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Wednesday, January 2, 2019

Compendium Of Indian Army's Cross-LoC ‘Jawaabi Karavaee’ (Retaliatory Action) Raids Since 1998

On the night of March 26-27, 1998 the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) had massacred 29 Hindu villagers at Prankote and Dhakikot by slitting the throats of their victims, which included women and infants. In late April 1998 the massacre of 21 villagers in Binda Mohri Sehri, 600 metres across the Line of Control (LoC) inside PoK, and the bombing in June of a Lahore-bound train, shortly after an explosion in Jammu, are both believed by Pakistan to have been carried out by Indian security agencies. Pakistan admitted on May 4, 1998 that an Indian Army (IA) special operations forces unit had killed 22 civilians at the village of Binda Mohri Sehri in Bandala, in the Chhamb sector. Two villagers were decapitated and the eyes of several others were allegedly gouged out by the raiders, who comprised a dozen men, all dressed in black. They struck in the middle of the night and dropped leaflets to mark the attack. “Vengeance Brigade,” one leaflet said. “Evil deeds bear evil fruit,” said another. “Ten eyes for one eye, one jaw for a single tooth,” said a third. The Pakistan Army (PA) claimed to have recovered an India-made HMT wrist-watch from the scene of the carnage, along with a hand-written note which asked: “How does your own blood feel?”
In late 1999 the IA’s Capt. Gurjinder Singh Suri, posted on the LoC with 12 Bihar Regiment as the Platoon Commander of a ‘Ghaatak’ team, which was deployed on the Faulad Post. On November 9, 1999, the PA launched an attack on the Post, preceded by a heavy artillery bombardment. The PA’s attack was repulsed and Capt. Gurjinder deployed his men to deal with any reinforcements or interference by the enemy. He then launched the operation to clear the enemy bunkers one by one along with his comrades and in this process, one of his soldiers got injured badly. Leading from the front, Capt. Gurjinder dashed forward and killed two enemy soldiers with his AK-47 SLR and silenced the machine gun of the enemy. However, during the process, Capt. Gurjinder received a burst of gunfire in his arm. Unmindful of his injury, he continued to lead his men and lobbed two hand-grenades into a bunker. He then entered the bunker while spraying bullets and killed one more PA soldier. At this point, he was hit by an RPG-7 rocket-propelled grenade and was critically wounded. Despite his injuries, he declined to be evacuated and continued to exhort his men till he breathed his last. He was posthumously awarded the Maha Vir Chakra, India’s second-highest military gallantry award. His memorial is available here:

https://www.honourpoint.in/profile/captain-gurjinder-singh-suri-mvc/
On the night of January 21-22, 2000, in a raid authorised by then Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and conducted by India’s 9 SF (Para), seven PA soldiers were captured in a raid on a post in the Nadala enclave, across the Kishanganga (Neelam) River. The seven soldiers, wounded in fire, were tied up and dragged across a ravine running across the LoC. The bodies were returned, according to Pakistan’s complaint to UNMOGIP, bearing signs of brutal torture.  This raid was intended to avenge the killing of Capt. Saurabh Kalia, and five soldiers–sepoys Bhanwar Lal Bagaria, Arjun Ram, Bhika Ram, Moola Ram and Naresh Singh–of the 4 Jat Regiment.
On the night of February 24/25, 2000, the IA, as part of a retaliatory cross-LoC raid (to avenge the death of an IA officer who was killed while patrolling along the LoC and whose body was taken across the LoC to Kotli), killed 14 residents in the village of Lanjot in PoK’s Nakyal sector after its SF (Para) forces had crossed the LoC. They returned to the Indian side and threw the severed heads of three of them at the PA soldiers manning their side of the LoC. This cross-LoC raid began at around midnight when the IA commenced an artillery bombardment with mortar shells in order to forcibly confine the local residents to their homes. Next came the attack on the targetted house, where the annual Khatam (complete recitation of the Quran in one sitting) was then taking place. Eight of the 14 killed were of the immediate family (most of who were serving with the PA at that time), while the others were cousins, uncles and aunts. The heads of three men were cut off while another’s arm was chopped off and the latter was taken back across the LoC as a souvenir. There were two girls who were hiding underneath a blanket, and thus they went unnoticed. Two other children died on the way to the hospital in Kotli, City, while 12 others died on-the-spot in the house.
In retaliation, in the early hours of February 27, 2000, Muhammad Ilyas Kashmiri of the JeM (formed after breaking up with the Harkat-ul Jihad-i-Islami, or HuJI) along with 25 HuJI combatants attacked the IA’s Ashok listening post in the Nakyal sector at Nowshera, Rajouri district, and ambushed and killed seven IA soldiers, and beheaded 24 year-old Sepoy Bhausaheb Maruti Talekar of the 17 Maratha Light Infantry and left behind his decapitated body. Talekar’s severed head was then paraded in the bazaars of Kotli in PoK. Soon thereafter, Ilyas was felicitated by the then COAS of the PA, Gen Gen Pervez Musharraf, and rewarded with Pakistani Rs.1 lakh for bringing back “the head of an Indian soldier” (Ilyas was reportedly killed on June 3, 2011 by a CIA-mounted drone strike against a compound in the Ghwakhwa area of South Waziristan).
On March 2, 2000 when LeT militants massacred 35 Sikhs in Chattisinghpora, a raiding team from 9 SF (Para) was sanctioned by PM Vajpayee to carry out a raid inside Pakistan. Led by a Major, the team went into Pakistan and came back after killing over 28 Pakistani soldiers and militants.
On September 18, 2003 Indian troops, Pakistan alleged, killed a JCO, or junior commissioned officer, and three soldiers in a raid on a post in the Baroh sector, near Bhimber Gali in Poonch. The raiders, it told UNMOGIP, decapitated one soldier and carried his head off as a trophy.
On June 5, 2008, the PA’s troops attacked the Kranti border observation post near Salhotri village in Poonch, killing 2/8 Gurkha Regiment soldier Jawashwar Chhame. The retaliation, when it came on June 19, 2008, was savage: Pakistani officials have since alleged that IA troops beheaded a PA soldier and carried his head across in the Bhattal sector in Poonch district. Four Pakistani soldiers, UNMOGIP was told, had also died in the cross-LoC raid.
On the afternoon of July 30, 2011, the PA’s Border Action Team (BAT) struck a remote post near Karnah in Gugaldhar Ridge in Kupwara. The IA subsequently hushed up the beheading of Havildar Jaipal Singh Adhikari and Lance Naik Devender Singh of 19 Rajput Regiment. The BAT stormed the post while a handing-taking over process was on between 19 Rajput and 20 Kumaon in 28 Division’s area of responsibility, and conducted the beheadings and took the heads along with them to the other side. The BAT had used rafts to penetrate India’s defences along the LoC. The bodies of the two dead soldiers were sent to their families in Uttarakhand in sealed caskets as they were badly mutilated, and cremated as such. A few days after the beheading, the IA discovered a video-clip from a Pakistani terrorist who was killed in an encounter while crossing into J & K, showing Pakistanis standing around the severed heads of Adhikari and Singh displayed on a raised platform. After repeated recce over a two-month period, the IA launched the retaliatory OP Ginger on August 30. Five Indian and three Pakistani soldiers were killed in an unrelated  shooting between August 30 and September 1, 2011 across the LoC at the Keran sector in Kupwara district/Neelum Valley. On the night of August 31, an Indian border post was fired at by Pakistani troops.
On August 30, 2011 three PA soldiers, including a JCO, were beheaded in an IA cross-LoC raid on a post in the Sharda sector, across the Neelam Valley in Kel. Maj Gen S K Chakravorty, the then GOC of 28 Division, had planned and executed this operation. To carry it out, at least seven reconnaissance—ground-level and aerial surveillance conducted by Searcher Mk.2 MALE-UAVs—missions were carried out to identify potential targets. Consequently, three PA posts were determined to be vulnerable: Police Chowki, a PA post near Jor, and the Hifazat and Lashdat lodging points. The mission was to spring an ambush on Police Chowki to inflict maximum casualty. Different teams for ambush, demolition, surgical strikes and surveillance were constituted. The operation was deliberately planned for being conducted just a day before Eid-ul-Fitr as it was the time when the PA least expected a retaliation. About 25 soldiers from the SF (Para) reached their launch-pad at 3pm on August 29 and hid there until 10pm. They then crossed the LoC to reach close to Police Chowki. By 4am on August 30, the planned day of the attack, the ambush team was deep within enemy territory waiting to strike. Over the next hour, claymore mines were placed around the area and the raiding party took positions for the ambush, waiting for clearance through a secure communications channel. At 7am on August 30, the raiders saw four PA soldiers, led by a JCO, walking towards the ambush site. They waited till the Pakistanis reached the site, then detonated the mines. In the explosions all four were grieviously injured. The IA raiders then lobbed grenades and fired at them. One of the PA soldiers fell into a stream that ran below. The raiders then rushed to chop off the heads of the other three dead PA soldiers. They also took away their rank insignia, weapons and other personal items. The raiders then planted pressure-IEDs beneath one of the bodies, primed to explode when anyone attempted to lift the body. Hearing the explosions, two PA soldiers rushed from their post but were killed by a second raiding team waiting near the ambush site. Two other PA soldiers tried to trap the second team but a third raiding team covering them from behind eliminated the two. While the IA raiders were exfiltrating, another group of PA soldiers were spotted moving from Police Chowki towards the ambush site. Soon they heard loud explosions, indicating the triggering of the pressure-IEDs planted under the body. At least two to three more PA soldiers were killed in that blast. The operation had lasted 45 minutes, and the IA team left the area by 7.45am to head back across the LoC. The first team reached an IA post at 12pm and the last party by 2.30pm. They had been inside enemy territory for about 48 hours, including for reconnaissance. At least eight PA troops had been killed and another two or three more may have been fatally injured in the action. Three Pakistani heads—of Subedar Parvez, Havildar Aftab and Naik Imran—three AK-47s and other weapons were among the trophies carried back by the SF (Para) raiders. But this was not without the heart-pounding moments. 28 Division HQ got a message on its secure line that one of the IA raiders had accidentally stepped over a landmine and blew his finger while exfiltrating. He came back safely with his buddies. The severed Pakistani heads were photographed, and buried on the instructions of senior officers. Two days later, the then GOC of XV Corps turned up and asked the team about the heads. When he came to know that they had been buried, he was furious and asked the SF (Para) to dig up the heads, burn them and throw the ashes into the Kishenganga, so that no DNA traces are left behind. Those instructions were complied with.
On January 8, 2013 a 15-member BAT of the PA, wearing black combat uniforms, crossed the LoC from in Krishna Ghati sector (falling under 10 Infantry Brigade in Mendhar, Poonch district). Earlier, this BAT had been stationed at Barmoch BOP in PoK across Atma Post (manned by 13 Rajputana Rifles) a fortnight before and was watching the daily movements of IA personnel. On that day, Lance-Naik Hem Raj and Lance-Naik Sudhakar Naik of 13 Rajputana Rifles were on a routine area domination patrol in Barasingha in Mendhar sector, 200km north of Jammu. Daybreak was still several hours away, the night was dark, the fog thick, and visibility almost zero. Patrolling there involved walking around over a stretch that was beyond the fence that protected India-held territory. Every border sector had been divided into grids, each under a commanding officer. There were four to seven forward posts (beyond the fence) every kilometre, with five to eight soldiers in each. The posts were alerted about the patrols; while on patrol, the scouts did not talk, smoke, use flashlight or carry cellphones. They did not even use aftershave, the smell of which could be picked up by dogs accompanying the Jihadists. The patrol that included Hemraj and Sudhakar was playing safe, by not venturing far beyond the fence. They mostly remained nearly 500 metres short of the LoC. The party had seven troopers and as per the decades-old practice, and had divided themselves into three pairs, with the commander attaching himself to one. Each pair was to remain within line-of-sight of another, but that was impossible in the thick fog and the thick woods. The result: the pair that was to keep Hemraj and Sudhakar in its line-of-sight did not see who were shooting at them in the fog; they only heard reports of automatic firearms firing away. As the second pair leapt for cover, before rushing to reinforce Hemraj and Sudhakar, they, too, came under fire. This fire, they realised, was not coming from the woods, unlike the bullets that had felled Hemraj and Sudhakar. This was cover-fire, coming from the hilltops on the Pakistani side of the LoC. Very unlike jihadis, and very much military-like. The Jihadi infiltrators would have fired at everyone in sight. Here, the enemy was killing only two; the cover-fire was being provided only to keep the rest of the patrolmen away. The intention was to kill two, and only two, and then seize their bodies. IA posts returned fire and the exchange lasted several hours, well past daybreak. As the fog cleared by 10.30am, a couple of remaining IA patrolmen saw the enemy—clad in dark black, the uniform of the PA’s Special Service Group (SSG), known as the Black Storks. The cover fire, the patrolmen knew, was being provided by 29 Baloch Regiment, which had been there for several months. As the firing finally ended at 11:32am, the sight in front froze them. Hemraj and Sudhakar lay dead and frozen in pools of blood, far away from each other. Sudhakar’s head was missing; Hemraj had deep slashes on his neck, indicating a failed beheading bid. This happened between Chhatri and Atma posts in Mankote area of Krishna Ghati. The beheading was done by one Mohammad Anwar Faiz alias Azhar, a resident of Jabbar Mohalla of village Sher Khan (Rawlakote) who also was the local guide for the SSG. He ran a shop in Barmoch Gali in PoK, and he was also involved in the beheading of an IA Captain in 1996 in the same Mendhar area. (A divisional commander of the LeT and a Pakistani national, he was killed on July 13, 2015 at Rajouri.  A group of four LeT fidayeens, all Pakistanis, tried to infiltrate and wore combat dresses at 3.30am during heavy rains by crossing Panjal Nullah close to the village of Sagra Balnoi in Mankot sector of Poonch district. Alert IA personnel of 25 Division intercepted the fidayeens and opened firing, leading to heavy exchange of firing that continued for 90 minutes during which Faiz was eliminated, while three others escaped back to PoK).
Till January 9, the BAT was camping at Tattapani and was also involved in planting anti-personal mines in Helmet, Chattri, Dayal Top, Atma and Rocket BOPs of the IA’s 10 Infantry Brigade. The consequent phone call was short and sombre. Lt Gen Vinod Bhatia, the IA’s then DGMO, spared pleasantries and told his Pakistani counterpart, Maj Gen Ashfaq Nadeem, that India did not want to escalate tensions, but Pakistan had to respect the LoC. Before he hung up, Lt Gen Bhatia reiterated that Pakistan must probe and take appropriate action against its soldiers who had violated the LoC and mutilated the bodies of two Indian soldiers. This was the third hotline call between the two DGMOs since a localised confrontation had begun on January 6. While the IA had immediately retaliated with increased mortar-based artillery firepower, New Delhi tried to stop tensions from spiralling out of control. It advised the IA to stay calm. However, it was aware of the anguish and anger within the IA over the mutilations. The then Indian PM Dr Manmohan Singh chose the Army Day celebration at the Indian Army COAS’ residence on January 15 to send a strong message to Islamabad: “After this dastardly act, there can’t be business as usual with Pakistan,” he said. “Those who are responsible for this must be brought to book. I hope Pakistan realises this.” What this meant was that payback time was guaranteed at a time and place of the IA’s choosing. And this payback came on July 28, 2013 when the IA carried out a retaliatory low-intensity, shallow cross-LoC raid. It later emerged that between that date and early August, PoK residents Zafran Ghulam Sarwar, Wajid Akbar, Mohammad Wajid Akbar and Mohammad Faisal left their homes in the Neelam Valley, and never came back. Pakistan subsequently claimed that they were innocent herb collectors, who were kidnapped by IA special operations combatants during a cross-LoC raid. The IA only admitted that five unidentified men were shot dead by IA troops in the same area, about 500 metres on the Indian side of the LoC after they were suspected of being guides for Jihadists wanting to corss the LoC.
On August 6, 2013 PA troops killed five Indian soldiers in a cross-LoC strike in Poonch. The five Indian soldiers were sitting ducks in a well-planned ambush by a BAT about 450 metres inside Indian territory. 14 Maratha Light Infantry (MLI) had just arrived in the Sarla battalion area of the 93 Infantry Brigade, stationed along the LoC north of Poonch, to relieve 21 Bihar Regiment. An IA patrol headed out from Cheetah, a post 7km west of Poonch, along the Betaad nullah, or moutain stream, which heads towards the LoC. They were headed for Delta, an occasionally-occupied position half-way to another major post, code-named Begum. These IA posts guarded the areas around the village of Khari Karmara, facing the PoK village of Bandi Abbaspur. 21 Bihar Regiment’s Shambhu Sharan Rai, Vijaykumar Ray, Premnath Singh and Raghunandan Prasad, and 14 MLI’s Pundlik Mane and Sambhaji Kute, were sent out on a patrol to familiarise the newcomers with the terrain. Elsewhere on the LoC, troops would have been extremely cautious about resting in the course of a patrol. The troops had no reason to expect trouble, though: the Chakan-da-Bagh sector, home to a trading post where cross-LoC trade is conducted, had long been peaceful. Late on that fateful night, the men bivouaced at a position some 450 metres across the border fencing that runs some distance away. Kute was put on guard duty, while the other men rested. Kute, the only survivor, later said that he saw the patrol come under fire from multiple directions. He was, however, unable to provide substantial further detail—bar saying he thought some 20 men, some in uniform—had executed the pre-dawn ambush. Forensics later showed that the slain men were killed with single shots, fired at almost point-blank range, evidence of a surgical, well-planned ambush. Kute’s less-than-complete testimony led the then Indian Defence Minister A K Antony to issue an ambiguously-worded statement soon after the attack, saying that it was carried out by “20 heavily armed terrorists along with persons dressed in PA uniforms”. Antony’s statement appeared to refute an earlier statement by the IA, saying the killings were carried out by terrorists “along with soldiers of the PA”. Earlier in January, after the beheading of Lance-Naik Sudhakar Naik, Antony had expressly charged Pakistan’s SSG with the outrage. Following protests in Parliament, Antony issued a fresh statement blaming the PA for the killing. IA officials claimed that elements of the 801 Mujahid Battalion were also involved in this attack. Subsequently, 21 Bihar Regiment’s Commanding Officer Col C S Kabsuri, under whose command the patrol team operated; 91 Infantry Brigade’s Commander Brigadier S K Acharya, who was Kabsuri’s immediate boss and Acharya’s boss and 25 Infantry Division GOC Maj Gen V P Singh—were in the  gunsights of a Court of Inquiry probing the incident. So was the GOC of the Nagrota-based XVI Corps, Lt Gen B S Hooda, who was then commanding these officers.
On January 13, 2014 the then COAS of the IA,  Gen. Bikram Singh said that a strong reply had been given to last year’s cross-LoC raids by Pakistan, referring to reports that 10 Pakistani soldiers had been killed in an IA-staged cross-LoC surgical strike.
In the early hours of September 18, 2016 four Fidayeen terrorists of the LeT attacked the rear office of an infantry battalion of the IA’s 12 Infantry Brigade HQ in Uri, which killed 20 IA Jawans. The terrorists were using two sets of ICOM of Japan-made wireless sets, which were inscribed with the words ‘bilkul naya’ (brand new) in Urdu and ‘new’ in English. The wireless sets were among 48 items, including two map sheets, seized from the attack site. While one of the map sheets was burnt, the National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO) went about deciphering four coordinates mentioned on the other—8440, 8605, 2842 and 3007. Also recovered was a mobile phone made by Indian firm I-KALL, plus two GPS locators built by US-based Garmin (with pre-fed coordinates of two locations—Galwama and Rafiabad, Muzaffarabad—at least 6km from the LoC). The terrorists also carried packets of juice made in Karachi. Twenty-six wrappers of high-protein chocolate bars, six Red Bull cans, three empty packets of ORS and other medicines with 'Made in Pakistan' stamp were recovered as well. A mission plan that was annotated in Pashto was also recovered and it revealed that the terrorists were to kill unarmed IA troops, then storm a medical aid unit near the Brigade administrative block and blow themselves up in the officers’ mess. The plan deciphered by military experts indicated that the terrorists were drawn from the banned terror group, Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) that recently started working under JeM’s command and calls itself ‘Guardians of the Prophet’. The Fidayeen aquad attacked the administrative block where unarmed soldiers were refilling diesel in barrels from fuel tanks. The terrorists lobbed 17 hand-grenades in three minutes, which ignited the dump and resulted in a massive fire burning barracks and tents in a 150-metre radius. Three of the four terrorists were in their early 20s. Together, they had taken nearly 169 bullet hits—their intestines, chest and arms were riddled with bullet holes.
The IA had since 2008 been monitoring the following launch-pads used by the PA to infiltrate its ‘Sarkari Jihadi’ detachments into Jammu & Kashmir: from Bhimber Gali towards Shopian and Anantnag; from Leepa towards Baramula; from Jura towards Sopore; from Athmuqam towards Kupwara; from Dudhnial, Tejian, Shardi, Tattapani and Kel towards Machhal; and from Saonar and Sardari towards Kupwara and Sopore. Finally, eight launch-pads spread over a linear 250km frontage and located at Athmuqam, Dudhnial, Chalhana, Leepa, Kel and Tattapani were chosen for targetted for destruction. They were across the areas under the jurisdiction of 19 Division (in Uri), 28 Division (in Kupwara) and 25 Division (in Rajouri). A couple of IA strike-teams slipped out between the Beloni and Nangi Tekri battalion areas in Poonch sector south of the Pir Panjal and across the Tutmari Gali in the Nowgam sector after sunset on September 28, 2016. By 2am, the teams were on the following targets:

