Experts Speak
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January 7, 2021
America's Tibet Policy
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)A new landmark was established in US-China relations when US President Donald Trump signed the Tibetan Policy and Support Act (TPSA) 2020 on December 28, 2020 making it a law. Earlier the TPSA was passed by the US Senate.
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January 7, 2021
Military Transport Aircraft
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Media has quoted official sources intimating them on January 5, 2021 that government is likely to finalise the deal to procure 56 transport aircraft for the Indian Air Force (IAF) at a cost of $2.5 billion.
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January 7, 2021
New Frontiers in Space Cooperation
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)During the virtual meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bhutan's Prime Minister Lotay Tshering on November 20, 2020, Modi announced, "I am happy to tell you that ISRO is planning to send a Bhutanese satellite to outer space next year and work is going on in full pace.
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December 20, 2020
More Eyes in the Sky for IAF
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)News reports quoting government sources state that as per a recent discussions on the Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) Block 2 aircraft to be developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) under...
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December 10, 2020
China Sends Warplanes to Pakistan For Exercise: Should India be worried?
By Lt. General J.K. Sharma (Retd)The first such drill was held in Pakistan in March 2011. The Chinese Defence ministry did not reveal the number or type of the aircraft participating this time...
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December 7, 2020
India's Message to SCO
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Vice President Venkaiah Naidu on November 30 chaired the 19th Session of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Heads of Government held in virtual mode.
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December 7, 2020
BrahMos – Time to Go Global
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)BrahMos missile is one of its own kind supersonic missile having a maximum speed of 2.8 Mach (around 3,450 kmph or 2,148 mph) which is difficult to intercept by surface-to-air missiles including because of its immense ability to evade various radars.
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December 7, 2020
Shukrayaan – Probing Venus
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is looking at 2024 for launch of its mission 'Shukrayaan' to probe Venus instead of earlier schedule in June 2023 on account of COVID-19.
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November 20, 2020
The Depsang Tangle
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament Subramanian Swamy created quite a flutter on Twitter with his tweet on November 15 that read: "I asked a national security officer how could the Chinese PLA build such an extensive infrastructure in such short period in Depsang.
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November 20, 2020
EOS-01 Military Satellite Orbiting
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)On November 7, 2020, military satellite EOS-01 was launched into space from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota along with nine international customer satellites. These satellites were carried on board India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) in its fifty first flight - PSLV-C49.
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November 20, 2020
Beyond the ASAT Capability
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Mission 'Shakti' executed on March 27, 2019, successfully shooting down a low-earth satellite, demonstrated India's anti-satellite (ASAT) capabilities. This enabled India to join the elite club of countries having similar capabilities; the US, Russia and China.
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November 7, 2020
Indo-US 2+2 Dialogue – New Chapter?
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The third India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue held last month in New Delhi between Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar of India with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defence Mark T. Esper...
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November 7, 2020
Defence against Swarm Drones
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The Islamic State used multiple drones on many occasions against the US and Iraqi forces engaged in retaking territory seized by them in Iraq. On January 5, 2018, 13 x GPS guided drones launched more than 50 km away attacked the Russian Air and Naval Bases at Khemmiem and Tartus in West Syria respectively.
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October 20, 2020
Beijing's Continued Logjam
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The Seventh Corps Commander level India-China talks at Chushul on October 12 remained largely inconclusive as expected. The joint statement as reported in Chinese media had similar diplomatic scripts as earlier saying...
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October 20, 2020
The Missile Punch
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)In a signal to China, India conducted a slew of missile tests recently. These included the 400-km extended range BrahMos supersonic cruise missile, the Shaurya hypersonic missile, a low skimming subsonic Nirbhay cruise missile, SMART long range torpedoes, and RUDRAM anti-radiation missile.
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October 20, 2020
Certifying Drones
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)News reports of October 03 have confirmed that Hyderabad-headquartered TQ Cert Services has become India's first third-party certification body (CB) for drones.
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October 1, 2020
Defence Acquisition Procedure 2020
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Defence Minister Rajnath Singh released Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020 on September 28, 2020 which is an improvement on the Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) 2016.
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October 1, 2020
Boosting Combat Drones Capability
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)As China remains hostile with its state media saying China does not recognise the Union Territory of Ladakh, established "illegally" by India, India is going in for boosting its combat drones capabilities.
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October 1, 2020
Integrated Drone Swarm - Armoured Vehicle
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)In June 2017, China reported several drones delivering food, medicines and water to PLA soldiers – calling them 'care packages' for front-line soldiers delivered automatically.
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October 1, 2020
Ageing Helicopters
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Adverse affects of decades of neglect of defence and negative defence budgets in actual terms under various governments are coming to fore, faced with the Chinese aggression.
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September 19, 2020
Gearing Up For Star Wars
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Recent news from the defence technology battlefront indicates that the Defence Research and Development Organisation is planning to provide combat capabilities to Armed Forces for fighting star wars type conflicts.
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September 19, 2020
Aircraft Drones
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The US Air Force (USAF) is converting obsolete F-16 Fighting Falcons into drones. This is a longstanding practice in the US; to make drones out of older planes as they age out and go obsolete.
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September 19, 2020
Hypersonic Prowess
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Hypersonic technology that makes platforms travel beyond the speed of sound is revolutionising warfare. Hypersonic vehicles propelled by air-breathing propulsion systems, in addition to the scramjet missile currently under development...
