Once pitched to India under the MRFA contract, five Boeing F-15 fighter jets have been confirmed lost since January 2026, all during combat missions. On 2 March, the United States Air Force (USAF) lost three F-15E Strike Eagles that were shot down and crashed over Kuwait. It was reported as a result of friendly fire.Continue reading “F-15EX: Why India Sidelined U.S. Air Superiority Jets As It Hogs Headlines For All The Wrong Reasons: OPED”
Category Archives: Geopolitics & National Security
Sanctioned Russian Oil’s Hilarious full Circle
The sanctioned Russian crude continues to reach global markets primarily through an extensive shadow fleet of aging tankers, ship-to-ship transfers, and transponder manipulation. They utilise hundreds of unverified or falsely flagged vessels that operate outside Western insurance and maritime services. Urals crude is moved through ship-to-ship transfers from smaller vessels to larger VLCC super-tankers onContinue reading “Sanctioned Russian Oil’s Hilarious full Circle”
Airpower in the Age of Intelligent Warfare: Technology, Control and Will — An Indian Perspective
Airpower and Technology Airpower operates at the leading edge of technology. Every major technological breakthrough has had a profound impact on airpower and, eventually, on its employment in combat. Until a few years ago, a major thrust was on the development of manned platforms and their sophistication through upgrades in avionics, weapons, and stealth featuresContinue reading “Airpower in the Age of Intelligent Warfare: Technology, Control and Will — An Indian Perspective”
How the Sukhoi Design Bureau Overtook the Great Mikoyan Design Bureau
During the Cold War, the Mikoyan-Gurevich (MiG) design bureau held a monopoly on frontline fighters (like the MiG-21 and MiG-29), while the Sukhoi Design Bureau (Sukhoi) specialized in strike aircraft. Sukhoi seems to have surpassed the legendary MiG pack due to the massive success of the Su-27 “Flanker” family. Mikoyan’s financial struggles following the SovietContinue reading “How the Sukhoi Design Bureau Overtook the Great Mikoyan Design Bureau”
F414 “Trap”: After 3X Price Hike, Why Swapping U.S. GE Engines for India’s Tejas Mk-2 & AMCA Won’t Be Easy
Commercial negotiations for the GE F414 engine, selected to power India’s Tejas Mk-2 and the initial variants of the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), have hit a serious roadblock. Despite an earlier agreement on technology transfer, GE Aerospace has sharply escalated its price demands — nearly tripling the per-unit cost. Initial estimates had put theContinue reading “F414 “Trap”: After 3X Price Hike, Why Swapping U.S. GE Engines for India’s Tejas Mk-2 & AMCA Won’t Be Easy”
India’s Defence Budget – Priority Atmanirbharta – A Comprehensive Look
The Finance Minister of India presented the Union Budget 2026-27 on 01 Feb 2026. The total annual national budget stood at Rs 53,47,314 crore, marking a steady increase from the Rs 50,65,345 crore projected in the previous year. She allocated a historic Rs 7.85 lakh crore to the Ministry of Defence (MoD), up 15.19 percentContinue reading “India’s Defence Budget – Priority Atmanirbharta – A Comprehensive Look”
PM Modi Visits Japan – Strategic Congruence of Two Major Asian Countries
PM Modi will travel to Japan on August 30, where he will participate in the 17th annual India-Japan Summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. It will be PM Modi’s 8th visit to this strategically important friend of India. The only countries he has made a large number of visits to are the USA (10),Continue reading “PM Modi Visits Japan – Strategic Congruence of Two Major Asian Countries”
Not Having Nuclear Weapons a Liability? – Japan, South Korea Future Nuclear Weapons Powers?
Ukraine voluntarily renounced its vast Soviet-era nuclear arsenal after independence, transferring all nuclear warheads to Russia by 1996 in exchange for security assurances via the 1994 Budapest Memorandum from the US, UK, and Russia, but now deeply regrets this decision following Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea and the 2022 invasion, which it calls broken promises.Continue reading “Not Having Nuclear Weapons a Liability? – Japan, South Korea Future Nuclear Weapons Powers?”
PM Modi Visits Israel – As the two Nations Continue to Strengthen the Unshakable Aerospace Bond
Prime Minister Modi concluded a two-day visit to Israel that started February 25, 2026, his second trip in eight years. He addressed the Knesset (parliament) amid an unprecedented deepening of ties despite attempts to isolate the Jewish state globally, especially by Europe, and growing tensions in its relations with China. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin NetanyahuContinue reading “PM Modi Visits Israel – As the two Nations Continue to Strengthen the Unshakable Aerospace Bond “
Op Sindoor: IAF Hits Wide and Deep – In Just 90 hours Sets a New Normal
India launched “Operation SINDOOR” in response to the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam to destroy the terroristbackers of the attack. Pakistan attempted a weak response using drones and shelling to hit Indian military and civilian targets, including religious sites. India responded by striking military targets across the length and depth of Pakistan to denudeContinue reading “Op Sindoor: IAF Hits Wide and Deep – In Just 90 hours Sets a New Normal”