Target-1: Dudhnial, Neelum Valley 34 42 09.97 N, 74 06 28.75 E

Target-2: Mundakal, Leepa Bulge 34 17 21.1 N, 73 55 25.7 E

Target-3: Athmuqam, Keran Sector 34 34 48.65 N, 73 57 01.09 E

Targets 4, 5 and 6 were diversionary in nature.
For targets 1, 2 and 3, Instalaza C-90 LAW & 40mm UBGLs were employed by 4 and 9 SF (Para). For targets 4, 5 and 6, AGS-30 AGLs, 7.62mm MMGs, 12.7mm HMGs and 81mm/120mm mortars were employed.
In the Leepa Valley, the IA’s SF (Para) combatants crossed the LoC and positioned themselves on ridges directly overlooking the village of Mundakali. Two PA observation posts (OP) and a makeshift mosque located at some distance east of the village were destroyed at 5am. Two other posts higher up in the mountains were also hit. At least four PA soldiers were injured in the attack, which lasted from 5am until 8am. A similar advance by the SF (Para) in the Dudhnial area of Neelum Valley further north was conducted. LeT camps in the Khairati Bagh village of Leepa Valley and the western end of Dudhnial village in the Neelum Valley had been hit. Two PA soldiers were killed in diversionary attacks—one in Poonch, and one in Bhimber sector, further south. A total of nine PA soldiers were injured in these cross-LoC raids. Another diversionary attack occured in the Madarpur-Titrinot region of Poonch sector, where a PA OP was destroyed and one soldier killed between 4.30am & 6am. Terror laubch-pads in the Samahni-Mandhole area of Bhimber or in Tattapani of the Poonch-Kotli area could not be attacked since they were located behind ridges that serve as a natural barrier against direct-fire. In Leepa, six wooden structures housing terrorists between the villages of Channian and Mundakali were not targetted, since a ridge that runs along the east bank of the nearby stream covered them from the IA positions on the LoC. Likewise, in Neelum, most terrorist camps—such as the ones at Jhambar, Dosut and in the Gurez Valley area further east—were located in the valleys below at a safe distance from the LoC and were therefore not targetted by the IA’s cross-LoC assault teams. According to the PA, an exchange of fire between PA and IA troops began at 2:30am on September 29 and continued till 8am in the Bhimber, Hot Spring, Kel and Leepa sectors inside PoK. Hot Springs, Kel and Leepa come under the jurisdiction of the IA’s XV Corps, while Bhimber Gali comes under the XVI Corps. Subsequent independent reportage (by both the BBC & The Indian Express) revealed that an IA ground assault did occur in the Madarpur-Titrinot region of Poonch sector, west of Srinagar, where a PA post was destroyed and one soldier killed. In Leepa valley to the north, the IA’s combatants crossed the LoC and set themselves up on ridges directly overlooking the village of Mundakali. A PA post located at some distance east of the village was hit. Two other posts higher up in the mountains were also hit. At least four PA soldiers were injured in the attack, which lasted from 5am until 8am. A similar advance by the IA in the Dudhnial area of Neelum valley further north was beaten back by the PA. At least one PA soldier was injured there. Two PA soldiers were killed in the attacks--one in Poonch, and one in Bhimber sector, further south. A total of nine soldiers were injured in the IA’s assaults. In Leepa, the IA’s combatants first opened fire in the valley at around 5am, hitting a PA post near Mundakali village and blowing up a mosque adjacent to it. A PA soldier who was preparing for pre-dawn prayers was hit and injured. Fire was also directed at two other posts higher up in the hills, one of which served as the PA’s forward headquarters in Leepa. Bunkers at these posts were partly destroyed and their communications system was paralysed for some time. This meant that PA troops stationed down in the valley and at the Brigade HQ took a while to realise what was going on. The soldier who was injured at the Mundakali post was given first-aid by villagers, and then transported to the military-run hospital in Leepa on a motorbike. Nearly two dozen villagers helped put out the fire that had engulfed the mosque. The PA did not take long to get their act together and fired back from the remaining bunkers, pushing the IA’s combatants back from the ridges overlooking the Valley.
At Dudhnial in the Neelum Valley, the action took place further up in the mountains, away from the village. A few villagers were awakened by gunfire. There, the IA’s combatants had advanced well beyond the LoC when their movements were detected and were fired upon. Two local eyewitnesses who visited Dudhnial, a small hamlet some 4km across the LoC from India’s nearest forward post, Gulab, ahead of the town of Kupwara, reported seeing a gutted building across the Al-Haawi bridge from the hamlet’s main bazaar, where both a military outpost and a compound used by the LeT were sited. Al-Haawi bridge is the last point where infiltrating Jihadists are loaded with supplies before beginning their climb up to the LoC towards Kupwara. Local residents revealed that loud explosions—possibly rounds fired from Instalaza C-90 LAWs—were heard from across the Al-Haawi bridge late in the night, along with intense small-arms fire. Five, perhaps six, dead-bodies were loaded on to a truck early next morning, and possibly transported to the nearest major LeT camp at Chalhana, across the Neelum River from Tithwal, on the Indian side of the LoC. The subsequent Friday prayers at a LeT-affiliated mosque in Chalhana, ended with a cleric vowing to avenge the deaths of the men killed the previous day. The LeT Jihadists gathered there were blaming the PA for failing to defend the LoC. In Leepa, some five or six wooden structures housing terrorists between the villages of Channian and Mundakali had not been targetted. A ridge that runs along the east bank of the nearby stream covers them from the IA’s positions along the LoC. Likewise, in Neelum, most terrorist camps-such as the ones at Jhambar, Dosut, and in the Gurez Valley area further east-are located in the valleys below, at a safe distance from the LoC. The LeT’s launch-pad dwellings in the Khairati Bagh village of Leepa Valley and the western end of Dudhnial village in Neelum Valley were attacked and hit. At Dudhnial, some local residents who helped carry military munitions to the PA’s forward posts the weekend following the IA’s cross-LoC strikes said that they had seen one or two damaged structures close to a PA post near the LoC. Following the strikes, there was an increased influx of Jihadists in the Valley.
At Leepa, a complex of some 25 hamlets located at the bottom of the Qazi Nag stream flowing down from the mountains above Naugam, on the Indian side of the LoC, was among the “launch-pads” targetted in the cross-LoC raids. Local villagers there saw a LeT-occupied three-storied wooden building destroyed near the hamlet of Khairati Bagh. Three or four LeT personnel were thought to have been killed in this raid, while the others fled into the adjoining forests after the firing began. Interestingly, the Jamaat-ud-Dawa’s charitable wing, the Falah-i-Insaniyat Foundation, had held a major eye-surgery camp in Khairati Bagh in August, using the opportunity to deliver speeches on alleged atrocities committed by IA soldiers in Kashmir. Khairati Bagh was, until 2003, a major LeT base, which was slowly scaled down once the unwritten LoC ceasefire went into place in November 2003 and the LeT’s cross-LoC operations slowly declined. It remains, though, of key importance to the LeT, offering multiple lines of access into northern Kashmir through Chowkibal and the Bangas Bowl. Fire and explosions were also heard from the east bank of the Neelum River in Athmuqam, the district headquarters. The fighting appeared to have taken place near PA camps along the Katha Nar stream that empties into the Neelum River just north of the town. A bustling town that serves as a hub for tourism and commerce, Athmuqam is also a major military hub, with several PA facilities located on ridges along the east bank of the river, sheltered from the IA’s field artillery bombardments. The ghost villages of Bicchwal and Bugna, almost entirely abandoned by their residents who fled when terrorism in the Kashmir Valley began in 1990, are barely 2km from Salkhanna, the first village on the Pakistani side of the LoC, and the last loading point for jihadist infiltrators. A local eyewitness who visited the Neelum District Hospital in Athmuqam said he heard that several LeT personnel had been killed and injured, but said no bodies had been buried locally.
Down south, in the Poonch, Kotli and Bhimber areas, it was more or less the same story: IA’s combatants coming forward from their positions on the LoC, taking unsuspecting PA soldiers by surprise both due to the suddenness of the attack and the intensity of the fire and then pulling back once the PA had a chance to respond. Unprepared, and having a numerical disadvantage generally, the PA soldiers made use of their firepower to the fullest, exhausting their ammunition. In the days following the attack, hundreds of villagers in PoK were pressed into service for hauling artillery shells and other ammunition to the PA’s border posts to replenish their supplies. The Jihadists continued to maintain safe houses in bigger cities like Muzaffarabad. But they shifted their launch-pad dwellings near the PA’s garrisons along the LoC and away from the villages. There were no reports of any of the terrorist camps in the Samahni area of Bhimber or in the Poonch-Kotli area having been hit. Such camps were mostly located behind ridges that serve as a natural barrier against direct Indian fire.
On October 28, 2016 Pakistan-origin Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terrorists, assisted by covering fire from PA troops, conducted a cross-LoC attack in Machchil sector of Kupwara district. The terrorist killed IA trooper 17 Sikh Regiment’s Mandeep Singh, 26, and beheaded his body before fleeing back. Singh’s mutilated corpse was discovered after he got separated from his patrol near the LoC ahead of Kala Post, one of several IA forward positions in the volatile Machchil sector. In retaliation, the IA destroyed a PA Company HQ and four military posts on October 29. At least 20 Pakistani soldiers were reported to be killed in the attack.
On November 22, 2016 IA Rifleman Prabhu Singh was beheaded by a BAT of the PA’s SSG at Machchil, while two other IA soldiers were ambushed and killed. An abandoned (and subsequently recovered) night-vision monocle used by the BAT was likely transferred by the United States to the PA for use in combating terrorists of the Pakistani Taliban along the Durand. This is not the first time that such nigh-vision devices with the marking ‘US Government Property’ had been recovered in counter-terrorism operations inside J & K. An unidentified IA officer who was deployed near Machchil in 2015, later revealed that his unit, which had eliminated four terrorists in an encounter at that time, had recovered an identical device. Other than the night-vision device, there were other clear indicators of a Pakistani hand in the attacks. A medical gauze recovered was marked ‘Pakistan Defence Forces’, while medicines had markings of manufacturing plants in Lahore, Karachi and Multan on them. Other equipment recovered included a tactical radio-set, several ammunition cartridges, wire cutters, food items, binoculars and sleeping bags.
Skirmishing in the Rajouri-Poonch belt had led to the April 1 killing of Naib Subedar S Sanayaima Som by an IED that was believed to have been laid by a PA raiding party.
On May 1, 2017 two IA soldiers were beheaded and another injured in a SSG/BAT operation in the Krishna Ghati sector in Poonch district. While PA troops were targetting two forward posts of the IA with RPG-7s and 60mm mortars, the SSG/BAT attackers moved in and beheaded BSF Head Constable Prem Sagar and IA Subedar Paramjeet Singh. The SSG/BAT attackers had monitored the IA patrol that left Kirpan Post, manned by the BSF’s 200 Battalion, early in the morning, in a routine search for IEDs, knowing it would take cover in the nearest available space when heavy machine guns and RPG-7s are fired from across the LoC. The killing, which was over inside just a few minutes, had been authorised by the PA’s COAS, Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, following a visit to PA positions in Haji Pir on April 30, 2017. Local PA commanders had underlined the need for reprisal strikes following the killing of seven to ten soldiers in an April 17, 2017 IA field artillery assault targetting PA posts across a large swathe of the LoC in Poonch and Rajouri. Up to 10 PA soldiers were then killed or injured in fire directed at a position identified on IA maps by the codename Pimple, facing Kirpan Post. Four civilians—Mohammad Shakil, Ishrat Bibi, Irum Younas and Atif Majeed—were, however, reported to have been injured in Kotli and Bhimber districts because of IA shelling across the LoC that day. Lt Gen Nadeem Raza, who was then commanding the PA’s X Corps, had pushed back against concerns that the retaliatory action could lead to escalation on the LoC, along with Maj Gen Azhar Abbas, the then GOC of the PA’s Murree-based 12 Infantry Division, the formation whose units had been at the receiving end of the artillery duels on the LoC since 2016.
The IA on May 26, 2017 avenged the May 1 beheadings by killing two personnel of a SSG/BAT team even as it foiled an attack in Uri by the LeT.
On May 29, the IA’s SF (Para) foiled an attack by a PA SSG/BAT squad and killed two members of this squad along the LoC in the Uri sector.
 
