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Friday, August 26, 2011

CMP-2011 Is Out


The US Defense Department’s annual report to the US Congress on Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China, released yesterday, provides an update on not only the on-going force modernisation efforts of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), but also throws new light on the civilian and military leadership changes that will take place next year.
Slide 1 above shows the importance attached to the Central Military Commission (CMC), which is the apex strategic and operational decision-making body in China, and is on par with the State Council, which is like India’s Union Cabinet. Presently, India has no counterpart of the CMC, and therefore all three of India’s armed services chiefs remain mere operational players, as does the Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee. For India, the only way of attaining decision-making parity with the CMC is through the establishment of the office of the four-staff Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), with the present Chief of the Integrated Defence Staff (of three-star rank) becoming the Vice Chief of Defence Staff. The CDS must be made to report directly to the Prime Minister’s Office, and not to the Defence Minister.
Slide 2 reveals the operational theatre-level jurisdictions of the PLA’s military regions (MR), with the Chengdu and Lanzhou MRs being of prime importance to India.
Slide 3 shows the disposition of airpower spread throughout China and interestingly, displays no major air bases in either the Chengdu or Lanzhou MRs within the immediate vicinity of India. This proves my earlier assertions of the overstatement and over-estimation by various ‘armchair specialists’ of the threat posed by Chinese military airpower to India. The seven major ‘air bases’ often cited by these ‘armchair specialists’ are in fact civilian airports possessing no infrastructure facilities required for offensive airpower projection operations. This also explains why the PLA Air Force’s (PLAAF) 15th Airborne Army began experimenting with air-assault staging operations two years ago within the Tibet Autonomous Region, albeit only at the Battalion-level. As for the PLA Army, all that has been verified thus far is that its rapid-reaction ‘fist’ battalions located within the Chengdu MR have intensified their special operations infiltration/exfiltration exercises over the past two years along mountainous terrain similar to those encountered along India’s North East.
Slide 4 displays China’s present-day overland and seaborne trade routes, required for gaining access to raw materials like hydrocarbon resources.
Slide 5 reveals the engagement envelopes of China’s inventories of long-range SAMs and strategic weapons (TBMs, IRBMs, MRBMs, ICBMs and SLBMs), while Slide 6 gives an appreciation of China’s prevailing inventories of such strategic weapons, including ground-launched cruise missiles, but mysteriously excludes air-/submarine-launched cruise missile inventories.---Prasun K. Sengupta

28 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Prasun,

I would like to say that even though the threat from China might be over-publicized but still this fear is helping us increasing the rate of modernization of our armed forces. I think some false reports from Indian intelligence agencies and armed forces would help us rather than these US kind of reports because otherwise our governments won't take a look at our armed forces during their whole 4 year tenure.

Considering that nobody listens to our armed forces in India. Armed forces are not at all involved in the decision making. I think this fear is of China is the only hope for our armed forces and intelligence agencies.

I have a few questions :
How good is the air defence system for our new ACs, Vikramaditya and IAC1 ? I mean what are the chances of getting them safe from Chinese anti AC missiles ?

Do we have a program to develop some anti-AC missiles ?

Do we have any program to develop AEGIS kind of system ?

What are the progress on battlefield management system in India ?

What happening in that Tactical communication system (TCS) project ? Which company is finally making it and when it will be delivered ?

What is the progress on Nirbhay ?

In the last year we have heard alot about reusable hypersonic cruise missiles from DRDO and Dr. Kalam. Whats the progress ? When it will enter in service ? Is HSTDV only a tech demonstrator or will actually be developed into a full system and enter in service ?

Whats going on with AURA ? Have they decided on design ? What they will do for engine ? I hope they don't use kaveri.

Anonymous said...

I have a coiuple questions which are not related to above article.

1) Do you what happened to Trichi assault rifle developed by OFB trichi ? Is it undergoing tests ? How good are the reports from user trials ?

2) Also what happened to MSMC machine gun ? Our armed forces liked it or not ? Have they even conducted user trials yet or not ?

3) Any new assault rifle or machine gun planned by drdo ?

4) Is pinaka 2 cancelled or its still going on ?

5) Any news on 1500 km range LRTR which drdo is developing for BMD system ? Also on long range aerostat ?

Anonymous said...

prasun, theses maps doesn't show any bases near to india border .
Still don't have longer range air defense like S-400, incase missile from above 5000 km range missile touches india , what is the self defense india has (s-300 in pakistan faces for defense / Akash may not stop 5000 km and above ranges of ballistic missiles.

