Terrorism | 4 Comments

Taking out NSCN killers in Myanmar

Posted on June 9, 2015 by Bharat Karnad

From the sketchy info available that the media has put out, what is known about the Northeast insurgent movements, and about the safe havens in northern Mayanmar the NSCN factions use with impunity, secure in the belief they’d not be … Continue reading →

Posted in Asian geopolitics, Bhutan, China military, civil-military relations, domestic politics, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, guerilla warfare, India's China Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Indian Politics, Internal Security, Myanmar, society, South Asia, South East Asia, Special Forces, Terrorism | Tagged | 2 Comments

G’Bye New Indian Express

Posted on May 29, 2015 by Bharat Karnad

Received a “Dear John” letter from the New Indian Express to day afternoon! My last column was published this morning in this paper and uploaded to this blog. The e-letter from the person running the op-ed page ran thus: Dear … Continue reading →

Posted in Indian Army | 6 Comments

US Defence Bait is Potent But Impractical Symbolism

Posted on May 29, 2015 by Bharat Karnad

The American defence secretary Ashton Carter drops into Delhi next week bearing ideas for joint military projects and things to sell in government-to-government (G2G) deals—Foreign Military Sales (FMS) in Pentagonese. The apparent absence of middlemen and corruption makes G2G/FMS the … Continue reading →

Posted in Asian geopolitics, China, China military, civil-military relations, Defence Industry, domestic politics, Europe, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's Pakistan Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Army, Indian ecobomic situation, Indian Navy, Indian Ocean, Military Acquisitions, Missiles, nuclear industry, nuclear power, society, South Asia, Strategic Relations with the US & West, Technology transfer, United States, US., Weapons, Western militaries | 7 Comments