On June 22, 2017 afternoon (2pm) two IA soldiers of an area domination patrol were killed in an ambush near the LoC, less than 10km from the town of Poonch. The ambush, carried out by seven SSG/BAT combatants in the midst of intense mortar and small arms exchanges that raged through the day, targetted an IA patrol operating near Gurunj Post, close to the village of Khari Karmara. During the attack, the PA’s troops resorted to firing in Gulpur-Karmara-Chakan-Da-Bagh area along the LoC. At least one SSG/BAT infiltrator was shot dead in Gulpur sector of Poonch district and another injured during the course of the fire exchange, which claimed the lives of 34-year-old Naik Sandip Sarjerao Jadhav of Aurangabad and 24-year-old Sepoy Savan Balku Mane of Kolhapur, and serving with the 15 Maratha Light Infantry. The PA’s covering fire continued till 3.30pm. This ambush—the third of its kind attempted in Poonch in 2017—began at 12.55pm. The month before, the IA had released a video of its troops destroying a PA bunker in the Naushera sector, which was shot just a week after Naib Subedar Paramjeet Singh and BSF Head Constable Prem Sagar were beheaded near Kirpan Post, in the Krishna Ghati sector. Krishna Ghati, one of the few sectors along the LoC where PA troops have positional advantage, had seen intense skirmishing since September 2016. The SSG/BAT combatants were armed with special daggers and headband cameras to mutilate and record the attack on the IA patrol party after ingressing 600 metres across the LoC. Arms, ammunition and other war-like stores including one AK-47, three magazines and two hand- grenades, besides dresses and bags were recovered. The slain SSG/BAT combatant was wearing a headband with camera on his head to record the action and possible mutilations of the IA’s Jawans.
On July 16, 2017 in retaliation for the PA snipers killing two IA soldiers a few days ago, the IA targetted a truck of the PA moving along the Neelum Valley at Shahkot near Athmuqam. The vehicle fell into the river, with four PA soldiers drowning as a result.
On the night of December 25-26, 2017 a small team of six IA Ghaatak combatants surreptitiously crossed the LoC in the Rawlakot-Rukh Chakri sector of PoK to kill at least three PA soldiers (including a Major) and injure a few others. The limited ‘tit-for-tat’ operation was carried out to avenge the killing of four IA soldiers, including Major Moharkar Prafulla Ambadas, by a SSG/BAT at Keri in Rajouri sector of J & K on the afternoon of December 23. ‘Jawabi Karavaee’ (retaliatory action) was required for establishing moral ascendancy. It was a localised, selective targetting cross-LoC raid around 300 metres inside PoK. A patrol from the 59 Baluch Regiment, under the PA’s Rawlakot-based 2 AJK Mujahid Brigade, was first hit and left stunned by an IED that had been placed earlier by the Ghaataks. The Ghaataks, who were lying in wait, next opened fire to maximise the damage before swiftly returning to their own side of the LoC, with the IA’s posts giving them covering fire.
On September 18, 2018 in the Ramgarh sector of Samba district in Jammu, Border Security Force (BSF) Jawan Narendra Kumar was abducted and butchered by a SSG/BAT squad. Kumar’s throat was slit and his eyes gouged out. The JeM on October 18 released pictures of Kumar’s belongings on social media that included his bullet-proof jacket, five magazines INSAS rifle and his mobile phone.
On October 21, 2018 an IA patrol team was ambushed by a group of heavily-armed SSG/BAT from Pakistan in Sunderbani Sector in Rajouri district, killing three IA soldiers—Havildar Kaushal Kumar of Nowshera, Lance Naik Ranjeet Singh of Doda and Rifleman Rajat Kumar Basan of Pallanwala—and seriously injuring a fourth. The incident took place at about 1.45pm. The IA’s soldiers immediately took positions and eliminated two SSG/BAT members. The IA’s ‘Jawabi Karavaee’ (retaliatory action) took place on October 23, when a cross-LoC fire-assault was launched against the PA’s administrative HQ in Hajira area, which also targetted about three terrorist sanctuaries. This action came days after the PA had also pounded the IA’s 93 Infantry Brigade HQ and an IA camp in Poonch on October 23, 2018. The IA used both 120mm mortars and 105mm light artillery ammunition and pounded the PA’s administrative HQ with nearly 12 rounds in the wee hours of the day. The IA Indian had exercised restraint, and avoided targetting the civilian population in PoK towns in close proximity of LoC like Hajira, Bandi Gopalpur, Nakyal, Samanhi and Khuiratta despite the fact that the PA has settled Punjab-origin ex-servicemen and retired government servants much to the chagrin of the disconcerted local populace there.
In the pre-dawn hours of December 30, 2018 combatants of the the IA’s 19 Infantry Division thwarted yet another ‘treacherous attempt’ by the PA’s SSG/BAT to launch a strike on an IA post located amidst thick forests along the LoC at Naugam sector in Kupwara district and killed two intruders. The subsequent recovery by the IA of abandoned arms and ammunition indicated that the PA intended to carry out a “gruesome attack” in that sector. The SSG/BAT intruders were wearing combat uniform like regular and carrying stores with Pakistani markings. Some of the intruders were also seen in BSF and old-pattern IA uniforms as part of a deception. They had intruded well-equipped with IEDs, incendiary materials, explosives, and a plethora of arms and ammunition. They were assisted by heavy covering fire of high-calibre 12.7mm heavy machine guns, 60mm mortars and RPG-7 rocket launchers from the opposing PA posts. Their movement was nonetheless detected by the IA’s LoC surveillance sensors and ther subsequent firefight lasted a few hours. The IA subsequently contacted the PA so that the latter could claim and take back the bodies of the two killed intruders.

195 comments:

Murthy said...

so, asusual india is just reacting to the events that is forced upon her.
how many hundreds and thousands of years would take her to get the courage to define the events and course of actions?

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

Excellent discussion on the PA's Failed SSG/BAT operation along the LoC:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aV5p4ZewTg

asd said...

Dear Prasun,

I'm devastated after reading the article. Pakistan is rather justified to say that it awarded India with thosands cuts. Our political leaders are eunuchs. They do don't even have a dick and don't Know how to take revange. What's your say?

Enigma said...

A good write-up sir.I am hoping that the day comes when the Indian Army crosses the LoC,not just to carry out a retaliatory attack but to go all the way up to Khunjerab and Mintaka Passes and liberate the whole of PoK.May our netas become bold enough to authorize such a move.

Regards,
Enigma.

rad said...

hi prasun
great write up on the tit for tat game , but i would like the IA to have the upper hand and conduct more attacks . i dont understand how these bastards cross the border when we have many surveillance equipment like thermal imagers and many imported stuff from Israel?

Kaustav said...

Prasunda,
All this talk of recovering PoK is of course interesting by readers of your blog. But, just in case, India suddenly grew balls to do the needful, I am sure such an HYPOTHETICAL India can also kick out unnecessary punjabi,Pathan exsoldier settlers and even the Mirpuris with the same new grown gumption. Now, only if wishes were American Horses, Indian beggars would surely ride.

Anonymous said...

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/western-powers-call-for-probe-into-bangladesh-election-irregularities-violence/articleshow/67346956.cms

Ur assessment

People please stop talking about India taking back PoK unilaterally it’s never gonna happen not in this century period

Ron

Anonymous said...

The Pakistani policy of wounding by thousands cuts is known and we have to understand that irrespective of what we do the Pakistani army - with the support of its populace full behind it - will keep doing this. For us we must remember that we can not choose the neighbours we have and we have to live with the one we have.

Thomas Jefferson said, “Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty”. And therefore we must not get frustated and keep our part of eternal vigilence.

But in that respect, we must make sure that each time there is an attack, our response must a 5 fold in ferocity and intensity. We are a huge economy and we can afford and sustain that kind of response. We will have to push them to the point of thinking that the each of their action will have a sustained and unafforable response. In that respect, I think NSA Ajit Doval's defensive principle is a good way ahead.

Just like Israel can not give up in despair, the non-stop violece against them, we can not give up in despair each time a soldier is martyred but resolve to induce unacceptable damage on the enemy in defensive-but-massive-offence.

Kane

Vishal said...

Prasun sir,
1) How does the scorpene compare with the chinese type 041 subs and our own upgraded Kilo class in overall capability?

2) What ships do you think will constitute the vikramaditya CBG?

3) How many Varunastra are carried on the Kolkata class in total including the 4 in twin torpedo tubes?