Anonymous said...

Thanks Prasun, thats an awesome post. I enjoy reading your blog for the different perspective.

I agree with anon @3:02pm. For e.g. just across the depsang plains in aksai Chin lies a chinese military base. Hell, even the highway running through it is classified as a military highway. It is strange that the Americans chose to omit this. Wonder what is their definition of a base.

About their airfields it only means they are incapable of launching offensive operations from there. But loads of men and material can anyways be transported at short notice.

They are also smart to know that in the rarified atmosphere of the tibetan plateau, planes cannot take off with a full load. So they will probably proceed from their current bases and just get refuelled in the air over Tibet. While returning they may make a stop for refuelling, so in a way these airfield could be used for offensive operations.

Anonymous said...

What happened to this camouflage pattern? Has armed forces accepted it?
http://www.hyperstealth.com/india/index.html

Anonymous said...

Sir,

why do you think the govt hasn't yet formed a JCOS or similar structure? Is it scared that military leadership might topple their chairs (as happens frequently in Pakistan) if they are included in top level decision making process?

What is the role of Head of DOD (w.r.t Pentagon) in US compared to that of our Raksha Mantri (w.r.t IDS)?

Thirdly, in one of your last thread you had mentioned about the differences between Tech acquisition in ADA and HAL regarding FGFA/AMCA. So does that mean that there's no sync between them and they seek to independently acquire and develop tech w/o sharing? But why - they aren't competitors. Or are they?

Anonymous said...

Can you please throw some info about the approximate number of IA troops currently deployed in North East especially Tawang and in ladakh??And how does it fare with the PLA troop deployment??Any news regarding the two additional strike divisions and two indipendent brigades for deployment along LAC??And lastly,how many air bases are operational along LAC and are there any new ones being set up??Please try to reply.
THANX in advance..

Mr. Ra said...

Excellent. Now I understand that why General Kaul said that use of AirForce could have stymied the Chinese advance.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To Anon@3.02PM & Anon@4.55PM: There are no permament air bases along the Sino-Indian border at the moment. Only garrisons on rotational basis are located, along with observation and aerial logistics helicopters. For defending against inbound TBMs the Barak-8 LR-SAM will be quite effective. What India lacks at the moment are adequate numbers of Shaurya missiles that can effectively the Chinese from launching their TBMs. It is true that the existing civilian airports can serve as logistics reinforcement areas, but moving them from the airports to the forward staging areas in fraught with risks since the transportation routes (i.e. exterior lines of communications) can be easily damaged through cruise missile strikes (like the BrahMos) against tunnels and bridges. China has been using its railroads within Tibet for pre-positioning weapons and POL stocks, but again these are all in static locations within the Tibetan plateau that can be identified and targetted with missile-based offensive airpower. Even air-dropping both men and material requires localized air superiority, which the Chinese have been unable to establish even in peacetime within the Tibetan Plateau. The only route therefore available to the Chinese to stage any effective offensive strikes against India lies in the mountainous northeast and that too with the help of heliborne air-assault forces and cruise missile strikes launched from the Yunnan and Sichuan provinces.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To Anon@7.20PM: No idea.

To Anon@7.32PM: Why? Just plain lethargy, insensitiveness to national security issues and an utter lack of strategic visioning. The GoM ahd as far back as 2001 had recommended that the Govt of India create the post of CDS. But it seems no one is even bothered to give serious thought to it until the next big crisis erupts. In India the Raksha Mantri does not have full control over the financial aspects of the MoD, and frequently has to refer to the Union Ministry of Finance for advice and guidance, whereas in the US, once the US Congress approves the federal budget, the US Defense Secretary quickly disburses the funds internally to the various armed services. In the US system, the Defense Secretary is only concerned with conceiving policy guidelines from the Pentagon. Actual implementation of the policies and progress monitoring is done by the respective Secretaries of the various armed services and the office of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff (like the Indian HQ IDS). Therefore, in terms of executive powers, the US Secretaries of the Army, Navy and Air Force have far more executive powers than the US Defense Secretary. In India the poor Raksha Mantri and the Minister of State for Defence Production & Supplies micro-manage everything, leading to delays in the decision-making process. Then there’s the additional headache of running the DPSUs, whereas in the US there are no DPSUs.
With regard to ADA and HAL’s ARDU, yes, presently there’s no cooperation, but only wasteful competition. The need of the hour is the creation of an independent Aerospace Commission that can advice the Union Cabinet on various technology development roadmaps to be implemented through a consolidation of national R & D institutions and aerospace manufacturing entities. India does not need and cannot afford competition when it comes to developing items like FGFA or AMCA, it requires consolidation. Competition can be encouraged for items like small arms, night vision optronics, communications networks, UAVs and UCAVs, but not for prohibitively expensive weapons platforms. Wasteful expenditures of the type to be incurred by developing regional commuter turboprops and regional jetliners must be avoided at all costs, since such products are most unlikely to compete with the likes of Embraer or China’s AVIC and therefore the R & D funds invested will never be amortised. Therefore, priorities must be set right and only an independent and impartial National Aerospace Commission can do this.