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September 5, 2020
Defence Minister at SCO Meet
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Defence Minister Rajnath Singh left for a three-day visit to Russia on September 2 for attending the defence ministers meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).
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September 5, 2020
2020 India-US 2+2 Dialogue
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The 2020 India-US 2+2 formal dialogue between foreign and defence ministries is likely to take place later this month after External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar is back from Russia after attending the SCO foreign ministers meet on September 10.
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September 5, 2020
Super Swarm Drones
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)It was reported in these columns that the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has provided 'Bharat' surveillance drones' produces by the Chandigarh-based Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory (TBRL) to the troops engaged in a standoff with China in Eastern Ladakh.
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August 24, 2020
Aatmanirbhar Reset 2.0
By Lt. General R.K. Jagga (Retd)Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given a clarion call to use these trying times to become Aatmanirbhar (self-reliant). Defence Manufacturing in India has huge potential and can bring a transformative change, but is the industry ready to rise up to challenges and uncover the opportunities therein.
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August 20, 2020
Modi-Abe Summit Coming Up
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The India-Japan summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe which got postponed last year is scheduled for early next month, the tentative date for which according to sources is September 10.
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August 20, 2020
India's Infrastructure Push in Maldives
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Located about 600 km off the southwest coast of India and 750 km southwest of Sri Lanka, Maldives consists of a double chain of 26 atolls spread over 90,000 sq km of territory.
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August 7, 2020
China-Pakistan Collusive Threat
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)News reports of July 22 cited Defence Minister Rajnath Singh having asked the Armed Forces to be prepared to respond at short notice as also build and sustain military capabilities to deter any adversary in the long run.
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August 7, 2020
China's Sakteng Googly
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)In Beijing's characteristic rotten style, the Chineses representative at the 58th meeting of the Council of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) on June 2-3, 2020 tossed a googly by illegally claiming Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary in Bhutan as Chinese Territory saying that it was "disputed area".
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August 7, 2020
Bharat Drones
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)News reports of July 22 have revealed that the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has provided indigenously-developed drones called 'Bharat' to the Indian Army amid the ongoing boundary tensions at LAC between India and China.
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July 29, 2020
Desperate Quad
By Lt. General J.K. Sharma (Retd)An isolated China attempts fortifying alliances in frustration
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July 20, 2020
Lessons from Ladakh Standoff
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The norm we follow is to appoint committees after conflict situations whose reports are either buried like Henderson Brooks report of 1962 or lessons forgotten like of Kargil Review Committee.
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July 20, 2020
Turkey's Swarm Drones
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)According to Turkish media, Turkey's Defence Technologies, Engineering and Trade Inc. also known by its Turkish acronym STM, was to deliver over 500 'Kargu' drones to Turkish armed forces on June 15, 2020.
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July 6, 2020
Defence Minister's Russia Visit
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Defence Minister Rajnath Singh left for a three-day visit to Russia on June 22 for holding discussions with top Russian military brass and to attend Russia's Victory Parade at the Red Square on June 24 to commemorate 75th Anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945.
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July 6, 2020
Light Combat Helicopter
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is confident that it will receive the first contract for the indigenous Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) by the end of the year. The price negotiations for the LCH having been completed, HAL has increased production of the LCH.
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July 6, 2020
India's Fifth Generation AMCA
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) Chairman and MD R. Madhavan recently announced that India's fifth generation fighter program, the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) will be a corporate public-private program.
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June 20, 2020
Morale Booster by the Chief of the Air Staff, IAF
By Air Marshal B.K. Pandey (Retd)“The development on the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh is a small snapshot of what we are required to handle at a short notice”, said the Chief of the Air Staff.
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June 18, 2020
India China Stand-off in June 2020
By Air Marshal B.K. Pandey (Retd)The nation needs to be concerned about the overall strategic and economic relations with China which have been in turmoil in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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June 18, 2020
The Galwan Clash
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The news of "at least" 20 Indian soldiers including a Colonel and at least one JCO clubbed to death by the PLA in Galwan on the night of June 15/16 has shocked the nation. Number of injured reportedly were 17.
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June 18, 2020
Coming – Rafale Fighters
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)There have been some queries about what has happened to delivery schedule of the Rafale fighters with onboard India specific systems that were expected to have started arriving by end May 2020.
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June 18, 2020
Indigenous Fighter Jet for Navy
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)News reports of June 4 have confirmed that the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) under the Department of Defence Research and Development (DR&D) of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has given the go ahead for the development of a twin engine Made-in-India fighter jet for the Indian Navy.
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June 18, 2020
Revisiting ‘One China’ Policy
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)While the PLA is continuing serious monkey tricks in Eastern Ladakh, the Indian Capital witnessed an interesting webinar titled "Revisiting 'One China' Policy" to explore possible options that India can pursue to send strong messages to Beijing.
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June 18, 2020
Artificial Neural Networks Ionospheric Model (ANNIM)
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Tracking the variability of the Ionosphere is important for communication and navigation. The ionospheric variability is greatly influenced by solar originated processes and the neutral atmosphere origin.
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June 18, 2020
Oli Steering Nepal into China's Lap
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)On June 13, Nepal's Parliament unanimously passed a new map that shows Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura areas (totaling about 370 sq km) in its territory. Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli took this arbitrary decision without discussing the boundary issue with India.
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June 6, 2020
India-Australia Pacts Boost Bonding
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)In a virtual bilateral summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on June 4, India and Australia upgraded...
