Armed forces need structural reforms The Statesman 03 Jun 2025 The devastation to Pakistan’s air defence systems and strategic assets, including air bases, in the short four-day Operation Sindoor, was such that Islamabad and Rawalpindi were compelled to release their troll army to convert their DGMOs call for ceasefire amidst imminent defeat to false victory. Such was the […]
Rethinking India’s border security amid overburdened Northern Command First Post 06 May 2025 The much-awaited strategic re-structuring of Indian forces into Integrated Theatre Commands (ITCs) remains in limbo. Post the first Joint Commanders Conference in Lucknow, in Sept last year, a press release mentioned that the three services had agreed to structures of upcoming ITCs and these had been […]
Modernizing artillery is vital for security The Statesman 23 Apr 2025The modern battlefield is characterized by devastation and destruction. Artillery, missiles and rockets are preferred weapons to inflict maximum casualties on the adversary. Artillery remains the king of the battlefield. However, these weapon systems are themselves vulnerable to counter-strikes. There is an increased presence of counter-artillery batteries, capable of responding […]
Misconceptions within Pakistan Raksha Anirveda 21 Apr 2025Addressing the Overseas Pakistanis Convention in Islamabad, General Asim Munir, their army chief, decided to play to the galleries. He commented on multiple subjects, boosted by a cheering audience of overseas Pakistanis. However, what he missed was a reality check on subjects which he discussed. He backed the two-nation theory, mentioning, ‘Our religion […]
India is enhancing its drone and counter-drone capabilities ETv Bharat 02 Mar 2025 The Russo-Ukraine war continues to witness a UAV dominated battlefield compelling changing concepts of operations and tactics. A difference compared to employment of brute military power of yester years. Russia initially employed Iranian drones and moved on to develop its Lancet drones which carry a 40 Kg […]
Army as first responder The Statesman 18 Mar 2025Photographs of residents of Wayanad in Jul-Aug 2024 lining up to cheer members of the army’s rescue team as it withdrew after successfully completing its daunting rescue task, post the landslides, dominated social media as also news networks. It was an emotional send-off from a community which lost many family members but […]
The defence budget – is there scope for improvement? Etv Bharat 03 Feb 2025The finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, in her budget speech for 2025-26 allocated a sum of Rs 6,81,210 crore for defence. This was an increase of 9.53% from the previous year. The Press Information Bureau, praising the budget mentioned, ‘This allocation will take care of major acquisitions planned […]
2025 year of reforms in defence sector The Excelsior 09 Jan 2025The defence ministry released a statement at the commencement of 2025 mentioning that the year would be declared as that of reforms. It listed a total of 10 avenues for ‘focussed interventions.’ These include establishment of integrated theatre commands, focus on new domains such as Cyber and Space, and […]
Why Xi’s military purge isn’t about corruption bit something more sinister First Post 7 Dec 2024The purge within the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in China continues unabated. Latest inputs flowing from Beijing mention that Lin Xiangyan, the commander of its Eastern Theatre Command, committed ‘suicide’. The Eastern Theatre Command’s area of responsibility includes Eastern China, the East China Sea, and […]
Debate on women in command E TV Bharat 02 Dec 2024A letter, available on social media, written by a senior army officer to his superior, raising fingers on capabilities of women officers in command has reignited a debate on the subject. Women officers are here to stay and that is a fact. The current women officers in command are the […]