To Anon@11.32PM: Approx no of Indian troops deployed are roughly 200,000. The Chinese in contrast deploy only one-tenth that number in peacetime, but they deploy more number of the paramilitary People’s Armed Police for constabulary duties concerning border management and patrolling. Also, in Indian parlance, post-Operation Parakram there’s no such thing as holding or strike divisions/corps formations. It is now the established policy of Army HQ to train and equip every existing Army formation for conducting both offensive and defensive operations. The Army leadership from the days of Gen ‘Paddy’ Padmanaban in 2002 has realised that if one wants to wield a sword, then a double-edged sword is the only option, and not a single-edged weapon. On the Indian side, there are a string of major air bases in an arc stretching from Nagaland and Mizoram to J & K. In terms of offensive airpower projection into Tibet, India is an extremely advantageous position. However, when it comes to waging war, one cannot expect the IAF to come to the Army’s aid from day 1. The Army must have its own integral offensive firepower assets to hold out on its own, and this is where at least 400 ultralightweight 155mm/39-cal howitzers and up to 820 motorised 155mm/52-cal howitzers of the type that can be airlifted by C-130J-30, IL-76MD and C-17A transports need to be procured ASAP, along with an inventory of at least 200 Shaurya land-mobile TBMs.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To Anon@8.17AM: I completely agree with you about getting India’s force modernisation priorities right, but disagree on the methodologies adopted. The fact remains that successive Indian govts since independence have never bothered to secure the borders along the north and northeast and therefore communications and transportation infrastructure has remained in a pitiful state. This consequently causes alienation among the local populace, further leading to separatist tendencies. I’m sure you’ll have noted that while foreign news broadcast corps like BBC often have made documentaries/travelogues showing the state of addairs in India’s northeast tribal heartlands, India’s own news broadcast agencies don’t even bother to go to such areas, leave alone govt decisionmakers venturing out there. A pathetic attitude, to say the least.
INK Vikramaditya’s air defence will be limited to two Kashtan-Ms but they could in future be updated with the Barak-2 MR-SAM to defend against supersonic ASCMs. But for this to be effective, one requires helicopter-mounted AEW & C radars of the AESA-MMR type like Selex-Galileo’s Seaspray 7000e. The present-day Ka-31 is deficient in this area. IAC-1/INS Vikrant will have the Barak-2 on board from the beginning. The Barak-2 MR-SAM can effectively intercept supersonic ASCMs if backed up by new-generation AEW & C systems using AESA-based MMRs. There’s no need to develop any passive phased-array AEGIS-type system since the EL/M-2248 MF-STAR AESA-based MMR does the job far better. The BMS project is stiil work in progress, and operational fielding will not take place until the latter half of this decade due to delays with the F-INSAS programme, which is an integral part of the BMS. The TCS programme is now in the RFP evaluation stage. The initial Nirbhay prototypes will become visible only next year. To me loitering hypersonic missiles is an achievable objective, but not reusable hypersonic missiles. HSTDV will ultimately become an operational system as it will be used for launching several low-earth orbit recce and missile launch monitoring satellites. The Kaveri in its existing form will more than suffice for the AURA. In fact, if the DRDO is creative enough, thenm it should explore the possibility of redesigning the Rustom-2 UAV and powering it with the Kaveri to serve as a high-altitude UAV for broad-area maritime surveillance. It is definitely doable .