4) If the 3 kolkata class cost 11,000 crore in 2014, then how come the 4 visakhapatnam class cost 29000 crore? Since they are very similar..

5) Can you shed some light on the upcoming project 18 destroyer - displacement, weapons, year of commission?

Thanks

AJS said...

Hi Prasun,

Thank you for your response! The level of the discussion in TV channels regarding matters of defense and security has been abysmal for a long time(was it ever any good?). In my opinion, even matters of foreign and domestic policy making and repercussions aren't discussed in any meaningful manner. It doesn't even reach the level of a decent junior college debate competition.

It reminds me of the time when a TV/Movie Producer was asked about type of brain dead or socially regressive TV programs or movies being made. To that he said that people make the type of programs people want to see. That statement shouldn't have surprised me, but the sheer lack of any regard for improving the mindset of the general public stunned me. Something was really wrong then, since even when DD was the only channel, there were definitely quality programs.

It's like all the TV channels are afflicted with the same disease. They must think that people won't understand things if they went deeper into the subject or perhaps that all viewers suffer from an acute form of attention deficit disorder requiring them to switch stories within 3 mins, after having spent 2 mins repeating the same lines twice over.

But I digress..

I think most of the so called defense experts don't prep at any level and just show up on the programs and throw some sound bites around. There is probably just one General who comes on TV whose opinions I find interesting. The rest of the circuit seems to be there for just flash value(sadly).
About the NSAB, I am filled with dread if such people are the ones doing the "strategic" thinking and planning. I don't see our netas getting any wiser when it comes to the armed forces or employing force. They lack the imagination needed completely. If their bottoms were puckering up during the counter strike, then one can easily imagine their state of mind when it comes to climbing the escalation ladder.
I can only hope that the current neta cabal have an open ear to suggestions from the uniformed forces and have just enough intellectual curiosity to war game various escalations. Looks like they have to be taught about warfare from first principles.

- What is war?

AJS

Ashish Gautam said...

happy new year sir, may god bless u with great health n success. loved this thread. :).
where u get so much precised data from?? :D
after going through whole thread i realized that IA has mostly retaliated in almost all cases.
i have few questions....
(1) for targets which can be damaged beautifully using light medium or heavy arty firing why IA risks lives of SF boys???
(2) why IA people don't use ATGMs on targets which are in line of site n within its range??
(3) why IAF is not used to conduct strikes using its fighters on big n heavily defended targets deep inside POK to give PA, a spine chilling experience??
(4) apart from para SF we also have a separate team/cadre known as Phantom, where they r used?
Next one's are about politics
(5) Why modi or anyone else authorize killing of these separatist neta's of J&K who keep on talking n even supporting Pakistan's position in Kashmir issue brazenly n support stone pelting etc???
(6) We n Pakistan have been fighting with each other since 1947, even world knows that Pakistan is mother-ship of radical Islamic terrorism, why something what happened in Syria does not happens in Pakistan where whole world's major powers including India strikes Pakistan snatching away its nukes n destroys it completely??
About Law -
(7) hamare desh mei itne jaichand q bhare hue hai?? or jo hai unko govt seedha se marva q nai deti hai? zaruri hai her kaam court k 10-20yr long procedure se kia jae?? sidha thok thaak k khatam q nai krte? or jaha tak baat human rights ki hai... so y govt simply say that traitors, rapists etc folks doesn't come under blanket of human rights?? zaruri hai hmesha ek week n ineffective law ka he state bana rhe India??
(8) Asked this question to DR rizwan ahmad on twitter too... he didn't responded.
"Why in Indian Legal System, women criminals r usually spared?? Just like in farzi Dowry cases, farzi eve teasing, 420, creating unnecessary ka drama, mental torture etc etc. Kanoon, judge, society etc unke ooper "Ldki hai leave her na..." vala attitude q rkhte hai?? Ldki hai to kya Crime nai kr skti kya? ya fir ldki hai to it means k she is always an innocent?? hope u remember Jasleen kaur case of Delhi, guys r still going to court etc. Divorce ka to Dhanda bana lia hai in logo ne ajkal sir....

Satya said...

There is a huge potencial between cross LOC raids and all out war that IA can successfully exercise by launching a swift thrust into POK to capture max territory as possible. This can be achieved and IA knows this better than anyone. But the fact that we have not exercised this option only points towards what some readers have said above. We can recover every inch of POK and Pakistan wont use tactical nukes because thats going to destroy the ecology of the region and the rivers that flow to Pakistan. IA knows this too. So why are we not exercising the option? The answer to this is demography. With the 33000 sq mi of land we will also have to accept 5-6 million Muslims. An this is where the status quo suits India - don't give up your claim, but dont try to get it back either. Probably the political class also realises this problem.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To MURTHY & ASD & ENIGMA: Lo0Lz! Well, over the past 48 hours the PA claims to have shot down 2 Indian ‘spy’ drones, with the 1st being a Netra & the 2nd being a DJI Phantom of the BSF:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4SXpYqulZY

https://twitter.com/OfficialDGISPR/status/1080496982496559104

https://twitter.com/OfficialDGISPR/status/1080145860179251201

And was it just a coincidence that just prior to the SSG staging what turned out to be a failed cross-LoC raid, this programme was aired by a private Pakistani TV channel & was anchored by the very person who had authored the book on OP Koh-e-Paima:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pa7M3kmVyp8&index=16&list=PLe0pMWFRlLIwvzu0asvWc0Me5yln6lWk8

To RAD: LoLz! ‘Built from raw materials in India’ does not mean the raw materials being sourced from India. In fact, the raw materials are all imported from Russia & only their precision-machining is done by HAL. The hot-section comes as a wholly fabricated block from Russia. Only the welding of such blocks are done by HAL. No amount of optronic sensors can ensure foolproof detection because Mother nature can never be conquered.

To KAPIL: No one from the IA is going on-the-record & mentioning the figures as indisputable factoids. Nor is it fake news. Instead, they are all saying that such figures are all estimates, meaning the figures can never ever be pinned down as being 100% authentic. So if anyone asks them, they can always wriggle out of such questions by saying that the figures are just mere estimates.

To KAUSTAV: LoLz! Kindly rest assured that the ‘netas’ do have balls, but they are all corroded/eroded & are therefore dysfunctional. Therefore, what is reqd is for some external power to first squeeze & then lubricate the balls in order to restore their functionality.

To VISHAL: 1) If the Type 041 Yuan-class SSK is equipped with Stirling Engine-based AIP, then it will tend to score above the Scorpene. 2) At least DDGs & FFGs acting as escorts. 3) About 16. 4) No, because the Project 15B DDGs will have a quicker delivery rate. 5) It is still in the design stage. They should start being delivered in the latter half of the next decade.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To AJS CHIRP: That’s exactly what we can expect when the country’s ‘netas’ of all hues portray themselves as BRAIN-DEAD IDIOTS during Parliament sessions, as evidenced by what transpired yesterday, while another bunch of ex-MPs (also brain-dead idiots) are now filing a review petition with the Supreme Court. Such IDIOTS will never ever admit that 2 + 2 always equals 4. But what puts the icing on the cake is that the ‘Pappu’ of the INC is today rushing to HAL’s defence when it was his own father who was responsible for the total castration of HAL in the mid-1980s, which in turn led to the creation of ADA & the subsequent castration of the entire LCA developmental effort!

The commentator on TV who cogently explains his PoV & also includes the information/data reqd for contextualization is Lt Gen (Ret’d) Syed Atta Hasnain.

Another example is that of all bluster that oozes out on either TV or social media whenever the Tejas LCA is discussed. In reality, off-the-record almost all the retired AMs, ACMs & AVM will admit that while the Tejas Mk.1 LCA is a superb flying machine whenever anyone wants to take a joyride, it real-life combat the Mk.1 variant is terribly sub-optimal. They will also admit to 2 more conclusions: 1) it impossible now to integrate the GSH-23 twin-barrel cannon with the airframe, since this work should have been done at the same time as the Mk.1 airframe was being subjected to structural fatigue tests—as per global norms. 2) Despite all the hoo-haa that emanates from ADA, the reality is that both ADA & HAL are absolutely clueless about integrating the Tejas Mk.1A’s mission computer with A) the FADEC of the F404-GE-IN20 turbofan. B) the EL/M-2052 AESA-MMR. C) with the EL/L-8222 ASPJ pod. And this is the most critical developmental challenge because: 1) the mission computer controls the flight-control system & consequently the HOTAS. Consequently, unless the FADEC is communicating with the mission computer, HOTAS will remain non-functional & will have to rely on manual inputs from the pilot. 2) whenever the ASPJ pod is activated for jamming for limited periods, the on-board AESA-MMR will be reqd to be immediately & automatically shut down, lest the jammer jams one’s own AESA-MMR. So, all in all, there’s a lot more developmental work that’s pending & it remains to be seen how quickly IAI/ELTA will be able to sort out such challenges & in what kind of timeframe. For, let’s not forget that 4 years were spent on sorting out similar problems for the Jaguar IS/DARIN-3 project. Hence, I don’t foresee any FOC clearance being given to the Tejas Mk.1, while that for the fully integrated & weaponised Tejas Mk.1A won’t surface till 2024.

ExxonMobile Begins Exploratory Drilling for Oil in Pakistan’s Continental Shelf:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSvNrPJ-lKA

Kaustav said...

Very true Prasunda, as per your insightful observation here 8s your snake oil / saande ka tel or lubricant for the rusted organd. Now it is either American pressure or electoral pressure which might get things moving

https://indianexpress.com/article/india/narendra-modi-donald-trump-india-us-china-relations-defence-army-airforce-navy-5519154/

Abhay Jain said...

Prasun sir

I am repeating my question I asked in last thread hoping you'd answer me this time.

There are many Civil Aircraft Manufacturers have bankrupted over the years like Fokker and Dornier. Is'nt it possible for Indian government or any Private entity to buy these companies/Aircraft's IPR and set up a production unit of them here in India instead of reinventing the wheel?

The same question for Military transport arena. Can't we buy any Military transport aircraft's IPR and produce them here en masse?


regards
Abhay

rad said...


Hi prasun
I thought the FADEC of the f 404 in20 had a computer of its own controlling the fuel flow and other parameter to the engine independently. Obviously the yanks are not going to integrate for us , but the big question is haven the designers thought of this basic integration initially??
But i do believe the 2025 aesa radar and the jamming pod will be integrated withe the Israeli help as it would be again a basic necessity in the deal itself?

There are report that FOC has been achieved and also i believe that flight trials with the 2025 has been on for some time , then how can the FOC be achieved ?

iam sure they are going to face problems on gun gas ingestion problem as the 23mm gun is directly below the air intake and the effluents of un burnt propellant and various gasses will affect the engine .?



Anonymous said...

Dear Sir,

The PN 8 subs are coming with the Sterling AIP. From what you have written above that is not good news for the navy.

Also what are the chances of the Land - Air operation? Do you htink we ould undertake one without USA help?

RAT

Varun said...

Prasun bhai, why does IA has such high rate of soldiers committing suicide on active duty? PA in comparison has a very low suicide rate. I have even read media reports that claim PA has absolutely zero casualty rate. How did PA achieve this? And what can we do better?

Rajesh Mishra said...

So till 2025 what is the real and practical maximum use of the Tejas-Mk1/Mk1A in the IAF against China and Pakistan. I think it is nil, kindly correct me here.

You have been preaching since years about the live firing of the Guns on Tejas. So I have always suspected them. Please clarify that how much useless it will be without the live firing guns.

I had always supported the Indigenization, nationalisation and all that BS but now I feel that this project should have been closed long back. Now I appreciate that HAL/ADA went for a long jump and a high jump both at the same time without any initial fast running.

Vishal said...

Prasun sir,
1) Why does the Indian navy use HWT instead of light weight torpedoes on its ships like the west?

2) Between a Varunastra HWT and a rocket propelled LWT, which has an advantage if any?

3) How can the Kolkata class tackle its achilles heel (submarines) without a towed sonar?
You mentioned about RHIB dipping sonar before, what has happened to that option? Can it suffice for lack of of a towed sonar?

4) Most of the books available online deal with world war 2 era naval warfare, sir. Can you please suggest some books to learn about modern naval war?

5) Since the type 52d has 64 universal VLS, making it vastly more versatile than the Kolkata, why do you say the latter is a superior warship?
What advantages does the Kolkata have over the 52d?

6) How many type 52d destroyers and type 55 cruisers do you reckon the Chinese will end up having?

Thanks

Kapil said...

@SATYA and @PRATAP why are you guys fretting over the demography of the region? I don't think we will ever take the decision to initiate a war but if hopefully some time in future we wage a war and attack POK will all those people continue to remain there? Half of them will flee as IA moves deep inside the territory. Punjabis and Pathans can be indentified later and thrown out. So just hope and pray that wisdom dawns upon our govt and army and they do it immediate future. Prasun da would agree

Pinkal Shah said...

Hii Prasun,

Greetings of the day!!

Refer to your reply on earlier thread, as "India hasn’t excelled in either space applications or nuclear technologies. In fact, India is only trying to play catch-up & the signing on to regimes like MTCR & NSG only means that India is now able to freely impoprt all those critical components that were earlier denied and you rate it 5 in scale of 10" with the same logic china has also not excelled in aforementioned domains as they are also trying to play catch-up with west, hence how do you rate them wrt india?

1. Has 2 nos of A-50E phalcon AWACS has been delivered to IAF, if not then by when it will be delivered?

2. Regarding 300 MWe AHWR reactor design which BARC ia trying to develop and India's nuclear fraternity research on thorium fuel cycle is at par with global peers? How much progress has been achieve in this regard?

3. Has IAF ordered additional 38 nos of pc-7mk2 btt for its training program or again the MoD has stalled this proceas and asking IAF to buy HTT-40? Can you please shed some light on this.

4. As you earlier saif that real research done by DRDO is on area of life sciences can you provide laut of any items/products which is been commercialized for armed forces as well as public?

5. Apart from IN DND division for warship and submarine design, has india has any other shipbuilding design company as claimed by GRSE, CSL, RNEL, GSL etc on their website having their own in-house design expertise?