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June 6, 2020
IAF Fighter Jet Programme
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)On May 27, 2020 the Indian Air Force (IAF) inducted the second squadron of LCA Tejas into IAF's 18 Squadron ('Flying Bullets') with Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal R.K.S. Bhadauria giving the thumbs up to Tejas by flying a solo Tejas sortie at Sulur airfield in Tamil Nadu.
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June 6, 2020
Space Policy and Gaganyaan
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)India's big mission of the maiden human spaceflight 'Gaganyaan' is on course to be launched by or before 2022 wherein the country will send two to three astronauts to space.
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May 29, 2020
Indo-Chinese Conundrum
By Lt. General R.K. Jagga (Retd)India is witnessing its worst-ever border tensions with China since 1962 with both countries bringing forward thousands of troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh. Is this mere Sabre rattling by China or will it result in a larger conflict between India and China?
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May 29, 2020
India-China Stand Off"The present situation is that we will win in Malacca and loose at Dhoklam."
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May 28, 2020
New Direction in Defence Production and Procurement
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Delivering the fourth tranche of the economic package in wake of COVID-19 in a press briefing on May 16, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced three major decision related to defence which will have far reaching effect in boosting the defence sector
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May 28, 2020
Modernisation of Military Airfields
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Media reports of May 8, 2020 quoting official sources disclosed that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has signed a 1,200 crore ($160 million) contract with Indian company Tata Power SED for the second phase of the military infrastructure modernisation programme to cover 37 of the IAF, Indian Navy and Coast Guard airfields.
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May 28, 2020
Hindustan Turbo Trainer 40 (HTT-40) On The Roll
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Procurement of the indigenous Hindustan Turbo Trainer 40 (HTT-40) aircraft for the IAF is in the offing. In February 2010, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) had accorded an approval for the design and development...
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May 10, 2020
Defence MSMEs
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)As India battles the scourge of COVID-19, the prospects of economic growth have begun to lookbleak. Among various forecasts, Moody is predicting a zero per cent growth.
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May 10, 2020
Chinese Marines in Indian Ocean
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)News reports of April 18 indicate that within five years Chinese marines will be operational in the Indian Ocean. In September 2019, China launched its largest amphibious ship—the Type 075, which is roughly like US Navy's 40,000-tonne amphibious ship USS 'Wasp', central to three ships carrying an American Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU).
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April 26, 2020
Drones and Robots in Pandemics
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)As the world battles COVID-19, technology has thrown up apps, robots, drones and chatbots to help humanity. Indian startups flooded the National Security Advisory Board offering hundreds of apps.
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April 26, 2020
Advancements in Drone and Anti-Drone
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The yesteryears race of mine and anti-mine has long since been overtaken by the race of drone and anti-drone. These technologies are evolving at a terrific pace with newer inventions showing up periodically that have also been reported in these columns from time to time.
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April 11, 2020
Tejas Mk1A for IAF
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Ahead of the Air Force Day on October 8, 2019, Air Chief Marshal R.K.S. Bhadauria in his annual address had stated that the IAF would be looking to indigenous platforms like the Tejas and the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) to meet the requirements of its squadron numbers as well as modernise its inventory with fourth generation plus and fifth generation aircraft.
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March 21, 2020
Counter-Drone Drone
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)It has been covered in these columns that an indigenous Anti-Drone System developed by the Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) was successfully tested on February 21, 2020 in destroying a drone and the same was deployed during US President Donald Trump's recent visit to Gujarat on February 24.
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March 21, 2020
Loitering Munitions
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)In 2016, US Companies were looking to market the Hero-30 loitering munition to the US military. Hero-30 is a man-portable unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or drone designed for about 30 minutes loiter with a 0.5 kg warhead. Launched from a canister via air pressure and powered by an electrical engine in flight, it can transmit a video-feed and strike the target like a missile.
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March 21, 2020
Defence Procurement Procedure 2020
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Releasing the Draft Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) 2020, on March 20 Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said, "Our aim is to make India self-reliant and a global manufacturing hub.
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March 9, 2020
Structure of Department of Military Affairs (DMA)
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Structure of the newly established Department of Military Affairs (DMA) in the Ministry of Defence (MoD), with the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) heading it as Secretary DMA, has come up with the news of its organisation released through the media in installments.
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February 26, 2020
Visit of President Donald Trump
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)US President Donald Trump's maiden visit to India witnessed Indo-US Strategic Partnership transit into 'Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership'.
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February 26, 2020
LUH to replace Cheetahs/Chetaks
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)There is good news in the offing on the indigenous helicopter front. On February 7, 2020 the Light Utility Helicopter developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited obtained the initial clearance from the DRDO paving the way for its production.
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February 26, 2020
Indigenous Anti-Drone System
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)An indigenous Anti-Drone System developed by the Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) was successfully tested on February 21, 2020 in destroying a drone.
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February 10, 2020
Defence Budget 2020-2021
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Presenting the budget for FY 2020-2021 in Parliament on February 1, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman did not mention defence at all, which isn't surprising given her attitude towards the Armed Forces.
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January 20, 2020
Defence Budget – Now and Next
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)India's defence budget for 2019-20 stands at 3.18 lakh crore. This included a capital outlay of just 1,03,394 crore that is not enough to upgrade capabilities and more money is required to avoid a funding crisis.
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January 4, 2020
India's First CDS – what should be the priorities
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Speaking to reporters India's first CDS General Bipin Rawat has said, "As per the task given to the CDS we have to enhance integration and do better resource management. We have to achieve more synergy and integration. This is the motive. All the three services will work as a team.