To Anon@8.22AM: Have not been following developments in the small arms arena. Pinaka-2 is definitely on but it takes time to develop such systems from scratch. DRDO is NOT developing the 1,500km-range LRTR. The LRTR is the EL/M-2080 Green Pine from Israel and its original range of 600km has now been increased to 1,500km and when the political decision is taken to field the DRDO-developed BMD network, the Green Pine LRTR will be licence-assembled in India. This was stated on-the-record by Dr V K Saraswat in the March 2010 issue of FORCE magazine.

Anonymous said...

THANX Prasun Da,I am anon 11:32.Currently in every defence forum,there is a news running that IA is seting up a dedicated mountain strike corps with 50000 soldiers and 2 additional indipendent mountain brigades for LAC.Is that true or just a fanboy article??If true,when will they be deployed??Can you please throw some light??Besides,what happened to the upgunning of M46 howitzers??Is that project still on??Is the 1500 km range Sword Fish LRTR ready or still under developnent??And if I correctly remember,there was a 2009 DRDO tech focus stating that their Sagarika and Shaurya missiles entered in production.So don't you think that atleast few batteries of Shaurya hybrid missiles may have been deployed??In my view,Shaurya can be the game changer in a future Sino Indian war and can tear apart anything that PLA can throw at IA.Don't you agree??
THANX in advance....very defence forum,there is a news running that IA is seting up a dedicated mountain strike corps with 50000 soldiers and 2 additional indipendent mountain brigades for LAC.Is that true or just a fanboy article??If true,when will they be deployed??Can you please throw some light??Besides,what happened to the upgunning of M46 howitzers??Is that project still on??Is the 1500 km range Sword Fish LRTR ready or still under developnent??And if I correctly remember,there was a 2009 DRDO tech focus stating that their Sagarika and Shaurya missiles entered in production.So don't you think that atleast few batteries of Shaurya hybrid missiles may have been deployed??In my view,Shaurya can be the game changer in a future Sino Indian war and can tear apart anything that PLA can throw at IA.Don't you agree??
THANX in advance....

Anonymous said...

Hey Prasun da,can't we use Agni 1s with conventional war heads in a future war with china against their missile launch sites??
REGARDS..

Anonymous said...

Hey sir ji,I have seen some box like bulges along the sides of Arjun Mk1 turrets with locks hanging from them.I wonder what are they and what's their use??Are they cavities to put add on composite blocks or what??Can you please give some info??
Thanks.
s of Arjun Mk1 turrets with locks hanging from them.I wonder what are they and what's their use??Are they cavities to put add on composite blocks or what??Can you please give some info??
Thanks.

Anonymous said...

Hey sir,I have a doubt in mind-according to DRDO the AAD has range of 200km,maximum imterception altitude of 32km and top speed of mack 4.6-5,its specs are almost identical or even slightly better than the formidable S300 PMU2.So,can't we use the AAD as a long range SAM????Then what's the use of LRSAM when a better system already exists????And what's the status of the PDV which will replace the PAD in the 1st phase of Indian BMD????According to DRDO sources,this missile will have hypersonic speed,maximum service altitude of 140-160km and will be able to intercept 3000-3600km range IRBMs.Is this true or just mere speculation by so called armchair generals????
Please try to reply.
Thxx.... AAD has range of 200km,maximum imterception altitude of 32km and top speed of mack 4.6-5,its specs are almost identical or even slightly better than the formidable S300 PMU2.So,can't we use the AAD as a long range SAM????Then what's the use of LRSAM when a better system already exists????And what's the status of the PDV which will replace the PAD in the 1st phase of Indian BMD????According to DRDO sources,this missile will have hypersonic speed,maximum service altitude of 140-160km and will be able to intercept 3000-3600km range IRBMs.Is this true or just mere speculation by so called armchair generals????
Please try to reply.
Thxx....