6. Regarding IN acquisition for 6 SSN from Russia under umbrella agreement on unit 5 and 6 KNPP reactors, is this SSN based on akula class or yasen class?

Thanks and regards,
Pinkal Shah

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To ASHISH GAUTAM: VMT. The data pertains only to the retaliatory strikes undertaken by the IA. I will also soon upload all those terror-attacks for which NO retaliatory strikes have been undertaken so far, which will then give you a balanced view of the ground realities. 1) No artillery fire-assaults can be successful if one is targetting only the launch-pads. Only when larger infrastructure like the training grounds are targetted will ground-launched/air-launched fire-assaults be successful & such grounds are not located inside PoK, but are instead in KPK & Punjab provinces of Pakistan. 2) Both ATGMs along with 84mm Carl Gustav TCLs & even T-55 MBTs fitted with Toyal Ordnance-developed L-7 105mm rifled-bore cannons have been & are being used. 3) Such targets are not inside PoK, but in KPK & Punjab provinces of Pakistan. 4) Not ‘Phantoms’ but Ghaataks & Parvat Ghaataks. 5) Why turn them into martyrs at a time when they themselves now stand totally exposed & discredited through exposures of their lavish lifestyles both within J & K & abroad? 6) Why not? Well, let me give you an answer which is making even the Pakistanis laugh. So watch this from 47.28 till 48.00:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRK7frhi5U4&t=11s

7) Jaichands have always been & will always be there, but by labeling them as Jaichands you are in fact giving the retards more credit than they actually deserve. Jaichand was shrewd & calculating & he fully achieved his objectives, while the retards now are hitting themselves on their own feet with axes. 8) That’s because the majority of Indians still adhere to the patriarchal values under which the male member has to take the wrap for crimes/misdeeds carried out by women.

To ABHAY JAIN: Not a single one of those companies that you’ve mentioned went insolvent & there were always buyers/investors from Europe or North America who bought such companies & resurrected them. Not even Japan or China were able to buy such companies, which now have diversified business portfolios for catering to global supply-chains.

To RAD: FADEC’s functioning (for the throttle) has to be synchronised with the mission computer that controls the functioning of the flight-control computer (for the control stick), especially when h-g maooeuvres are reqd to be undertaken during dogfights that involve cannon-firing. So, unless the cannon-firing capability is first validated & certified, the flight-control algorithms reqd for determining the combat agility metrics of the aircraft cannot be developed. How can FOC for Tejas Mk.1A be achieved when even the 1st Mk.1A prototype hasn’t even rolled off from HAL?

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To RAT: Of course AirLand operations over PoK can be undertaken solely by India. The sole impediment is the lack of national will, both in the past as well as now. These 2 weblinks will help you understand my PoV much better:

https://theprint.in/opinion/operation-parakram-the-war-that-wasnt-but-could-have-reined-in-pakistan/172471/

https://trishul-trident.blogspot.com/2012/09/travesty-of-national-security.html

India’s numerical advantage over Pakistan in heavy armor and armored combat vehicles remained more or less constant at between 1.65:1 (1979) and 1.73:1 (1996), dropping slightly to 1.45:1 in 2000. The India-Pakistan fixed-wing combat aircraft ratio rose from about 2.2:1 in 1970, when both sides had only ‘vintage’ aircraft, to 2.43:1 in 1995, and further up to 2.58:1 in 2000. The ratio between India’s and Pakistan’s inventories of modern, high-performance combat aircraft–which is a more telling indicator of the air imbalance than overall numbers–rose as high as 3.33:1 in India’s favour in 1990, following India’s sizeable buildup in the 1980s. After dropping somewhat in 1995, this ratio stayed at a level of approximately 3.03:1 in India’s favour from 1995 to 2003. The ratio of Indian to Pakistani blue water vessels went from 2.4:1 in 1980 up to 3.47:1 in 2000, and down slightly to 3.27:1 in 2004.

The IA had moved 3 of its Mountain Divisions (20, 27 & 57) to the west in 2002 & by March 2002 were operationally re-oriented and ready for full-scale limited war. But Lt Gen R K Nanavatty, the then GOC-in-C Northern Command, told IA HQ that HQ Northern Command wasn;t ready for all-out offensive war due to shortages of arms & ammo, despite the emergency procurements made since late 1999. As a result, during OP Parakram up to July 2003, a total of 798 IA personnel suffered fatal casualties, mostly while laying minefields.

In the last week of July 2002, there was minor PA intrusion of approximately 800 metres across the LoC in the area of Point 3260, which is 1,800 metres east of Loonda Post. The PA occupied four sangarhs (improvised bunkers made of stone) & forward trenches that had been built by IA troops over the years at Loonda Post, which is in the Gurez-Machchil Sector. Unexpected whiteout conditions due to rain and fog had provided cover to the PA troops. Loonda Post has strategic value because it overlooks Kel town in the Neelam Valley on the Pakistani side of the LoC. But Point 3260 is not considered tactically important and viable for physical occupation by the IA. The IA troops observed the presence of some PA troops in the area of Point 3260 on July 26, 2002 when a patrol party of the Sikh Light Infantry (SLI) was ambushed leading to 3 deaths. The area was the responsibility of a Battalion of the SLI under the 53 Infantry Brigade. The overall command of the LoC in the area fell with XV Corps. While the IA conducted artillery fire-assaults on the feature from three sides, IAF Mi-17s flew in SF (Para) detachments.In the counter-bombardment by PA artillery, 11 IA soldiers belonging to SLI and Ladakh Scouts lost their lives. The IA next raised a request to the IAF for support. The IAF in turn sought prior approval from the Defence Minister. On August 2, a multi-ship formation of Mirage-2000s from the No.7 “Battleaxes” Sqn went airborne armed with 1,000lb bombs equipped with Mk82 laser-guidance kits. Time on Target: 1315 hrs. As many as 8 Mirage-2000s were involved, which was led by the CO No.7 Sqn Wg Cdr Rajesh Kumar, with 4 arriving on the target. Wg Cdr Kumar dropped the first LGB. The IA was able to recapture Loonda Post. The CO of the SLI Battalion, Col V K Malhotra, was removed from command but was cleared of all charges in the following inquiry. PA losses comprised 28 deaths in the operation.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To VARUN: That depends on which army remains transparent on such issues & the PA is definitely forthcoming with data on such issues, rest assured.

To VISHAL: 1) Even Western warships nowadays have HWTs on-board, while LWTs are fitted to shipborne NMRHs. 2) Varunastra has the advantage, since rocket-propelled LWTs can be used only when hostile submarines are detected & tracked far beyond the horizon—a feat that only the US can achieve at present. 3) The ACTAS from Atlas Elektronik that has been acquired for the Project15 DDGs will also be acquired for both the Project 15A & Project 15B DDGs as well. 4) Will do so later tonight. 5) Because the Project 15A DDGs carry a greater number of LR-SAMs & HWTs on board.6) About 8 of each type as of now.

To RAJESH MISHRA: It won’t be useless (because it will still be able to use SRAAMs & BVRAAMs) but it without cannons, it won’t be able to engage in dogfights.

Rajesh Mishra said...

Trump at last has given a clean chit to India, Russia and liberated Pakistan to completely finish the Talibans. So the task at first for India and Russia is to liberate the Pakistan and Trump will be supporting and fighting from a standby distant position. As a sweet start, India should start it from the POK & G/B. The operation will be closed after the Khurasan and whole Afghanistan is completely free from the Talibans. In the long history, many Afghan worriers have helped the wars in India, so now it is the time for the Indian worriers to help the Afghanistan in the same manner.

Raja said...

Sir, would you be able to outline the organisational structure of Indian Artillery Divisions.
I heard media reports that 56th and 71st mountain divisions have an integral armored squadron. This confuses me. As a tank squadron is too small to fulfill any offensive or defensive purpose. For an infantry division at a minimum an integral armored regiment or brigade is required to perform offensive or defensive operations. If this information is true then are yhe squadrons a nucleus around which a future regiment or brigade be formed or are they recon elements. Many thanks in advance

Ram Bharadwaj said...

Prasun, has IA finalized the procurement of S.Korean HANWHA BIHO self propelled Air defence system over the russian TUNGUSKA systems?

Raja said...

Can you outline detailed organizational structure of mountain strike corps at least upto brigade level and if you can upto battalion level

Varun said...

Need your opinion on this - Russia is reportedly trying to screw South Korea's efforts to sell K30 Bhino self propelled anti-aircraft gun to India. The report says that the South Korean gun was found more capable than Russia's latest Pantsir and upgraded Tunguska guns koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/Article.aspx?aid=3057687

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To RAM BHARADWAJ & VARUN: The K-30 Biho was originally designed for shooting down the low-flying North Korean An-2T biplanes that were to carry SOF personnel into South Korea in wartime. Therefore, they were never meant for firing any kind of 'smart' ammunition of the type desired by the IA & hence the K-30 Biho cannot be considered as an ideal self-propelled AAA system for the IA.

To RAJA: LoLz! The MSC will have at least 1 Armoured Brigade comprising 2 MBT Regiments. In addition, independent armoured brigades too will be available to the MSC as reserves.

gaurang said...

Dear sir do you truly believe that India can go for offensive operations in POK given the current political situation and upcoming elections.What if there's change of guard in Delhi which now looks probably more.

Ravi said...

Hi,

in Rafale deal, when our requirement is 126, we are just ending with 36 fighters. I understand govt had issued RFT for additional fighters. But this may take years which further delay in meeting the requirements. why that NDA following UPA in addressing the defense requirements. Had NDA taken decision in 2014/15 itself, probably we would have seen something from 2022 for rest of 90 jets.

Also If Air Force is so short of Fighters then why do Air Chief keeps saying that IAF is ready to meet any threat...

See this link - https://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/do-not-have-the-numbers-to-fully-fight-two-front-war-iaf/lite/
ACM complains about the lack of fighters and confirms that they can't fight a 2 front war, but then he defends a Rafale deal that came 90 fighters short of IAF requirements.

your thoughts

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To GAURANG: Can India go on the offensive in PoK? Of course, the armed forces can conduct such campaigns any time. But will India's 'netas' give the green light? Alas, no. And why so? It is all brilliantly explained here:

https://theprint.in/opinion/on-surgical-strikes-and-pakistan-this-ex-army-general-has-some-advice-for-modi/173514/

To RAVI: The numbers tell it all & I'm reproducing them below:

The IAF today has an authorised strength of 42 combat and 10 transport squadrons (an air force of 35 combat and 10 transport squadrons was sanctioned by the government in 1963 after the conflict with China in which the IAF did not participate in combat, and an additional six combat squadrons was authorised in 1978). In contrast, China’s People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) today comprises 42 Combat Air Brigades (CAB) operate single-seat combat aircraft, combat-reconnaissance aircraft and ground-attack aircraft. Eleven of these operate wholly obsolete J-7H, J-7D, J-7IIM, and Q-5 aircraft-types. An additional 12 operate obsolescent J-7E, J-7G or J-8 aircraft-types. The remaining 19 CABs operate modern, generally multi-role J-10, J-11, Su-27SK and Su-35 aircraft. These 19 CABs are the most important assets of the PLAAF. The PLA’s Western Theatre Command presently has the Xinjiang-based 110th and 111th CABs (made up of six air regiments, or six squadrons), plus a Transport –cum-SAR Brigade. A typical CAB, which can be either a multi-role brigade or a ground-attack brigade, has 24 aircraft (excluding trainers) organised in three battalion leader-grade flight groups. Each CAB has from three to five subordinate flight groups. The goal was to have each flight group equipped with a different type of aircraft, including those for flying-training, ground-attack and multi-role, such that the CAB is multi-functional. However, as of now, it appears that this early approach was generally abandoned in favour of having only one or two closely related types of multi-function combat aircraft. This is an attempt to increase operational efficiency, and is due to concerns regarding insufficient qualified maintenance personnel for each type of airframe. As for the aircraft assigned to these CABs, most of them have six additional aircraft as spares, even if they are new aircraft, in the repair shop. In general, aircraft are manufactured and issued to flight groups in batches of ten, but nominally only eight are considered to be available for operations.

Cont'd below...

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

As part of its organisational restructuring programme, from early 2012 the PLAAF began converting some of its Divisions into more combined and flexible Brigade-sized formations. Historically, the PLAAF had organised ORBAT in a manner that was similar to what had existed in the former USSR. Accordingly, the largest operational unit has been the Division, with each Division comprising three Regiments, and each Regiment comprising three flying groups, and each flying group comprising three squadrons. A squadron comprised 3 large aircraft (heavy bombers or transports) or 4 combat aircraft. In addition, a Division controlled two or more air bases plus a Regiment-sized unit comprising several maintenance, product-support and logistics elements. The Regiment used to be equipped with a single type of aircraft. Under an on-going restructuring process, the PLAAF’s Brigade now comprises of several different types of specialized platforms like combat aircraft, reconnaissance aircraft, medium-bombers, airborne early warning & control platforms, and aerial refuelling aircraft. Thus far, two Air Divisions have been transformed into Brigades: the 37th Air Division of the Lanzhou MR, and the 29th Air Division of the Nanjing MR. The existing Air Divisions will be known as ‘Bases’, while the Regiments under them will become Brigades. Presently, four such ‘Bases’ exist each with four Brigades:

And in what shape did the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) emerge post-1971? While the loss of East Pakistan and the birth of Bangladesh as a nation since late 1971 reduced the IAF’s operational orientation from a three-front scenario to a two-front one, for the PAF it resulted in a single-front scenario, i.e. its eastern front against India, thus resulting in the IAF becoming the PAF’s sole and perpetual enemy. Today, the PAF can effectively muster only 20 combat-capable squadrons made up of some 300 serviceable combat aircraft (about 400 if reserve Mirage-III/-V airframes and primary/basic jet trainers are also included), that are supported by three combat-support squadrons (versus the IAF’s 31 combat squadrons and three combat-support squadrons). And it is for this reason that the Pakistan Army (PA) has, since the early 1990s, acquired several types of conventional warhead-carrying ballistic and cruise missiles for use as deep fire-assault weapons capable of reaching the major cities of western, northern central India.

The Sanatani Bhartiya said...