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December 23, 2019
Indo-US-2+2 Dialogue
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)December 18, 2019 saw the Indo-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue at Washington DC; External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh from India and the US side represented by Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo and Secretary of Defence Mark T. Esper.
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December 23, 2019
Maritime Surveillance
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)With the centre of gravity of conflict veering towards the Indian Ocean, the requirement of maritime surveillance of the Indian Navy (IN) is in more limelight.
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December 23, 2019
Coming – High-Speed Internet and Mobile Launchpad
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)There is more good news in the offing from ISRO. By mid 2020 or rather June 2020, ISRO is planning to launch a mega satellite 'GSAT-20' which will provide the high speed internet of 100 Gbps (gigabits per second) or more to India's rural and remote areas.
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December 23, 2019
India-Australia 2+2 Dialogue
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The third edition of India-Australia Foreign and Defence Secretaries' Dialogue (2+2) was held on December 9, 2019, in New Delhi.
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December 23, 2019
Akash Missile System – Dismal Saga
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The 'Akash' missile indigenously produced by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is in the news again for the wrong reasons.
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December 23, 2019
New Assault Rifles after 15 years
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Media reports of December 14 indicate that soldiers deployed on the borders with Pakistan and China have finally started receiving new assault rifles after a wait of almost 15 years.
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December 5, 2019
Visit of Sri Lankan President
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The two-day state visit of Sri Lanka President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to India commencing November 29, his first foreign visit after assuming presidency, has signaled a new beginning, contours of which will unfold in coming months.
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December 5, 2019
CARTOSAT-3 launched, NavIC approved
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)ISRO's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C47 successfully launched Earth observation satellite Cartosat-3 and 13 commercial nano-satellites into Sun Synchronous orbit from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota on November 27.
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December 5, 2019
Chandrayaan 3 and Moon Landing
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)On October 18, 2019, ISRO released the first illuminated images of the Moon's lunar surface captures by the Imaging Infrared Spectrometer (IRSS) on board Chandrayaan-2.
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December 5, 2019
Boost for Defence Startups
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Speaking at the 'Defence Connect' seminar on November 11, 2019, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said, "Looking at the talent India possesses, I am pretty confident that we can become a $10 trillion economy in the next 10-15 years".
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November 15, 2019
Defence Minister's Russia Visit
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Defence Minister Rajnath Singh arrived in Moscow on November 5 for a three day visit to Russia. This was his first visit to Moscow as Defence Minister.
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November 15, 2019
Indigenous Stealth Fighter
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Media reports of October 29 state "with the IAF now backing the indigenous development of a fifth generation fighter aircraft" (FGFA), it is all systems go...
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November 15, 2019
Anti-Drone Urgency
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Despite the Kartarpur Corridor having become operational, Pakistan's hate-India campaign shows no signs of abating. This is not surprising because this is the very basis for the Pakistan army to maintain complete control over the country...
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November 15, 2019
China to Mars, India to Venus
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)China's state-run media recently created a buzz in space exploration by announcing plans for a manned mission to Mars (the Red Planet), with a manned mission to the moon as the first step.
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November 4, 2019
Indigenous Hypersonic Missile
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)News reports of October 2019 indicate that DRDO has commenced work on a next generation hypersonic weapon – a missile that can travel at five times the speed of sound, or a little over 1.6 km every second, and for testing and fine tuning...
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November 4, 2019
Ninth DTTI Meet
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The ninth Indo-US Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI) held at New Delhi on October 24, 2019 has reportedly focused on collaboration in drone swarms, counter-drone measures and other hi-tech military technologies.
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October 18, 2019
Modi-Xi Chennai Connect
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The second informal summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping was held at Mamallapuram (UNESCO heritage) on October 11-12, which Modi termed "Chennai connect".
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October 18, 2019
IMRH to Replace Mi-17 Helicopters
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)News reports of August 2019 indicate that India is set to embark on a 10,000 crore Indian Multi Role Helicopter (IMRH) project; to develop an indigenous medium lift helicopter that will replace all imports in that class for the Armed Forces – namely Mi-17 helicopters.
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October 18, 2019
Seahawks are Coming
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Going by news reports, the Indian Navy is set to acquire 24 x MH60R Seahawk Anti-Submarine Helicopters at a probable cost of $109 million per helicopter – total cost about $2.616 billion.
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October 16, 2019
AN AIR MARSHAL'S TAKE
HAL unions on an indefinite strike
By Air Marshal B.K. Pandey (Retd)An indefinite strike by employees of HAL will not only undermine the Indian aerospace industry, but will also be injurious to national aspirations as well.
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October 7, 2019
Modi-Trump Bilateral – little gain
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump held a bilateral meeting on September 24 on the sidelines of the 74th UN General Assembly session.
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October 7, 2019
China's 70th Anniversary
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)China's 70th anniversary celebrations displayed its military and economic might with the biggest ever military parade on October 1, even as Hong Kong witnessed massive demonstration on the same day with hundreds of youth battling police and locals also out on the street.
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September 17, 2019
Next Modi-Xi Informal Summit
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)As time approached for the second informal summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in October 2019, China took the despicable step of orchestrating a closed door meeting of the United National...
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September 17, 2019
Beyond Chandrayaan 2
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Drone war attained a new landmark with Houthi some 19 armed drones hitting two oil processing facilities of Saudi Arabia - Aramco's Abqaiq refinery and the Khurais oil field.