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To Anon@9.42AM: Whay does one require the Agni-1 when the newer air-transportable and cannisterised Shaurya is available? The Agni-1 should in fact be replaced by the Shaurya. And as for engaging Chinese nuclear-tipped missile sites with conventionally armed Indian ballistic missiles, it just won't work. You need a nuclear bullet to engage and destroy another nuclear bullet.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To Anon@9.39AM: What Army HQ is doing is raising a total of four new infantry divisions of which two have already been established and are functioning. Another two will be raised by 2014 (this being 71 Mtn Div at Missamari + another one) and a new Corps HQ will also be created. This is what is happening: The Indian Army has raised two new Divisions--41 Mountain Div (based in Binaguri, West Bengal) and 56 Mountain Division (in Zakhama, Nagaland, during the 11th Defence Plan (2007-2012)). Due to this, an extra 55,000 personnel have been recruited and their support costs will be a nett addition to the MoD's sanctioned establishment costs. By 2011, III Corps (now being restructured as the offensive Corps) will comprise 56 Mtn Div, 41 Mtn Div and the Rangla-based 2 Mtn Div (presently under IV Corps). From then on, the XXXIII Corps in Sukhna for the Sikkim sector, III Corps in Dimapur and IV Corps in Tezpur will be 100% China-centric, with all three possessing adequate capabilities for launching offensive operations beyond the LAC into the Tibetan Plateau. To cater to the airmobility and aerial logistics replenishment reqmts of these three Corps, an additional 50 Mi-17V-5s will shortly be ordered for the IAF over and above the 80 already ordered. Also, 12 Heron 2 UAVs are being procured by the Army for these three Corps-sized formations. The remaining two holding Corps under HQ Eastern Command will each have one rapid-reaction airmobile infantry Brigade for localised contingencies along the Bangladesh and Myanmar fronts. No new independent brigades are being raised and what is happening in eastern ladakh, Uttarakhand and Sikkim is that the existing battalions/regiments are being reinforced through redeployments of additional formations to bring them up to brigade strength.
Regarding Sagarika or Shaurya, none of them have entered series production, and Sagarika was never the name of a missile, but the name of the DRDO Project Office responsible for developing sea-launched missiles like the BrahMos and the SLBM. The Shaurya can be the game-changer vis-a-vis China if armed with tactical nuclear weapons. In addition, the Shaurya, being cannisterised, can be easily transported by C-17A aircraft. The LRTR issue has already been addressed above.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To Anon@9.50AM: That was already answered in the previous thread.

To Anon@12.12PM: Going by historical precedents, a conventional warhead-equipped anti-ballistic missile will have a very very very hard time intercepting inbound nuclear warhead-equipped ballistic missiles. For ensuring a high probability of successful interception the missile interceptor too ought to be equipped with a nuclear warhead. What the DRDO is claiming with regard to the PDV and AAD families of interceptors is all rubbish, is still untried and untested, and its technology demonstration targets are pure baloney.

Anonymous said...

Yeah,it does seem that the BMD is a untested and unreliable system.But even the israel,US and russia are also using convetionally armed interceptors in their ABM systems.Can you please tell me why????And just one more question-can the AAD be used as a long range anti aircraft missile or not??Because from the specs it seemed to me that AAD is nothing but a LRSAM.Please don't get angry on me,I am a new here.
Many thanks..d unreliable system.But even the israel,US and russia are also using convetionally armed interceptors in their ABM systems.Can you please tell me why????And just one more question-can the AAD be used as a long range anti aircraft missile or not??Because from the specs it seemed to me that AAD is nothing but a LRSAM.Please don't get angry on me,I am a new here.
Many thanks..

Anonymous said...

Hey Prasun da,I wonder if the IA has constructed enough concrete reinforced pilboxes with adiquate numbers of MMGs, HMGs and 106mm recoilless guns on the forward defence positions along LAC,or are thfy still using sand bag structures????And according to the OFB website,they licence produce Bofors L70 anti aircraft guns.Did Indian Army deploy sufficiet nos of these machines along the LAC or not????And do you think only 50 Mi 17Vs are enough for 3 corps??Don't you think that atleast 200-250 additional mediumlift helos are needed to be dedicated to these corps for an effective and fast deployment????
PLEASE try to reply.
Thanx....

