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News Releases

Mandate for the Defence Minister
By Air Marshal B.K. Pandey (Retd)
The former Chief Minister of Goa Manohar Parrikar has taken over as the Minister of Defence at a time when the nation is confronted with serious and formidable challenges. The first and foremost is that the security environment especially in India’s immediate...
Agenda for Defence Minister
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)
After a long break, India finally has a full time Defence Minister in Mr Manohar Parrikar. The break has actually been extraordinarily long considering that AK Anthony as Defence Minister from October 2006 to May 2014 was actually a non-performer...
Prime Minister Modi in the United Nations
By General V.P. Malik (Retd)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been able to convey that he is a pragmatic visionary; not only for India and the South Asia region but also at global level.
Lockheed Martin to Acquire Sikorsky
By Air Marshal B.K. Pandey
The acquisition of Sikorsky Aircraft will enable Lockheed Martin to access new markets abroad and add value to its portfolio through enhanced sales in the military segment of its business.
Quality issues with HAL products
By Air Marshal B.K. Pandey
The crash of a Hawk AJT of the IAF in June this year due to engine failure, has once again shifted focus to quality issue at HAL.
Modi-Nawaz Meet old wine in new bottle
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)
Trust the media to go berserk anytime PM Modi is likely to meet. So it was expected that when they did meet in Ufa, Russia on the sidelines of the BRICS and SCO summits on July 10, the media went overboard declaring it was a tremendous ‘breakthrough’.
Modi-Nawaz meet in offing but Outcome?
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)
Media is agog with news of possibility of Prime Minister Narendra Modi meeting his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of the annual summit of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Russian next month.
Respecting National Security
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)
As per media reports, the recent visit by the NSA to Myanmar to tie up joint Indo-Myanmar operations against the Naga and other insurgents lodged inside Myanmar territory did not get...
Cancellation is not the answer
By Air Marshal B.K. Pandey
In the procurement of defence equipment, allegations of wrong doing from dissatisfied vendors has become fairly routine.
Clean Chit for AgustaWestland
By Air Marshal B.K. Pandey
The UPA government had a strong inclination for ordering investigations into processing of tenders or contracts for defence procurement at the slightest hint of wrongdoing.
ISRO’s AVATAR making India proud again
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)
On June 7, China conducted the fourth test in 18 months of a hypersonic nuclear delivery vehicle (dubbed WU-14 by the US)...
Whither Airport Security?
By Air Marshal B.K. Pandey (Retd)
CISF is the largest industrial security force in the world providing security cover to over 300 industrial units in the country.
Saab Gripen for the IAF?
By Air Marshal B.K. Pandey (Retd) (Retd)
On May 31st this year, the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) had invited the global aerospace majors Saab and the Russian company Rosoboronexport to make presentations...
Special operations in Myanmar
By Air Marshal B.K. Pandey (Retd)
In the early hours of June 9 this year, Indian Special Forces carried out surgical operations deep inside Myanmar territory. Their targets were two camps of the Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland (Khaplang) and allied insurgent groups.
Cross-border military raid in Myanmar
By Lt General V.K. Kapoor (Retd)
Thursday, June 4, 2015, witnessed one of the biggest militant attacks on the Army in recent years. At least 18 soldiers were killed and another 11 injured when they were ambushed in the Moltuk valley of Chandel district in Manipur. The soldiers belonged to 6 Dogra, a battalion of the Dogra Regiment of the Indian Army.
Myanmar Raid go for credible deterrence
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)
It is the first time Government of India has shown willingness to conduct pre-emptive strikes to curtail operational capabilities of insurgent groups
Restructured leadership of DRDO
By Air Marshal B.K. Pandey (Retd)
Leadership changes in DRDO signal the determination of the government to propel the organisation to attain significantly higher levels of indigenisation in defence hardware with enhanced levels of accountability.
Modi Government and the Armed Forces
By General V.P. Malik (Retd)
When the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) came into power in the Centre on 26th May 2014, the general perception and expectations in the armed forces were that it will follow a pro-active policy on the external security front and will be more sympathetic...
The Year Gone By Not in Vain!
By Air Marshal B.K. Pandey (Retd)
The government has the capability to deliver; but will need time.
One year of Defence under Modi Government
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)
It is envisaged that under a new procurement policy, at least half of India’s total weapon and equipment needs in the next 10 to 12 years (worth more than $100 billion) could be produced domestically.
Progress in the Defence Sector in the Past One year
By Lt General V.K. Kapoor (Retd)
The present NDA government was sworn in on 26 May 2014. Thus one year later there is an intense debate in the country about the progress made by this government on all fronts...
General Aviation in India during One Year of Modi Government
By Group Captain Rajesh K. Bali (Retd.)
A lot is being written on how Modi Government has performed on various fronts during its first year in the office. The approach, shown by most analysts, of giving marks out of perfect 10, is quite baffling.
Highways A Force Multiplier for the IAF
By Air Marshal B.K. Pandey (Retd)
During war, airbases would have to be specifically tasked to be prepared to activate the landing strip on the highway at practically a moment’s notice.
The End of a Dilemma
By Air Marshal B.K. Pandey (Retd)
The speed with which the DAC has cleared the “single vendor” Airbus-TASL proposal for the 56 C-295 aircraft is indicative of a welcome change in the approach of the bureaucracy towards...
The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter A Troubled Endeavour
By Air Marshal B.K. Pandey (Retd)
There is a need to improve the quality of project management to enable the US armed forces to realize the full potential of this new generation platform in a respectable time frame.
Mother of All Deals Recedes into History
By Air Marshal B.K. Pandey (Retd)
The Indian Air Force should have good reason to believe that it will, in due course, get the number of Rafale combat jets it requires.
Oxygen for the Indian Air Force
By Air Marshal B.K. Pandey (Retd)
The statement by the Minister of Defence that the deal for 36 Rafale fighter jets will bring some "oxygen" to the Indian Air Force, accurately reflects the predicament the IAF is currently in.
MMRCA Contract Hopes Resurrected!
By Air Marshal B.K. Pandey (Retd)
It was during the joint statement in Paris on April 10, 2015 that Prime Minister Narendra Modi ended the uncertainty...
Indo-French Cooperation
By Air Marshal B.K. Pandey (Retd)
The nation is optimistic that the diplomatic initiatives by Prime Minister Modi will open new vistas of opportunity for international cooperation not only with France...
Upgrade of Mirage 2000 : A Shot in the Arm
By Air Marshal B.K. Pandey (Retd)
Upgrade of the Mirage 2000 fleet will provide the much needed relief to the IAF and a shot in the arm for its combat fleet.
Unfortunate Crash of a Braveheart
By Rear Admiral Sushil Ramsay (Retd.)
The Dornier, Do-228, belonging to the Indian Navy Air Squadron 310 and based at INS Hansa in Goa took-off at 6.30 pm on Tuesday, March 24, 2015 on a routine night training sortie.
Defence Budget 2015-2016
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)
The Fiinance Minister has announced a defence budget of 2,46,727 crores for FY 2015-16. This announcement has come in the backdrop of a few other defence related news items...
The New DPP
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar acknowledged on sidelines of Aero India 2015 that Make in Defence for the defence sector required streamlining. India’s Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) has been reviewed...
Sino-Indian Relations new horizons
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)
It is but typical of China to shroud her intent in a cloak of ambiguity. Take three recent events: first, successful visit...
President Sirisena’s visit and beyond
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)
Close on the heels of Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Mangala Samarveera’s ‘pilgrimage’ to New Delhi came the state visit by President Maithripala Sirisena to India starting today. If the visit was to boost bilateral relations between the two countries...