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September 17, 2019
Miniature Drones
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Drone war attained a new landmark with Houthi some 19 armed drones hitting two oil processing facilities of Saudi Arabia - Aramco's Abqaiq refinery and the Khurais oil field.
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September 17, 2019
Indigenous Sniper Rifles
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)In February 2018, MoD had approved procurement of 5,719 sniper rifles for the Army and Air Force at an estimated cost of 982 crore from the global market under the 'Buy Global' categorisation, the ammunition for which was to be initially procured and subsequently manufactured in India.
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September 5, 2019
20th India-Russia Annual Summit
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the 20th Annual India-Russia Annual Bilateral Summit in Vladivostok, Russia and the 5th Eastern Economic Forum as the Chief Guest on September 4-5.
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September 5, 2019
Exchanging Defence Land
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)During NDA-1, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharanman's unilateral order to open all 62 military cantonments to public made headlines, with political victory parades led by MPs/MLAs marching through cantonments.
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September 5, 2019
Kamikaze Drones
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)In July 2019, news emerged that the US Department of Defense (DoD) wants to purchase the Hero-120 loitering drone (termed "kamikaze" or "killer" drones) from Israel for operations by US Special Operations Forces (SOF).
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August 22, 2019
CDS Finally Coming
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)In his characteristic style, Prime Minister Narendra Modi surprised the nation on August 15 by announcing India will have a CDS to head the Army, Navy and Air Force.
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August 22, 2019
Mounting Air Crashes are Disconcerting
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Mounting number of air crashes of military aircraft should be a matter of deep concern.
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August 8, 2019
Kashmir Integrated
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)In a historic announcement in Parliament on August 4, Government announced the Presidential decree of abrogating Article 370 and reorganisation of J&K State into the Union Territories of J&K.
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SP's Aviation - Issue: 7 / 2019
India Successfully Develops its First Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile
By Air Marshal S.B.P. Sinha (Retd)Successful indigenous design and development of the Astra coupled with Akash Mark 2 SAM, signposts the maturity of the Indian weapons industry in mastering cutting-edge missile technologies
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August 8, 2019
PM Modi's Bhutan Visit
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Bhutan on August 17-18. After assuming the premiership second time, Modi's visit is in line with government's focus on 'Neighbours First' policy; which will further strengthen India's special relationship with Bhutan.
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August 8, 2019
The Chimera of Military Integration
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)In 2004, then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, addressing the Combined Commanders Conference had said, "Reforms within the Armed Forces involve recognition of the fact that our Navy, Air Forces and Army can no longer function in compartments with exclusive chains of command and single service operational plans."
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August 8, 2019
Defence Exports
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Media reports of May 2019 indicated India had relaxed procedures to speed up arms sales to foreign countries.
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August 8, 2019
Space War Exercise
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Post India's successful test of an anti-satellite (ASAT) interceptor missile to destroy the 740kg Microsat-R satellite, at an altitude of 283km in the low earth orbit (LEO) on March 27 this year termed 'Mission Shakti', India conducted the first ever simulated space war exercise 'IndSpaceEx' on July 25-26.
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August 1, 2019
Exercise Garuda-VI: Sukhoi 30 MKI & Rafale, A Formidable Combination
By Air Marshal S.B.P. Sinha (Retd)Exercise Garuda-VI was a unique, fascinating and timeless learning experience for the IAF contingent. The operational lessons learnt by IAF during this exercise will assist IAF in adding more teeth to its overall war fighting capabilities.
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August 1, 2019
Evolving 'UAV Swarm' Technology
By Air Marshal S.B.P. Sinha (Retd)Today the UAV technology is reasonably matured to enable UAVs of all sizes and types to successfully execute various types of military missions ranging from surveillance, electronic warfare, target designation to air-to-ground weapon delivery.
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July 22, 2019
India: A Space Super Power
By Air Marshal S.B.P. Sinha (Retd)India is running a vibrant space programme for its security, economic development and technological progress. So far, India has launched 115 satellites; three in 1970s, 11 in 1980s, 16 in 1990s, 24 in first decade of 21st century and 61 till date in current decade.
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July 19, 2019
Japan's US-2i – back on track?
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)With Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe slated to come to India in September-October this year for the annual bilateral summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, discussion has emerged in the media about India procuring...
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July 19, 2019
Sniper Rifles Delay – can we slash red tape?
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)On February 13, 2018, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) chaired by Defence Ministerhad approved procurement of 5,719 sniper rifles for the Army and Air Force at an estimated cost of 982 crore from the global market under...
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July 16, 2019
Temporary setback for mission to the Moon
By Air Marshal B.K. Pandey (Retd)ISRO plans to send three Indians into space on an Indian-built spacecraft achieving the first manned mission into space.
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July 6, 2019
First Budget of Modi 2.0 - defence ignored
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented Budget 2019 of the new NDA government lead by Narendra Modiin parliament on June 5, 2019, with what she described as a 10-year vision.
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July 6, 2019
Puncturing Disability
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)There is considerable debate over a Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) circular dated June 24, 2019 saying that tax exemption for disability pension will be "available only to armed forces personnel who have been invalidated from service on account of bodily disability attributable...
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July 6, 2019
Chandrayaan-2 and NSIL
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Chandrayaan-2 is slated to fly off to the moon on July 15. Chandrayaan-1 launched on October 22, 2008, not only made India become the fourth nation to join this elite lunar exploratory club after the US, Russia and China, India also discovered the presence of water on the moon for the first time, which was acknowledged by NASA.
