Four years on, Agniveers future hangs in balance The Statesman 14 Jul 2026 The Agnipath scheme, launched in 2022, began the process of inducting its first batch of Agniveers at end of the same year, continuing into early 2023. They finish their service around end this year, after which they will be discharged with a Rs 11.71 lakh ‘Seva […]
Controlling the air space over the TBA CLAWS Issue Brief 10 Jul 2026 Introduction Nature of conduct of war is changing with induction of technology and AI. Weapon systems have enhanced lethality, accuracy and range, while detection capabilities are improving, thereby making survivability of weapon platforms in the combat zone challenging. The battle zone is being saturated with Unmanned […]
Exploiting artillery in future wars Raksha Anirveda 18 Jun 2026 Rockets, missiles and UAVs are playing an increasing role in ongoing conflicts. US and Israel exploited their airpower in Iran, as it lacked air defences. Iran responded with drones and missiles. The Ukraine conflict has been a learning curve, where nature of warfare has shifted from contact (with which it […]
Armed forces must adapt to tackle future battles The Statesman 26 May 2026 Recent conflicts have two distinct characteristics. The first is war between neighbouring countries primarily with territorial disputes while the second is when a state or alliance, without a common border with the adversary, seeks to force it into submission or accept its terms. The Azerbaijan-Armenia war […]
Unnecessary criticism of CDS appointment The Statesman 19 May 2026 The appointment of Lt Gen Raja Subramani as the next CDS has drawn criticism from multiple quarters, though the logic in some cases is bizarre. Even before the appointment was announced a number of publications appeared suggesting that the next CDS should be from the navy or air force […]
Role of technology: Conflicts moving towards sci-fi warfare realm Raksha Anirveda 13 May 2026 The Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict was the first to give the world an inkling on how future wars would emerge. Technology, including effective the use of rockets, drones and missiles, were witnessed for the first time. Armenia employed Russian missiles, rockets and EW systems, while Azerbaijan fired […]
Operations Sindoor and Epic Fury The Statesman 12 May 2026 The anniversary of Operation Sindoor was marked last week with social media comments as also press conferences by members of the government. The armed forces organized a special press interaction, chaired by those who coordinated the operation. Interestingly, there was no comment, even on social media, by members of […]
Controlling the internal armed forces narrative Raksha Anirveda 15 Apr 2026 Two forthcoming actions, appointing of a new CDS, as General Anil Chauhan finishes his tenure in end May, as also likely formation of Integrated Theatre Commands (ITCs), has reignited the battle between services for dominance. There have been discussions and articles highlighting individual service viewpoints. A serving air […]
Removing tax breaks on disability pensions The Statesman 24 Feb 2026 The Finance bill 2026 aims to terminate income-tax benefits accruing from pensions of those who superannuated with disabilities in the armed forces. The supreme court has, over the years, insisted that disability pensions ‘are deferred compensation for past service and are neither dependent upon the grace of […]
AI in defence The Excelsior 22 Feb 2026 Warfare is changing. It will no longer restricted to conventional or kinetic but will be hybrid and multi-domain. Wars may also no longer be short and intense but prolonged while remaining below the nuclear threshold. Today’s warfare will involve large scale employment of drones, cyberattacks, space and informational warfare, guided by […]