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To Anon@2.57PM: The Israeli BMD system is meant to intercept shown-range TBMs and not IRBMs or MRBMs. The US BMD system too is optimised for intercepting such short-range TBMs. The Russians don't have any operational BMD system, only an early warning system. Not much is known about the US sea-based/shipborne BMD system's warhead types but it is strongly suspected that the US has developed nuclear warhead-carrying interceptors for intercepting MRBMs, IRBMs as well as ICBMs and SLBMs. The AAD cannot be employed as a long-range SAM because it is not designed to intercept highly manoeuvrable targets. Unlike manned combat aircraft, ballistic missiles have very limited manoeuvrability and the same applies to their re-entry warheads. That is precisely the reason why re-entry warheads do not make use of manoeuvrability to avoid interception, but instead rely on decoys. The typical LR-SAM is far more manoeuvrable than a BMD-optimised missile interceptor.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To Anon@3.37PM: There are more than adequate static defence structures in AP, but what's missing are proper black-top roads. I am a frequent visitor to AP (since i will soon be launching a statewide helicopter charter service there) as well as to other northeastern states and have myself visited more than 400 helicopter landing sites in the region over the past two years. The Bofors L-70s are long overdue for replacement, most probably with the Oerlikon-Contraves Skyshield, the same that Pakistan has. And it is not just 50 Mi-17V-5s being bought, but 80 + 50. And it is not for three Corps, but for providing tactical airlift support for the new Corps now being created. The Indian Army has no plans for creating a US Army-style air-assault or airborne division. It had renamed its 54th Div as an air-assault div prior to OP Pawan in Sri Lanka in the early 1980s but by the early 1990s the designation was dropped. I took part in an ambush operation launched by this division back in the late 1980s in northern Sri Lanka when Maj Gen Sardeshpande was the Divisional GOC. Another such ops was conducted in the Vanni jungles by elements of 57 Mtn Div then led by Maj Gen Ashok Mehta. Been there, seen all and felt everything then. To come back to your point, all logistics bases along the LAC are already in forward areas bwteeen 22 and 50km away from the border. What is therefore reqd is limited aerial logistics to move the troops, supplies and equipment out to staging/breakout areas for only a limited stretch due to the absence of proper roadways.

Anonymous said...

Many many THANX for your info about the AAD.But was'nt there talk of turning the AAD into a long range anti aircraft missile system of 200 km range,most probable they called that 'Aswin'????Or was that just another fanboy staff by some armchair general????
Kindly try to reply.
THANX in advance.... turning the AAD into a long range anti aircraft missile system of 200 km range,most probable they called that 'Aswin'????Or was that just another fanboy staff by some armchair general????
Kindly try to reply.
THANX in advance....

Anonymous said...

Hey Prasun da,can you please write an article about the snipers of Indian Army??I realy want to know about IA snipers but could not find a single authentic source.Does IA even use snipers or not??Many forrumers told that IA is influenced by Russian Army and mainly uses so called sharp shooter/squad designated marksman instead of snipers.Even in the wikipedia,the 'user' section of Dragunov SVD,is
written that,'India license produces Dragunovs which are used by their army's Designated Marksmen'.Is it true??Is Dragunov SVD is a good marksman rifle??There seems to be a lot of confusion here.Can you please throw some light and clear the confusions??It will be really great if you can post an article regarding Indian Army snipers.
THANX in advance....n article about the snipers of Indian Army??I realy want to know about IA snipers but could not find a single authentic source.Does IA even use snipers or not??Many forrumers told that IA is influenced by Russian Army and mainly uses so called sharp shooter/squad designated marksman instead of snipers.Even in the wikipedia,the 'user' section of Dragunov SVD,is
written that,'India license produces Dragunovs which are used by their army's Designated Marksmen'.Is it true??Is Dragunov SVD is a good marksman rifle??There seems to be a lot of confusion here.Can you please throw some light and clear the confusions??It will be really great if you can post an article regarding Indian Army snipers.
THANX in advance....

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To Anon@2.38AM: Yes, there was plenty of talk, especially by one person by the name of JOSY JOSEPH. Remember him? Well, you can find out all about it at: http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_upa-govt-signs-rs10000-cr-israel-missile-deal-on-the-sly_1242337
&
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_bofors-scam-rs-64-cr-israel-rs-600-cr_1242675

In the end, despite all such howling, the Secretary DRDO Dr V K Saraswat himself came out on record to defend the Barak-2/8 MR-SAM/LR-SAM co-development (between DRDO & IAI) programmes, and he also explained the main performance parameter differences between the Barak-2/8 and AAD. This Josy Joseph is reportedly now working with THE TIMES OF INDIA. As for Aswin or Pradyumna, you must approach the fanboy nerds at BR who've invented all these crappy names and who are still arguing about the type of main gun on the Project 15A DDGs--76/62 or 127/54.

Anonymous said...

W.R.T to the following article, kindly express your opinion regarding aircraft carrier Vikramaditya and the nuclear submarine being handed over by Russia

http://rusnavy.com/nowadays/concept/analysis/importingaircraftcarriers/

http://rusnavy.com/nowadays/concept/views/nerpavschakra/

Anonymous said...

hi prasun,

any update on indian AEWCS program?

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To Anon@2.50AM: The Dragunov SVD, GALATZ and Menchem NTW-20 are used for sniping.