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July 6, 2019
Second JAI Trilateral at Osaka
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)During the first ever meeting of JAI (acronym for the Japan-America-India Trilateral coined by Prime Minister Narendra Modi using first alphabet of each...
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SP's Aviation - Issue: 6 / 2019
India Successfully Test Fires Improved Akash Missile
By Air Marshal S.B.P. Sinha (Retd)The Akash SAM system is capable of intercepting multiple manoeuvring aerial targets, unmanned aerial vehicles, cruise missiles and air-tosurface weapons launched by enemy aircraft from stand-off ranges
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June 15, 2019
100 Day Agenda of the new NDA government
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Concurrent to Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA government assuming charge, the Niti Ayog has announced on May 29, 2019, that government will consider a slew of proposals over the next 100 days to complete unfinished goals of fine-tuning reforms like the bankruptcy code...
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June 15, 2019
When HAL Went Pauper
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Media reports of May 29, 2019 revealed that Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) had plummeted to a meager 140 crore by March 31, 2019; lowest since 2004.
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June 15, 2019
Modi's Maldives, Sri Lanka Visit
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Close on the heels of oath taking of Modi-led NDA government on May 30, 2019 attended by heads of BIMSTEC nations, re-elected Prime Minister Narendra Modi made his first overseas visit to Maldives and Sri Lanka on June 8-9...
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June 15, 2019
Focus Space
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Post successful demonstration of anti-satellite test (ASAT) capability by India in March 2019, the government has cleared setting up of a new agency called the Defence Space Research Agency (DSRO).
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June 15, 2019
The Education-Radicalisation Connect
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The new NDA government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced it will roll out a plan for modernising madrassa education next month.
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May 31, 2019
BIMSTEC Heads at Modi 2.0 Inaugural
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)In a deft move of immense significance, Prime Minister Narendra Modi invited heads of the Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) nations to the swearing-in ceremony of his new...
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May 31, 2019
Of Drones and Bombs
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Rapid advancements in technology is empowering militarires as well as terrorists. This includes armed drones and remote controlled bombs. In May 2019, Indonesian police raided a terrorist cell with ability to use Wi-Fi to detonate explosive devices.
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May 31, 2019
New Eye in the Sky
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)On May 22 May 22, 2019, ISRO achieved another feather in its cap by successfully launching RISAT – 2B; microwave radar imaging earth observation satellite.
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May 20, 2019
Agenda for Next Defence Minister
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)India is to have a new government shortly. It is, therefore, prudent to list out what should be the agenda for the next Defence Minister.
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May 20, 2019
IAF Receives First Apache
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The first AH-64E (I) - Apache Guardian helicopter was formally handed over to the Indian Air Force (IAF) on May 10, 2019 at Mesa in a formal ceremony at the Boeing production facility in Arizona, USA.
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May 20, 2019
Boosting Short-Service Commission?
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)According to news reports of May 9, 2019, the Armed Forces are close to finalising the package to make short-service commission (SSC) more attractive for eligible youth.
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April 19, 2019
Lateral Entry in Govt Service - and MoD Dumped
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)There was extensive media coverage when in June 2018 government announced it would seek lateral entry from the civil into the government services at joint secretary level.
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April 8, 2019
Mission Shakti - advantage India and more
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)March 27, 2019, was a historic day for India when it successfully shot down a satellite, enabling the country to join an elite club of countries with anti-satellite (ASAT) capabilities; the U.S., Russia and China.
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April 8, 2019
Special Operations Division
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)On August 8, 2012, the Naresh Chandra Committee on national security submitted its report to the government, its recommendations including establishment of a Special Operations Command (SOC).
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April 8, 2019
EMISAT launched - more Military Satellites in offing
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)On April 1, 2019, ISRO successfully launched India's electronic intelligence satellite EMISAT in another hallmark achievement, the PSLV-C45 also carrying 28 international customer satellites from four countries -- Lithuania, Spain...
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April 8, 2019
Women Defence Attachés
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)In what is being described as a brilliant move championed by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the Army, Navy and Air Force were asked to single out women officers who were appropriate for posting to Indian missions abroad as defence attachés.
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April 8, 2019
MH-60R Seahawk Helicopters for Navy
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The US has approved the sale of 24 multi-role MH-60R Seahawk helicopters, armed with Hellfire missiles, MK-54 torpedoes and precision-kill rockets to India at estimated cost of $2.6 billion, the Trump administration has notified the Congress.
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SP's Aviation - Issue: 3 / 2019
India Finally uses Military Option Against Terrorists in Pakistan
By Air Marshal S.B.P. Sinha (Retd)To deter Pakistan from retaliating/escalating after such air strikes, IAF's numerical superiority needs to be restored expeditiously by arresting depleting numbers of fighter aircraft and fast-tracking procurement of six additional FRA
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March 28, 2019
India's A-SAT test an exercise in deterrence
By Air Marshal S.B.P. Sinha (Retd)'Mission Shakti' demonstrates India's capability to safeguard its growing space-based assets and deter adversaries from creating trouble in a new battlefield
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March 22, 2019
Takeaways from Balakot
By General Deepak Kapoor (Retd)The Indian Air Force (IAF) needs to be complimented for a well planned, coordinated and meticulously executed strike on a crucial Jaish terror hub at Balakot, located in Khyber Pakhtoonwa province of Pakistan.
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March 6, 2019
Imran's Nobel Peace Prize - joke of the decade?