Prasun,
A very happy and fulfilling new year to you and all your near and dear ones!Do you really think that these creatures who are called Netas will ever have the guts to sort out the Pakistan given their shameless ways of doing business?If not, any hope for India?

Hardik Thanki said...

Hi Prasunji,

How does PAF Combat Commanders School(CCS) compares with IAF TACDE.

Thanks & Regards

Hardik Thanki

Anonymous said...

Dear Sir,

Thank you for answering the questions and the links, very informative. Indeed the opportunity has been lost. Interesting thing is PA was in worse situation to the IA at the time, yet correct decision wasn't made. The PA during the last 15 years or so due to the WoT and the 30+ billion dollar injection seems to have transformed itself, especially its infantry units into highly agile and efficient combat units. The forces there have been hardened and visibly so. Mushraff being an ex-SSG encouraged promotion of field commanders and this approach seems to be the favored one even till now. Are we now facing a more professional army?

The latest news indicates, they have now the capability to locally manufacture the A-100 (AR-2) MRLS with a range of over 100km+ is a major concern especially as it looks that they will field it in numbers. Their strategy which was focused on Infantry and TNW, now seems to be shifting to their Navy and support systems, like HQ-16's, A-100 systems and mechanization of their attacking units. This will make attacking much more expensive?

Lot of this seems to be from the outcome of cold start initiative. Should that really have been published, dare I ask? I agree we still have the numbers but are they really enough to ensure a victory and not another stalemate, which is what I think is the likely result of force multiplier entering their services.

RAT

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To THE INDIAN: VMT & the very same to you as well. As for the ‘netas’, it is now 100% confirmed (after the present-day RM’s answers in Parliament 2 days ago) that they think only from their hearts & not their brains--the classic opposite of grand strategists like Kautilya/Chanakya had advocated & taught. Consequently, these ‘netas’ can only be good in barking, shouting & scowling & have ZERO performance productivity. There was a golden opportunity in Parliament for having an in-depth & visionary discussion not only on operational hardware shortages of the armed forces, but also for deliberating on ways for streamlining decision-making & on ways of re-energising the DPSUs, with the ultimate aim being their full-fledged public listing. The RM could easily have turned the tables against the INC by explaining in detail how HAL got totally castrated since the mid-1980s & how this in turn led to a spate of disastrous decisions WRT Tejas LCA, plus the importation of PC-7Mk.2 BTTs & Hawk Mk.132 AJTs. But No! Instead, the RM wasted all her energies on unleashing her stupidity & intellectual bankruptcy (which can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69Tzt9xWXMo) by asking why the INC did not contract HAL for developing only 12 VVIP helicopters!!! She could also have revealed why the UPA-2 govt’s decision to acquire Shin Maywa US-2i amphibians was a failure, bit she chose not to, just for the sake of scoring political points, thereby making a disgraceful & grotesque use of the valuable time & space allotted to her in Parliament. So, since such actions have parallel negative consequences, this has now come to the fore:

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/broke-hal-borrows-1000-crore-to-pay-salaries-to-employees/articleshow/67390881.cms

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/img/67392143/Master.jpg

And now she will have to defend the indefensible & sink into the very hole that she had helped dig, i.e. explain why the hell did the Govt of India decide to procure twin-engined Ka-226T helicopters when the IA/IAF reqmt is only for single-engined helicopters like the LIH being developed by HAL.

The same is the case with other ministries of the Govt of India, i.e. instead of making structural reforms in the agricultural sector, tis Govt of the day is focussing on farm loan waivers by assuming that at the end of the day, the average citizen of India will fall for short-term goodies & a camouflaged crusade against corruption (by trying to dig out even a micron of the still-undetectable shit from Christian Michel) & will overlook the principal existing ills, such as extremely low job-creation growth rates. Well, I I can then say is that this Govt better start counting its last days, since it has already wasted 4 years & has yet to come up with an integrated, all-encompassing roadmap for agriculture sector reforms, some of which are explained here:.

https://theprint.in/opinion/indias-farm-economy-needs-liberalisation-not-periodic-political-charity/173010/

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To RAT: How can the US$30 billion be ASSUMED to be injected into either the Pakistani economy or the country’s armed forces when all the officials from that country have consistently claimed that Pakistan lost US$183 billion in losses by joining the US-led global war on terror? Why is that an estimated US$200 billion were laundered abroad in Europe & the UAE over the past 10 years if the internal situation in Pakistan can be claimed to have improved since 2015? How can the country’s armed forces claim to be hardened when all they did was to engage their TTP enemies from standoff positions be resorting to field artillery fire-assaults & hardly any hand-to-hand combat? And why does the PA continue to procure aluminium-built M-113 APCs that burn quicker & faster than APCs & ICVs made of steel? And all A-100E MBRLs & their rockets & RA3 Counter-Battery Radars are imported (since 2011) & nothing is being built in-country (for the state-owned Pakistan Steel Mill has been under lock-out for the past 7 years). Nor is the acquisition of TNWs the result of the IA’s Cold Start warfighting doctrine. One does not have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that a territory like the 160 sq km Chicken’s Neck area (whose northern shoulder touches Jammu while its southern shoulder touches India’s Punjab state) can never be defended or recaptured in case of an IA ground offensive there. Consequently, that area offers the best chance for Pakistan to employ its TNWs to ensure that: 1) India does not get to capture it, even if Pakistan declares that area as a permanent writeoff. 2) Unavailability of Chicken’s Neck will make it difficult for the IA to stage an overwhelming AirLand offensive in the Sialkot-Chammb sector UNLESS the IA & IAF come together to engage in vertical envelopment manoeuvres, i.e. air-mobile infantry air-assaults, for which the IAF will need double the number of Mi-17V-5s that it currently has. So that’s why the PA’s TNWs are all located in storage at the swanky new cantonment in Pasrur near Sialkot.

Lastly, Pakistan has a lot more to worry about despite the recent infusion of loans from friendly countries. For instance, for the first time in that country’s history, countrywide power shortages for up to 12 hours a day are being experienced in wintertime:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEgT22L5qY4

kunal said...

@Prasoon 4:25 AM

A common man is least bothered of defence technical matters. defence deals have no bearing on peoples voting pattern which is unpredictable to say the least. How many can even correctly spell Augusta Westland or Rafale is your guess which is as good as mine. On job data an interesting article on the Indian express:

https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/job-gains-versus-fake-analysis-2019-general-elections-bjp-performance-5258718/

on agriculture sector reforms. easier said than done, all earlier governments have failed in this and the central government is clear on record that no loan wavers will be announced by the central government. thats the prerogative of state governments and they are free to choose the options. I guess more nuance is required to decipher psephological trends and link it with present day politics. I observe overall confusion in certain patterns of interpretation of facts. Buts thats not surprising with Indians within and outside India, as we all are idiots and display nuances of buffoonery one way or the other.

Regards

kunal

Pratap said...

Dear Prasun,

1. Why does India insist on license production of aircraft if it is much more expensive than a direct purchase? What benefit does it provide?

2. Why does Indian fleet of Su-30mki faces spare part issues when there is complete transfer of technology, why cannot spare parts be manufactured by HAL?

Regards,
Pratap

Buddha said...

PROOF Oil IS NOT a Fossil Fuel (Petroleum IS NOT Dinosaurs!! It's Natural!!) | Fe PROOF 21
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oLCHc8kTmbU
I got this document today..
Don't know much about it..
Hope you can shed some light on it sir..

Anmol Chaudhary said...

Hi Prasun,

With due respect, you are politically incorrect there.

The government of the day is NOT focusing on farm loan waiver. On the contrary, it avoiding it. The PM, senior leaders have come out and spoken about the short term and inadequate impact of waivers.

Had you taken the time out to watch the PMs maiden 2019 interview (even if you think it's scripted etc etc.), you would have come across his acknowledgement that poor farmers don't take loan from formal systems but sahukars, and therefore will not benefit from waivers and the waiver is an obsolete and misused policy.

Just saying. I Feel your out of the box and common sense filled analysis(s) are great, but you are bit too rigidly involved in political rhetoric.

Regards
Anmol

PK said...

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/at-science-congress-a-vedic-rebel-seeks-physics-glory/article25921400.ece

Prasun da what to say because of people like these morons,indians are becoming laughing stock

VARUN KUMAR said...

Sir
Has this bundlebaaz provided correct reasons for Fighter jet shortage?
https://www.livefistdefence.com/2019/01/why-rahul-gandhis-parliament-gaffe-is-an-ironic-self-goal-on-indias-jet-crisis.html

Ram Bharadwaj said...

Prasun,

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/hal-gets-nod-to-produce-weaponised-version-of-lca-tejas/articleshow/67379924.cms

Why do they refer the FOC as the weaponised version of TEJAS? Does it mean that the IOC version is non-weaponised?

Vishal said...

Prasun sir,

1) Since the type 052d carries dk 10 missile quad pack in the silos doesnt that mean, it can carry more SAM than kolkata?

2) What is standard load out and number of weapons carried by type 052d in its 64 VLS?

3) If the Brahmos follows hi hi lo attack profile in naval combat, doesn't that compromise its lethality, since chinese Radars can see it coming hundreds of km away and shoot it down, especially with the HQ9 missile?

4) What improvements will vishakhapatnam class have over kolkata?

5) Between the APAR Radars on the Kolkata and type 52d, which is better and by how much?

6) With SP BSP alliance now sure in UP, do you see hung parliament? What catastrophe will that have on our defence procurement (I shudder to even think of it)

7) What in your opinion should be our minimum defence budget (as of 2018)for us to fulfill our needs? I believe our current budget is 44bn$.

8) You mentioned earlier you would suggest some reading material for modern naval combat, sir?

Thanks

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To UNKNOWN/KUNAL: LoLz! Looks like you too have fallen into the trap: it has always been & will always be AGUSTA, and not AUGUSTA. As for agriculture sector reforms, it is always easier said than done in India, but not necessarily elsewhere. And why so? Because the ‘netas’ just did not & still do not comprehend the full repercussions of the world’s free trading norms, starting from GATT till today’s WTO. After all, we have ‘netas’ like the former PM Dr MMS who, when I first met him in Singapore in 1991 & explained to him how & why Singapore used to then allocate 4% of its GDP to defence, the Dr simply uttered one word: IMPOSSIBLE. He did not even bother to explore or ask me to explain just was this done or achieved! And such ‘netas’ do not display any nuances of buffoonery, but unabashed & full-scale buffoonery.

To PRATAP: 1) Why? The only plausible answer is that this is due to the weird Indian definition of socialism. Whereas in Chiona it is just the opposite, i.e. they are now re-writing Islam to make it compatible with socialism: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gs-ld-R2uw8 2) No one can ever licence-build 100% of rotables, consumables & spares purely due to the cost-prohibitive nature of the business.

To ANMOL CHAUDHARY: It is not at all abiout being politically correct or incorrect, for that’s the job of politicians. I always focus on being factually correct. Farmers indulging in subsistence farming do take loans from private loan-sharks, but they also borrow from state-owned financial institutions & obtain seeds & fertilizers at highly subsidized rates, all of which come under the ambit of waivers when the crunch comes. And if the PM is so passionate about the exploitation by the Sahukars, then why can’t his govt pass the necessary legislation that outlaw such entities & practices, just like the practice of Sati was outlawed by the colonial Brits? So, at the end of the end of the day, it is always about shedding crocodile tears, instead of taking sound & logical in a cold-blooded manner. After all, sound common-sense analysis is reqd in each & every facet of life on a daily basis.

To PK: But you will be surprised just how many tens of millions of ‘desi’ suckers/followers.Bhakts such morons are able to command.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To RAM BHARADWAJ: LoLz! Looks like you too have been drawn into a tizzy by such periodic claims/announcements. In reality, the aircraft won’t be weaponised until it has its own internal cannon. Consequently, all that those IAF pilots of No.45 sqn will do is log in as many flight hours as possible for the sake of ensuring positive ACRs, since the Tejas Mk.1 in operational terms is 100% useless & will therefore not even be accepted into the TACDE's fleet of combat aircraft, which in turn means the Mk.1 will never see any form of combat. All over the world, the test-firings of the on-board cannons are first done on the ground in parallel/concurrently with the structural fatigue tests of the airframe, since the final thresholds of airframe structural fatigue tolerance is the combination of both these tests plus the airborne firing tests, i.e. without this consolidated data, no certification of airworthiness can ever be issued. Consequently, if the cannon firing on the ground was not carried out when the airframe was being subjected to fatigue-testing on the ground, then kindly rest assured that the time for testing of the cannon on both the ground & in the air has long passed off for both the Mk.1 & Mk.1A. In fact, from this flows the fact that the certificate of airworthiness issued by CEMILAC for both the IOC & FOC has been an utter sham/scandal/embarrassment enacted by the DRDO’s technocrats, which was all meant to fool the ‘netas’ & bureaucrats of the MoD. Such ‘desi’ antics are applied to fool only the fellow citizens of India, & not the rest of the world. This is the reality as dictated by the universal laws of physics & I'm pretty sure that India does not possess any genius--either in ADA or in HAL--who can convincingly disprove the existing laws of physics. Hence, it is better not to be waylaid by whimsical & outlandish claims being made by anyone about any cannon-firing tests being done.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To VARUN KUMAR: LoLz! That bandalbaaz has been fed utter junk & shit by these two veterans: AM Anil Chopra & AM Padamjit Singh Ahluwalia. This is a typical example of ‘compounded irrationality’, with the original ‘bounded irrationallty’ being this ill-researched report:

https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/defence/story/19840630-french-built-mirage-2000-warplane-ready-to-be-formally-handed-over-to-iaf-803100-1984-06-30

Back in the 1980s right up to the late 1990s, neither the Mirage 2000 nor the Panavia Tornado were truly MRCAs. European R & D into MRCA-related avionics was lagging far behind that of the US. Hence, in France there was the Mirage 2000A/B/C as air superiority combat aircraft with first the RDM airborne radar, followed by the multi-role RDI & finally the RDY multi-mode radars. For ground-attack, the Mirage 2000D was then available with the Antilope-5 terrain-following radar that could not be used for any other purpose. Similarly, the Tornado was available in 2 role-specific versions: the IDS for deep-strike, & the ADV with Foxhunter radar for air-defence. Logically, therefore, the IAF’s top-brass did not have any choice when it came to MRCA options (i.e. a truly unitary MRCA airframe capable of deep-strike/air superiority) & therefore the IAF HQ rightly decided to stick to role-specific combat aircraft, i.e. MiG-23MF & MiG-29B-12 for air superiority & the MiG-23BN/MiG-27M combination for tactical interdiction & the Jaguar IS for deep-strike. Even the Su-30Ks of the mid-1990s were role-specific for air superiority missions & the truly multi-role Su-30MKI did not become available until 2007 when all the air-to-air & air-to-ground modes of operation were made available to the IAF by the Russian OEMs.

