Category Archives: Military Acquisitions

Revisting 1962, with ifs and buts

Posted on October 11, 2012 by Bharat Karnad

Many years ago, Air Marshal B.D. Jayal (Retd), former Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, South Western Air Command, one of the most thoughtful airmen around, recalled how he and his mates of 1 Squadron sat in their transonic Mystere IVA fighter-bombers lined … Continue reading →

Posted in Asian geopolitics, China, China military, civil-military relations, Geopolitics, India's China Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Indian Politics, Military Acquisitions, Nuclear Policy & Strategy, Nuclear Weapons | 27 Comments

School of Hard Knocks

Posted on September 27, 2012 by Bharat Karnad

George Tanham’s scathing 1995 RAND Report on the Indian Air Force excoriated the service leadership for much of the Service’s ills – doctrinal incoherence, multiplicity of combat aircraft types in the inventory that has produced logistics, servicing, and training nightmares, … Continue reading →

Posted in Defence Industry, DRDO, India's Pakistan Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Military Acquisitions, Pakistan, Pakistan military, Strategic Relations with the US & West, Technology transfer, United States, US. | 12 Comments

Vikramaditya delay & IN Sqdn 303

Posted on September 12, 2012 by Bharat Karnad

Just got back from the College of Naval Warfare at INS Mandovi, Goa, after a talk at the CORE (Combined Operational Review and Evaluation) program. There learned that Carrier Vikramaditya (ex-Gorshkov) won’t be inducted before April-May 2013. A Russian crew is … Continue reading →

Posted in India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Indian Navy, Indian Ocean, Military Acquisitions, Relations with Russia, Technology transfer | Leave a comment

Streamlining Defence

Posted on August 2, 2012 by Bharat Karnad

When talking to uniformed officers in higher military training institutions and forums, I try to emphasise the perils of an industrial age military. The country has far to go to get anywhere near the technologically-efficient, cyber-savvy, 21st century modern armed … Continue reading →

Posted in Asian geopolitics, China military, DRDO, Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's Pakistan Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Indian Navy, Military Acquisitions, Nuclear Weapons, Pakistan, Pakistan military, Special Forces, US., Western militaries | 4 Comments

Fork in the road to defence ties

Posted on July 20, 2012 by Bharat Karnad

In the past several years India has dashed headlong into military acquisitions without thinking through their implications. This is par for the course for the Indian government wedded to ad hoc policies and decisions concerning the most serious aspects of … Continue reading →

Posted in Asian geopolitics, China, Defence Industry, 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, Military Acquisitions, Missiles, Pakistan, Pakistan military, Relations with Russia, United States | 34 Comments

Sikorsky hepter for the Indian Navy

Posted on July 12, 2012 by Bharat Karnad

The Indian Navy has, apparently, alighted on the US-built Sikorsky MH-60R helicopter for seaborne anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare operations for the Indian fleet to replace the British-produced Sea King, supposedly some 44 units as first tranche with another 14-22 possibly in the pipeline. … Continue reading →

Posted in Defence Industry, Indian Navy, Indian Ocean, Military Acquisitions, Missiles, Strategic Relations with the US & West, Technology transfer | 2 Comments

Panetta trip — problems ahead in Indo-US defense ties

Posted on June 7, 2012 by Bharat Karnad

US Defense Secretary Leon E Panetta was accompanied by a big retinue of DOD officials and US military officers to the IDSA auditorium for his speech yesterday evening, among them the old stand-bys — Peter Lavoy, and the highest ranking American … Continue reading →

Posted in Asian geopolitics, Defence Industry, Geopolitics, India's China Policy, India's Pakistan Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Army, Military Acquisitions, Missiles, Nuclear Policy & Strategy, Nuclear Weapons, Strategic Relations with the US & West, Technology transfer | Leave a comment

Countering US pressure

Posted on June 7, 2012 by Bharat Karnad

Assuming the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) has done its job, the government must be aware of the fact that North Korea is preparing to conduct its third nuclear test, this time of a Chinese-designed boosted fission device. Transferred in … Continue reading →

Posted in Asian geopolitics, Defence Industry, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's Pakistan Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Army, Indian Politics, Military Acquisitions, Missiles, Nuclear Policy & Strategy, Nuclear Weapons, Strategic Relations with South East Asia & Far East, Strategic Relations with the US & West | 24 Comments

Playing Favourites

Posted on June 1, 2012 by Bharat Karnad

On the weekend prior to demitting office, General V.K. Singh, using the media, publicly firebombed the government one last time as Chief of Army Staff (COAS). Separately interviewed by the main television channels intent on wringing the last few drops … Continue reading →

Posted in civil-military relations, Indian Army, Indian Politics, Internal Security, Military Acquisitions | 2 Comments

Perils of Double-hedging

Posted on May 4, 2012 by Bharat Karnad

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visits Delhi after leading the American delegation in the latest round of the US-China Economic and Strategic Dialogue held in Beijing on May 3-4, an exercise that usually involves the largest American delegation of officials … Continue reading →

Posted in Asian geopolitics, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Indian Navy, Indian Ocean, Indian Politics, Military Acquisitions, Missiles, Nuclear Policy & Strategy, Nuclear Weapons, Relations with Russia, Strategic Relations with South East Asia & Far East, Strategic Relations with the US & West | 5 Comments