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The resolution submitted in Pakistan's Parliament on March 2, 2019 to grant the Nobel Peace Prize to Prime Minister Imran Khan for having taken the decision of releasing Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman of Indian Air Force (IAF) in a bid to de-escalate tensions between India and Pakistan...
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March 6, 2019
MiG-21 Bison versus F-16
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The downing of a Pakistani F-16 by Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman flying a MiG-21 on February 27 has been talk of the world.
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March 6, 2019
BECA - and Indo-US Relations
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)News is in the air that India is likely to sign the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement for Geo-spatial Cooperation (BECA) with the US.
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February 27, 2019
Indian Strikes Pakistani Terror Camps
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The significance of the strikes is the strong signal sent to Pakistan that Pakistan continuing to raise the level of terrorism will not be tolerated by India.
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February 21, 2019
Bogey - that Pakistan will collapse economically
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)There is jubilation in a cross-section in India over Pakistan being in an economic mess. Even Prime Minister Modi said in a recent public rally that Pakistan is roaming around with its begging bowl but not getting help from the world, which drew applause from the crowd.
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February 21, 2019
Assault Rifles
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Finally, there is some more news about assault rifles for the Indian Army, or shall we say part of the Army because when it comes to equipping soldiers at the cutting edge, where battle is being fought every day and night, we start counting pennies...
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February 21, 2019
Russian MiG-29 Offer
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)According to media reports, Russia has offered the Indian Air Force (IAF) 21 MiG-29 Fulcrum fighter aircraft airframes that have been 'stored' for decades but not used.
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February 21, 2019
Visit of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS in short) arrived New Delhi on a two-day state visit on February 19, 2019. He earlier visited Pakistan and was scheduled to come to India directly from Pakistan.
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February 21, 2019
Litigation against Disabled Soldiers
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has decided to withdraw its appeals made before the Supreme Court against grant of disability benefits to soldiers by various courts...
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February 1, 2019
Defence Budget 2019-2020
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The Interim Budget speech by the Interim Finance Minister (IFM) on February 1, 2019, covered defence budget allocation for the next fiscal year in precisely 34 words by saying, "Our Defence Budget will be crossing 3,00,000 crore for the first time in 2019-20.
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BREAKING
February 1, 2019
Aero India 2019: Customs duty on import of aircraft
By Air Marshal B.K. Pandey (Retd)It is learnt from some reliable sources that the Minister of Defence Nirmala Sitharaman, did raise an objection to this step by the Department of Customs and has sought reversal of the notification.
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February 1, 2019
Game of Disability Pensions
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare (DESW), Ministry of Defence, vide its Notification No. 16(3),2017/D (Pen/Policy) dated January 29, 2019, signed by Manoj Sinha, Deputy Secretary to Government of India...
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February 1, 2019
Microsat-R, Kalamsat launch – and more
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)ISRO's PSLV-C44, carrying India's Military Satellite Microsat-R and Students' Payload Kalamsat, lifted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharkota Range at 11.37 pm on January 24, 2019 after a 28-hour countdown.
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February 1, 2019
Fortifying Andaman & Nicobar
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Media reports of January 27 state government has "virtually finalised" a 5,650 crore military infrastructure development plan for Andaman and Nicobar Islands (ANI) over a 10-year period.
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January 28, 2019
Killing the Golden Goose
By Air Marshal B.K. Pandey (Retd)The proverbial "last straw on the camel's back" came on January 17 this year when the Department of Customs issued a notification imposing customs duty on aircraft as well as any other equipment brought into the country for static or flying display at Aero India 2019.
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January 16, 2019
Chinooks and Apaches are Coming
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The first batch of US-built heavy-lift Chinook helicopters and Apache attack helicopters will commence arriving India in March 2019, just ahead of the general elections.
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January 16, 2019
Space Diplomacy with Neighbours
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)While the launch of Chandrayan-2 scheduled on January 3 was postponed a second time for unexplained reasons, media headlines of January 4 announced India setting up five ground stations and over 500 terminals in neighbouring countries...
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January 16, 2019
Fortifying Andaman & Nicobar
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)News reports of January 6, 2019 reveal that Andaman & Nicobar Islands (ANI) will get a new airbase in the Indian Naval Air Station, INS 'Kohasa' near Diglipur (largest town of North Andaman Island with population of 744202 (2001 census) located...
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January 3, 2019
Revering Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Prime Minister Narendra Modi unfurled the Tricolour in Andaman's Netaji Memorial in Port Blair on December 30, 2018 to commemorate the first flag hoisting by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose on December 30, 1943.
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January 3, 2019
Beyond the Bogibeel Bridge
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)On 25 December 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 4.98 km-long Bogibeel Bridge, the longest rail-cum-road bridge on Brahmaputra River. Foundation stone for this bridge was laid 21 years earlier by the then Prime Minister in 1997 though work started only five years later in 2002.
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January 3, 2019
GSAT-11 – boosts Bharat Net Project
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)India's heaviest communication satellite GSAT-11 was launched successfully on December 5, 2018 from the Spaceport in French Guiana along with South Korea's GEO-KOMPSAT-2A satellite, onboard Ariane VA 246 launch vehicle.
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January 3, 2019
GSAT-7A makes IAF happy – but holistic approach needed
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)On December 19, 2018, India successfully launched GSAT-7A satellite meant for augmenting the existing communications capabilities of satellites utilised by the Indian Air Force (IAF).