The shortages of the IAF are presently in 2 arenas: deep-strike aircraft & MRCAs capable of both air-defence & tactical interdiction. While the Rafales & Super Su-30MKIs are meant to replace the Jaguar IS in deep-strike roles as well as double up as air superiority combat platforms, the upgraded Jaguar US/DARIN-3s are to replace the MiG-23BN/MiG-27M combination for tactical interdiction & the Tejas is meant to replace the various MiG-21 versions.

To BUDDHA: Excellent explanation of the Earth's sirface areas with geo-magnetic anomalies where unidentified aerial phenomena/objects frequently appear, especially in areas of Ladakh & Uttar Pradesh:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9zqPbob8KU

VIKRAM GUHA said...

PrasunDa,

Unlike MMS who never asked you the question, will you please explain to us, for our benefit, why Singapore was investing 4% of its GDP in defence?

Thanks & Regards,

VIKRAM

Kaustav said...

As expected, demographic pressures and electoral imperatives are increasing the reservation pie condemning the nation forever to be a substandard RDN status. And we shall continue to mourn over statistics which state only 10 scientists from India feature in the list of 4000 scientists while China with 482 scientists is third on the same list. The US leads and Harvard features as the largest single institution of world class scientists.

It's only going to get worse Prasunda with the electoral gimmick to offer 10% reservation for upper castes on the last day of the current session.

Merit of course is dead in India

AMIT BISWAS said...

Sir does PAF F16 block 52 have compatibility with IL 78 MIDAS tankers for refuelling???

Regular D2h signals get s disturbed during cloudy overcast sky. Will cloudy overcast affect satellite comms considering UAV controlling beyond LOS horizon using GSAT 7A for example???

INC and pappu both have made rafale gate as their main ego issue against modi for upcoming elections. Considering their tone it seems cancellation of rafale deal is inevitable once mahagadbandhan/UPA 3 comes to power after June. So at end PAFs air marshals will be smiling slyly... So does IAF have any other choice now to prevent the deal from getting sabotaged after new govt takes over

asd said...

Dear Prasun,

From your frustrations on Tejas Mk1, what I can understand is that it is on its way to become a technology demonstrator. BTW how would you rate the so called Mk1A.
1. 1.Will the Canon which vanished from absurd FOC standard Mk1, will be incorporated in Mk1A?

2.In a scale of 10, how much will you give to Mk1A?

3.I am certain Tejas Mk1/Mk1A will be fucked up by JF17 block2/3 in dissimilar air war. Do you agree?

Satya said...

104 armed forces personnel committed suicide in 2018 www.defensenews.in/article/Number-of-suicides-highest-in-army-amongst-three-services-582473 I think this is the highest among all armed forces in the world more than Pakistan and US fighting insurgents for years.

Anonymous said...

Hi Prasun,

you mentioned Project 15B DDGs are in design phase. Will they have electric propulsion?

BR
Raj

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To VIKRAM GUHA: Simply put, Singapore had adopted the foundational concept of ‘Total Defence’ (the same that is practiced by Israel) and China in turn adopted it & has since called it ‘comprehensive national prowess’. Total Defence is full-spectrum in terms of securing all aspects of national endeavour, like energy security, financial security, military security, social security, technological security, & industrial security. To secure all these, utmost importance is placed upon the creation of knowledge-based societies that in turn give rise to the requiste industrial infrastructure that’s reqd for attaining each types of security, i.e. in other words, utmost emphasis is placed on creating the type of industrial infrastructure (either on one’s own or by forging international partnerships) that will not only fulfil the domestic reqmts, but will also be globally competitive in order to keep seeking out & penetrating emerging export markets.

To KAUSTAV: The beginning of 2019 certainly seems to have given additional impetus to the emergence of the Quintessential ‘desi’ Morons:

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/at-science-congress-a-vedic-rebel-seeks-physics-glory/article25921400.ece

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/scientists-slam-irrational-claims-about-ancient-india-plan-nationwide-protests/articleshow/67412562.cms

To be added to the list are the ‘unelected/nominated’ ministers like the Union Finance Minister & the current Defence Minister, both of whom are responsible for creating history by totally messing up the money-flows to HAL. I hate to say this, but it is yet another castration of HAL now being put into effect, as if the Gods of Yore have mandated that every GoI must contribute in some way towards the castration of HAL. So, I will now have to do some additional work to update what I had stated before here:

https://trishul-trident.blogspot.com/2018/10/the-multi-phase-castration-of-hal-from.html
And I know you will once again pin the medal of ‘I told you so’ into my chest yet again (LoLz!). .

The good news is that all thios fracas/gaffes are bringing forth into the public domain some official home-truths:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DwOQGYDX0AA94IJ.jpg

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DwOQGuqW0AAzJ4y.jpg

So from the above, we can safely conclude the NO contracts have been inked for the Tejas Mk.1A or the LCH or LUH or for the Ka-226T. And so all these products can no longer be claimed to be ‘on order’. They very much still remain in the ‘to be ordered’ category.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To AMIT BISWAS: 1) No. 2) Yes, human beings have not yet succeeded in conquering weather phenomena. 3) LoLz! Neither will the Rafale deal be cancelled, nor will UPA-3 come to power at the Centre & instead NDA-3 will emerge victorious. How so & Why so? Do you think both POTUS Trump & President Putin of Russia are stupid to keep heaping praises on NaMo? Russia yesterday even invited NaMo to attend the Far Eastern Economic Forum at Vladivostok this September (of course not as a private Indian citizen, but as India’s PM). So, when the Goras (Caucasians) have reposed full faith in NaMo for the coming years, do you think the ‘desi’ big businesses who look up to the Caucasians as their ‘Maai Baap’ choose to bring the UPA-3 into power? Most definitely not, rest assured.

To ASD: It does not frustrate me at all, since unlike many others I never cultivate any form of over-expectations. Only those who never tire of making baseless assumptions manage to amass the over-expectations & when the hard reality emerges in bits & pieces, then they become depressed & crestfallen & it is all their own fault, since they tend to place more reliance on what others’ claim or say, instead of doing some foundational research of their own while maintaining a healthy respect for the physical sciences. So, how the Tejas Mk.1 even become a technology demonstrator when it will never be able to demonstrate the usage of the GSH-23 cannon when airborne? And in what way will the airframe design of the Tejas Mk.1A be different from the Mk.1? Both variants have identical airframes, with the Mk.1A only having some additional fitments like the fixed AAR probe. The issue of the lack of cannon is not a new issue or revelation; it was known since late 2010 itself. It’s just that no one even bothered to do some elementary research on this topic.

Pakistan-China Joint Military EX 5-1-2019: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5EG3G8ZobU

To VISHAL: INS Kochi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_SbO9KvUfQ

Kaustav said...

Prasunda,

I guess it's all for the best. The collective and competitive braying of the loud mouths have truly exposed the old cliche' "Hamam meh sub Nange hai".
Sir, your medal is of course reserved and A very Happy New Year to you too

gaurang said...

Dear sir please put some light on asd's points 2 & 3 regarding Tejas

Unknown said...

Prashn sir

Any update in regards to the procurement of LEDS-150 active protection system for indian army tanks.

AMIT BISWAS said...

So if f 16 can't be refuelled mid air, assuming PAF operates from western pakistan air bases during hostilities as it did during previous wars , how far could it conduct deep strike missions inside indian territory. Any other aircraft available with them to carry out such missions???

Does indian forces conduct any UAV missions in siachen amidst unfavourable weather. Recently we lost a heroin inside China near sikkim....does weather have any role play in it....suppose UAV lose its contact it's ground station, can it be recovered???

Also what happens with UAV data generated during missions ??is it gets streamed back 2 ground station or uav records in its internal hard disk for further analysis after recovery???

What's the significance of third naval air base in Andaman (4th base total) when already three bases available???

Read about 100 plus NGHAS construction approval by MoD for sukhois on print. Please give us some details about the same

Ashish Gautam said...

That video was awesome sir... 😂😂
1) Hwz u N family?
2) have a question sir... By what time frame u see IL-76 N 78 getting replaced? N which aircraft will replace them except c17 n airbusA330 tanker...
3) u might have answered this question earlier to anyone else too but I just wanna ask it again... Which aircraft you think will get selected for 112 mmrca competition finally??
4) since INS viraat's lifts etc have been designed for MiG 29k therefore my question is, is it possible to modify MiG 29k as much better, less maintenance loving, equipped with better aesa radar, maws, rwr, jammer pod etc equipped aircraft with better weapons n yeah much better engines????
5) by what time frame u see armata joining indian army??
6) Super su30mki upgrade started or still under various beaurcratic red tapism???
Thanks

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To KAUSTAV: VMT. And now to another ‘Tamaasha/Nautanki’ about which no one is seemingly taking any notice:

https://indianexpress.com/article/india/ministry-of-defence-moves-court-to-stop-agusta-westland-case-in-arbitration-tribunal-5529284/

Since neither the CBI nor the ED have so far succeeded in getting any clinching material evidence from Christian Michel about any financial wrongdoing WRT AW-101 helicopter contract, the MoD is now panicking about paying liquidated damages worth thousands of crores to AgustaWestland for the unilateral cancellation of the contract. And since the GoI could not produce any credible evidence to the court, the latter has justifiably rejected the peririon to stay the arbitration proceedings. So watch this space for further interesting developments that will henceforth thoroughly expose the MoD’s inept functioning. Unlike govts that have 5-year shelf=lives & hence they don’t care what happens next, publicly-listed global OEMs like AgustaWestland have a reputation to protect & uphold, apart from engaging in global marketing/bidding.

To GAURANG: I have already done that above. If you are expecting simplistic answers of the type that ADA & others have been giving since 2010, then I’m afraid such answers won’t come from me since they are patently false & totally misleading.

To VIKAS GAUTAM: No progress so far.

To ANUP: I am as sure as POTUS Trump & President Putin. For any additional clarifications, kindly ask them about their surety-levels & their reasons for such levels.

To AMIT BISWAS: 1) The F-16s won’t be able to go beyond 150km insides Indian airspace. The same applies to all other MRCAs of the PAF. 2) No UAV missions are flown over that area. Once the UAVs crash inside someone else’s territory, they can never be recovered. UAVs don not recorded any data/imagery on any hard-disk. They are all live-streamed. 3) The more the better since they provide additional parking/berthing space for more aircraft/warships. 4) Those NGHAS will be located at the forward air bases first, & the principal air bases next.

To ASHISH GAUTAM: 2) By the year 2035. 3) On paper, everything is now going in favour of the F-16IN Block-70. 4) INS Viraat’s lifts were designed for Sea Harrier, not MiG-29K. The Ruskies are already periodically upgrading the MiG-29K & many more upgrades will follow in future. 5) The IA will not import any more MBTs, as explained in the slides on a previous thread. 6) That depends on when the funds will be provided for initiating the upgrade programme.

Anonymous said...

Could not agree more, F16IN are a certainty, especially if one reads between the lines of the message put out by the POTUS after Modiji telephoned him. POTUS practically read Modiji a riot act, he wants the trade imbalance between US and India corrected or he will turn nasty. This will impact NRI's, large tech companies as well as the future of Chabahar port. Otherthan the F-16's, not sure what other carrots we can offer? Question is are IAF looking forwards to the F16? How many are likely to be acquired, especially if the assembly line moves? What sort of price are we talking about for them?

Ashwin

Ashish Gautam said...

F16 for IAF?? nai sir its not gonna be a good deal....
Additional Rafale's or even Gripen would be better...
F16 is so old design..... n even scope of improvement in it is also less then others...
I hope for Gripen or Rafale's....

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To ASHWIN: Not just the F-16INs, but also the MH-6-R Seahawk NMRHs & Sea Guardian & Avenger MALE-UAVs await orders from India. As for the IAF, its reqmts are already officially stated: 126 twin-engined M-MRCAs whose prime role will be deep-strike; & 114 single-engined MRCAs for conducting both tactical air superiority & tactical interdiction.

To ASHISH GAUTAM: FYI, F-16 uses fly-by-light technologies for its digital flight-control system, whereas both the Rafale & Gripen still use the older fly-by-wire flight-control systems. And the scope for improvement is enormous, as exemplified by the Falcon-21 design:

https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5PabjPZlLa0/WZS-YhOAkOI/AAAAAAAANZQ/aERNlGni3Ls0LVFFI1xvqNAzingQ5tikgCLcBGAs/s1600/F-16U%2BFalcon%2B21%2Bschematic.jpg

https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WZqGcZVmjwI/WZS-b7vV1uI/AAAAAAAANZU/ZYUPtaTLZa4XRKo6rzCUtC3P7Pm3T-85gCLcBGAs/s1600/F-16U%2BFalcon%2B21.jpg

https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4HE0fkUzS_g/WZS-cGPbIMI/AAAAAAAANZY/cN31u6DpbBgav6irHX4Q_0JwvQ6-ukqSQCLcBGAs/s1600/F-16U%2BFalcon%2B21-3.jpg

And looks like the drone shot down by the PA across the LoC (https://twitter.com/OfficialDGISPR/status/1080145860179251201) was a Made-in-China drone:

https://www.dronexpro.co/
https://www.dji.com/mavic

And word from Islamabad is that the UAE disagreed with Pakistan’s choice of words for the J & K issue & hence there was no joint statement issued during the visit to Pakistan of the UAE’s Crown Prince:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVgu1FUPAu8

But it appears that the Govt of Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi has far greater priorities, like these:
https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/416683-pakistan-bans-bed-scenes-and-intimate-moments-from-tv

https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/416343-the-changing-parameters-of-external-policies

https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/416342-loadshedding-in-the-winter

And finally, to some ‘desi’ chutiapan, i.e. out goes the AW-101 scandal & in comes the Eurofighter EF-2000 scandal:

https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/was-rafale-deal-held-up-because-of-michel-mama-modi-attacks-congress/story-sEnQ8UFjjFDRVhLENyi1cO.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiU9lqTQWII

In reality, the nitwits of INDIA TODAY are only blowing their own trumpets by claiming it to be a new revelation. In reality, anyone who had attended either Aero India 2013 or DEFEXPO 2014 expos would have noticed that Eurofighter GmbH had exhibitor booths at these two expos despite the Rafale being selected over the EF-2000 in early 2012. Therefore, the question that should be asked to A K Antony is why was Eurofighter GmbH allowed to exhibit at both Aero India 2013 & DEFEXPO 2014?

