Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020 that became effective last year, was meant to hasten the procurement process. It introduced for the first time the option for the armed forces to procure military equipment on lease. Given the resource crunch facing the Indian armed forces, the option of leasing would be a handy option for theContinue reading “Leasing Defence Equipment – Faster, Cheaper, and Effective”
Category Archives: Strategy and Policy
Drones – Security, Sovereignty and Identities
Drone attacks entered the mainstream news and gained prominence around the very beginning of the 2010s decade their increased usage by the Obama administration, even though it wasn’t the first time drones were used in the role. The use of drone strikes to eliminate supposed terrorist elements hurting the American War on Terror in AfghanistanContinue reading “Drones – Security, Sovereignty and Identities”
A Professional’s Rambling? Evolution of Airpower – Challenges, Questions, and Thoughts
End of Manned Figher Jet Era? During an informal chat with Lt. Gen John Thompson of US Space Command, Elon Musk made a very provocative statement and that too, in a room full of fighter pilots. He stated that the manned “fighter jet era has passed”. This happened during the annual US Air Force Association’sContinue reading “A Professional’s Rambling? Evolution of Airpower – Challenges, Questions, and Thoughts”
Does India Need a Long-Range Bomber?
A saying that was allegedly unpopular with fighter pilots is that there are only two types of pilots, those that drop bombs and those who support them. While fighter flying has attained a type of romantic image of the rakish cur with goggles and a devil-may-care attitude, the bomber has created a more sinister imageContinue reading “Does India Need a Long-Range Bomber?”
People’s Liberation Army Strategic Support Force – A Comprehensive Look
Red Echo, a hacker group affiliated with the Chinese government, repeatedly targeted the control rooms that manage India’s critical power grids in a massive campaign that could have caused widespread blackouts. The Chinese hackers, however, failed to break into the systems, and no data breach was detected because of the attacks, India’s power ministry saidContinue reading “People’s Liberation Army Strategic Support Force – A Comprehensive Look”
Indian Defence Budget 2021-22 – Is it Enough?
The total defence budget for 2021-22 saw only a marginal hike of around 1.4 percent. But the good news was that the Capital budget for modernisation jumped by nearly a 19 percent raise. Interestingly the figures released showed that an unbudgeted Rs 20,776 crore was additionally spent to buy military hardware to immediately beef upContinue reading “Indian Defence Budget 2021-22 – Is it Enough?”
Change of Guard in the US and Indo-Pacific Strategy – A View
The US declassified a Secret 10-page document titled, “US Strategic Framework for the Indo-Pacific” (Framework), on 12th January, 2021 (US EST). This document would not normally have been due for public release until the year 2043. The Framework also had an attached statement by Robert C. O’Brien, Assistant to the President for National Security, datedContinue reading “Change of Guard in the US and Indo-Pacific Strategy – A View”
Space – China the Emerging Power
“The Earth is the cradle of humanity, but mankind cannot stay in the cradle forever.” – Konstantin Tsiolkovsky “We will build new ships to carry man forward into the universe, to gain a new foothold on the moon and to prepare for new journeys to the worlds beyond our own.” – George W. Bush Continue reading “Space – China the Emerging Power”
USI Strategic Dialogue Series – “Pakistan China Aerospace Nexus”
United Service Institution of India (USI) a 150 year old institution, has recently started Strategic Dialogue Series of Interviews. The first among these was with the Founder of Air Power Asia Air Marshal Anil Chopra. The subject was the “Pakistan China Aerospace Nexus”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrbOd8VgFDc&feature=emb_logo
The Nagorno-Karabakh War: Advantage Hindsight: A View
Russian President Vladimir Putin made a televised statement confirming the details of the Russian brokered peace deal, which provided for “complete cessation of hostilities in the Nagorno-Karabakh”. The agreement went into effect at 01:00 local time (21:00 GMT) on 10 Nov 2020, just prior to the announcements. Armenia’s PM, Nikol Pashinyan, first made the announcementContinue reading “The Nagorno-Karabakh War: Advantage Hindsight: A View”
Air Power Asia 