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December 19, 2018
Visit of President Ibrahim Solih
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Maldives President Ibrahim Solih’s three-day state visit to India commencing December 17 was his first foreign visit after becoming President. He was accompanied by the first lady and a high-level delegation including Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Finance, National Planning and Infrastructure...
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December 19, 2018
Drone Swarms Threat - much catching up required
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), which is a statutory body of Government of India, disclosed through a communication on November 9, 2018 that the Indian Air Force (IAF) had announced a 100 crore Swarm Drone Competition.
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December 19, 2018
ISRO Space Museums and Space Applications
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Speaking to the media on November 26, ISRO Chairman K. Sivan stated ISRO recently discussed a proposal with the Kerala government to set up a space museum in Thiruvananthapuram, to which the state government responded positively and even allotted land for the purpose.
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December 19, 2018
Defence Minister’s US Visit
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman made a maiden 5 day visit to the US that concluded on December 8, 2018. Her visit was concurrent to the ongoing 12 day Indo-US military exercise between the IAF and the USAF in Kalaikunda...
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December 19, 2018
Prahar, Pralay and Sant
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)On September 20, India successfully test-fired ‘Prahar’ short-range ballistic missile from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) from Chandipur, Odisha. Prahar is a solid fuel road-mobile short-range missile fitted with inertial navigation system.
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November 29, 2018
GSAT-29, Gaganyaan and more
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)ISRO launched GSAT-29 into orbit on November 14, India's latest satellite from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. The GSLV MkIII lifted the rocket into space, the heaviest rocket developed by ISRO.
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November 29, 2018
The Quad and the IONS
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The third round of the quadrilateral security dialogue termed 'Quad', between India, US, Japan and Australia, was held on 15 November 2018 at Singapore on sidelines of the 13th East Asia Summit.
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November 29, 2018
Stonewalling Defence-Industry Privatization
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)As per media reports, four lakh defence employees working in 41 ordnance factories, naval docks, army and air force workshops and other productions units are readying themselves for a three-day protest between 23 and 25 January 2019.
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November 19, 2018
PM Narendra Modi visits Maldives
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Prime Minister Narendra Modi made his brief maiden visit to Maldives on November 17 to attend the swearing in Ceremony of new Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih on invitation of the latter.
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November 19, 2018
Military Drones - private industry is Way Forward
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)As per news reports, a private Gurgaon-based company, 'Vortex UAS', has been working on providing military drones, including weaponised versions, for the Indian Army, the Navy and the National Security Guard (NSG).
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October 30, 2018
13th India-Japan Annual Summit
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Japan on 28-29 October 2018 for the 13th India-Japan Annual Summit for wide-ranging discussions on bilateral, regional...
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October 30, 2018
Coming – Apache Attack Helicopters
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)In 1985 when Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi visited the US, he was accompanied by Army Chief General K. Sundarji.
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October 30, 2018
India-China Joint Project on Afghanistan
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The MEA brief issued on April 28, 2018, with respect to the Informal Summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on April 27-28 at Wuhan, China described among other issues, agreement...
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October 17, 2018
Visit of Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary General
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who had visited India in July 2016 before he was elected Secretary General, made his maiden visit to India from October 1 to October 4.
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October 6, 2018
S-400 Triumf for India
By Air Marshal B.K. Pandey (Retd)A major acquisition of defence equipment from Russia has delivered a clear message to the Trump administration on India’s perspective of strategic autonomy in matters of national security.
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October 6, 2018
Visit of President Vladimir Putin - big boost to strategic ties
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to India on 4-5 October to attend the 19th Indo-Russian Summit has provided a big boost to the bilateral strategic partnership. His visit came at a time of angst in Moscow in what it sees as India’s tilt towards the US while New Delhi views growing China-Russia-Pakistan alignment with concern.
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October 6, 2018
Beyond National Register for Citizens
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)There has been much talk of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) for Assam relating to illegal immigrants, though many would like to paint it a communal issue.
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October 6, 2018
Can Pak Arm Terrorists with Chemicals?
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)After security forces gunned down two terrorists in Bandipora are of J&K last month, the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) issued a statement on September 23 that chemical weapons were used to kill these terrorists.
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October 6, 2018
The Offsets Tangle - and question of favourites
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)That the Rafale is state-of-the-art fighter the IAF must get is unquestionable. But the brouhaha is about the joint venture (JV) between Dassault Aviation and Reliance Defence owned by Anil Ambani under the offset clause.
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October 6, 2018
New Tri-Service Divisions
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)In November 1988, Maldives President Abdul Gayoom sent an SOS to India having taken refuge in Maldives National Security Headquarters when a group of 80-200 Sri Lankan militants of People’s Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE)...
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September 19, 2018
Coming Up – 19th Indo-Russian Summit
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Russian President Vladimir Putin is to arrive in New Delhi for the 19th Indo-Russian summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 5. Modi had invited Putin for the 19th Annual Summit in India at the first informal Summit between the two leaders on May 21, 2018 at Sochi in the Russian Federation.
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September 19, 2018
Nepal in Dragon’s Jaws
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)China has agreed to allow Nepal to use four seaports and three land ports for the third country trade. The seaports are Shenzen, Lianyungang, Zhanjiang and Tianjin, and the land ports are Lanzhou, Lhasa and Xigatse.
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September 7, 2018
Indo-US 2+2 Dialogue
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The first ever Indo-US 2+2 Dialogue finally took place on September 6, 2018 after two postponements over past one year.