Kaustav said...

Prasunda,
The Citizenship Amendment Bill is classic Jan Sangh and a Bengali Hindu vote getter. The BJP in NE might get mixed results but the Baangaal vote bank as it exists is now with the BJP and TMC in WB better watch out.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

According to this 'desi bandalbaaz', if any India-made/India-developed product is invited for being exhibited abroad, then that automatically translates into an export order for that product!

http://ajaishukla.blogspot.com/2019/01/malaysia-shifts-interest-from-pakistani.html

A classic example of FAKE NEWS being manufactured & we all know by whom.

Mohan said...

Prasun sir,
If f-16 is selected than mod will not have enough money for tejas mk2. Than future of indigenous aircraft will be gone.what is the solution for tejas mk2?
Regards

AMIT BISWAS said...

Lolz jumla by ajai shukla....I just hope god gives him some brain...moreover some journos like swati chaturvedi and likes are he'll bent on alok Verna to register PE into rafale deal....keeping aside logical reasoning, do u expect him to do such a jumla after SC gave the rafale deal clean chit....or he will will show his machismo

Sidharth said...

Prasun da,

http://zeenews.india.com/india/indian-army-will-get-new-sniper-rifles-by-january-20-says-general-bipin-rawat-2169557.html

COAS is speaking of which rifle and what caliber. Can you unveiled.

Pinkal Shah said...

Hello Prasun,

Greetings!

Eagaelyawait your reply on my comment posted

Thanks

Anway said...

Sir,
Indian Army will get new sniper rifles by January 20, says General Bipin Rawat
(https://en.dhwanionline.com/indian-army-will-get-new-sniper-rifles-by-january-20-says-general-bipin-rawat/)
Which sniper rifle?

Buddha said...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remington_MSR
Possibly

joydeep ghosh said...

@Prasun da

querries after long time

1. The F16 falcon21 design shows CFTs above wing then how these will be jettisoned, will it have TVC

2. C17 are out of production but IAF is very impressed and wants atleast another sqaudron or 11 more from the 20+ reserves of USAF, is it possible

3. you once said something about developing a system using Mig27s gun pod, as well as something on ant aircraft system in last thread, can we get a write up on that

4. there was talk of IAF going for another Mig 29 squadron, looks like its in cold storage

5. what happened to deal of converting dozen IL 76s to IL 78 tankers

6. IA was talking politics, think it was overreach, your take

7. IN chief said many things would have liked your analysis

hope to get answers

thanks

Joydeep ghosh

Sumit sen said...

My question is same as of anway deshpande. And also what your opinion on the sniper rifle we are getting.

SSG said...

One of the "jiju" of 'desi bandalbaaz' is Mr Arun Shourie.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To MOHAN: Well, choices to be made are never easy. One has to choose between operational preparedness & indigenous product development. Can the former be sacrificed for the sake of the latter, which never manages to reach the optimum state due to flawed developmental processes?

To AMIT BISWAS: Let’s see who shows what machismo when such ‘desi bandalbaazes’ are slapped with defamation cases.

To SIDDHARTH, ANWAY DESHPANDE & JYOTI SEN: It will have to be one of these:

https://modernfirearms.net/en/sniper-rifles/standart-caliber-rifles/u-s-a-standart-caliber-rifles/remington-msr-eng/

https://www.sako.fi/rifles/sako-trg/trg-2242-a1

http://www.pgmprecision.com/en/sniper-rifles/9-hecate-2.html

http://www.pgmprecision.com/en/sniper-rifles/10-pgm338.html

https://barrett.net/firearms/mrad/

https://barrett.net/firearms/model82a1/

https://www.sigsauer.com/products/firearms/rifles/sig716/

To JOYDEEP GHOSH: 1) What makes you think the CFTs will be jettisioned? If they are to be jettisioned, then why should they be conformally mounted? Only external fuel tanks that are not conformal are jettisioned. 2) Everything is possible. 3) MiG-27M never had a gunpod. It had an internally-mounted 30mm rotary-barrel cannon. 4) There was no such talk by the IAF. Maybe internet fanboys were spreading such rumours. 5) It is ready for contract signature, but the MoD has no more money to spend this fiscal year.

To PINKAL SHAH: 1) They have not even been ordered. 2) Progress on these has been extremely slow. Even the 500mW PFBR isn’t commissioned as yet. 3) No. 4) https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/soldiers-in-siachen-won-t-have-to-wait-90-days-for-a-bath-anymore/story-mAfeR54TquULnVQL6M8OKJ.html 5) Yes. 6) Neither. The designer is Rubin Central Marine Design Bureau & not Malakhit.

IA COAS’ Press Conference yesterday: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nro6RC1rSQg&t=2769s

Unguided 80mm rockets & anti-armour missiles for both the Rudra (Dhruv WSI) & LCH are still under development by the DRDO & the 2.75-inch FZ rockets & Mistral ATAMs are only for representative purposes. If the DRDO does not deliver the HELINA/Rudrastra & ‘desi’ 80mm rockets & their launch-pods by this March, then imports of PARS-3LR & Mistral ATAMs & FZ-built 2.75-inch rockets will have to be considered by both the IA & IAF.

PA’s Al Zarrar MBTs in Bahawalpur: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4JAoxD_Dqk

PA’s first LY-80E LOMADS firing yesterday at Tamewali:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDul9DBqRLc

Also fired were Anza Mk.1 & FB-6 MANPADS & the FM-90 SHORADS.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To BUDDHA: This is the ordered sniper rifle: https://barrett.net/firearms/model82a1/

Jasgill said...

Sirji watching last video is Anza mk1 Looks clearly 0.20 to 0.25 those two shoulder fire anti aircraft missiles failed to hit those two target?

AMIT BISWAS said...

I can't recognize which one , but it seems MANPADS missed it's targets.

Pawan said...

I think both MANPAD firing missed the target.

Regards,

Anonymous said...

Dear Sir,

The purchase of the F-16 if it were to go ahead, would potentially drain the funds from Tejas. Do you see the order for Tejas actually being placed? What value is there in having Tejas, when you have Mirage2K and F-16 in numbers? is it worth HAL build the production lines for it?

Personally I would choose F-16 Blk70 over any other single engine except maybe F-35. How would the Blk 70 iteration compare with the Rafale?

RAT

Ashish Gautam said...

as far as i know, fly by light is simply using Fiber optic cables instead of wires for passing signals, so its not a huge decisive advantage which F16 have over Rafale or Gripen. Cost can b decisive. Let's see which aircraft is selected in coming time, as none of us are decision makers. Before that we can enjoy the on going Dance of Indian politics. :D.
In reply to Buddha u told that Berret M82A1 sniper is selected by army. Is this selection for anti-material rifle requirement or Regular service sniper rifle?? as this gun is 12.7mm caliber. In case for service rifle (smaller caliber) gun requirement which rifle can be selected to replace older Dragunovs??

Kapil said...

Now that the army is close to receiving sniper rifles, what is the status of assault rifles procurement? My personal fav is Tavor-7. Will it be that some other gun?

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To KAPIL: Rather than that topic, it will be much more worthwhile to discuss & analyse the press-conference of IA COAS. And that’s because the COAS has been talking off late only about the IA’s internal management processes, and nothing has emerged about the all-important warfighting reforms. For instance, the restructuring & rightsizing experimentations, the Lt Gen (Ret’d) D B Shekatkar Committee, the government-appointed single-member panel led by the Lt Gen (Ret’d) D S Hooda on optimisation of the IA, plus the IA’s own committees dealing with Re-organisation of IA HQ, Re-organisation & Rightsizing of the IA, Cadre Review of Officers, & a Review of Terms of Engagement of Rank and File, are all management-related & therefore they donl;t deal with the all-important issue of joint warfighting. For instance, how will the IA determine the quantum & quality of firepower of its IBGs if no inputs are forthcoming from the IAF on issues like immediate air-support & battle air-interdiction? Will the IA’s Aviation Corps have complete command & control over all attack helicopters reqd for immediate air-support? Will the reece imagery obtained by the IAF continue to be interpreted by the IAF or will the IAF-obtained imagery be relayed directly to the various IA Theatre Commands for speedier interpretation & analysis? Exactly what type of targets will be hit by the BrahMos-1 MRCMs of both the IA & IAF? How will the targeting taskings of such rocket artillery assets be defined & separated so as to avoid duplication? Will battlefield support surface-to-surface missiles like Pralay be used by the IAF for strategic bombing of targets like hostile air bases & hostile armoured formation concentrations? And finally, under the nuclear overhang, what will be the form & type of limited high-intensity conventional war to be fought? Will such wars be fought only along the LAC & LoC & consequently will the fighting formations like IBGs have to be optimised for highlands/mountain warfighting? And if yes, then what will happen to the existing 3 Strike Corps that are purely meant for plains-based warfighting? And finally, in joint warfighting scenarios, which of the 3 armed services will be the lead service in terms of receiving the greatest quantum of finds for force modernisation? It is only after all such questions have received convincing answers/arguments that rightsizing or re-equipping details can emerge. And the answers/arguments can emerge ONLY AFTER the Govt of India clearly defines what will be the future warfighting objectives. Only then can the future battlefields be physically identified & the necessary tools sought for fighting in such battlefields. Until then, all talk & crystal ball-gazing will produce nothing substantive or decisive & the armed forces will continue “arming without aiming”. So, the ‘netas’ of India better start taking such issues far more seriously & justify their salary earnings, instead of engaging in scowlings & barkings in various public & private forums. And of course,. One must NEVER expect the ‘desi patrakaars/bandalbaazes’ to report on/deliberate upon such issues since all this is way beyond their intellectual depths!!!

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To JASSS GILL, AMIT BISWAS & PAWAN: Bothe the Anza Mk.1 & FN-6 did go towards their targets (flares), meaning their IR seekers worked perfectly. However, the missile warheads didn’t explode, meaning the missiles’ internal proximity fuzes didn’t function.

To RAT: Exactly, that is the moot point. After all, there’s no point in having two types of single-engined MRCAs. That’s why I don’t blame HAL at all for going slow on expanding its LCA-related final-assembly lines. After all, why should HAL pay the price for the duck-ups of ADA?

To ASHISH GAUTAM: Arey yaar, fibre-optic cables can carry vastly more amounts of data of all types than conventional wires & therefore if & when additional avionics LRUs need to be installed, then their operations too can be catered by the existing fibre-optic cables, thereby doing away with the need for installing new wiring harnesses to cater to the additional workload. But cost-wise, it will be IMPOSSIBLE for both Boeing & Saab to defeat the Lockheed Martin offer. The IA’s reqmt is for 5,000 AMRs that can also be used for long-range sniping. Nowadays, regular service rifles too can be used for sniping if they come with attached telescopic sights. So, the 7.62 x 51 Ghaatak SLR equipped with day/night telescopic sights can also be used for sniping out to 700 metres distance, just like the terrorists in J & K had used the M4 carbine fitted with such sights for sniping.

Jasgill said...

Sirji, really disappointed terrorists use M4 carbine fitted with such sights for sniping and our regular soldiers use AK clone, en military generals babus or netas ko kabi akal aye bhi k nhi or modi govt same as UPA s ak Antoni matlab k future mein bhi koi hope nhi

rad said...

hi prasun
the anza sams failing to explode is due the laser fuze having no metal objects to reflect back > In an actual scenario they will have a huge metal airframe to reflect the laser-- am i right ??
what will be the practical range of sams like this though they have a n advertised range og 5km
many sams did not lock on or went haywire in the kargil war ?? was it flares or some thing else . The hit ratio was dismal, according reports?The stinger hit WG cdr Perumal`s Canberra. It had no flares decoy

Huge sigh of relief as the barrett .50 calber and the beretta .338 are comming .But have people for gotten it takes time to train on the new guns and to get to know them.
How do you rate our sniping school compared to the US marine core ETC which are the best in the world?

Mohan said...

Prasun sir,
F-16 and j-10 aircaft specfication are almost same when compare to each other. Difference comes between them when comparing the aircraft avionics.
If india brought f-16 block70 will j-10 be came into aircombat with each other? Who will win?
Regard

AMIT BISWAS said...

My suggestion is, better you could have taken up these issues with COAS in that press conference ....Far more important questions regarding adultery, gay marriages, azad hind fauz....Taliban were asked which are least connected to army's functioning....All these Desi patrakaars look for eye catching / masala for reporting during such press conferences....they look for " Maine phele dhikaya " type syndrome news...so its better not to expect such outcomes from our beloved journalists....btw there was one banerjee in Cathay conference who did asked about IBG , elements in IBG, what type of test bedding that IA is expecting for IBG in May 2019 and distribution of attack helicopters among IAF and IA

AMIT BISWAS said...

Sir I have an objection to your point. If any new modification and additional lru is added , both in case of wired and optic configuration you have to lay down new cables. Only difference is that in case of ( FBL )fibre optical cable you can opt for switches and IP/TCP protocol for communication between central computer and other lru, thereby only small FO cable has to be added from local switch to lru.
In case of FBW, for entire length cable has to be laid

Buddha said...

Raisina 2019 | Indo-Pacific: Ancient Waters and Emerging Geometries
ttps://m.youtube.com/watch?v=C5oWaK-HdYA


Vishal said...

Prasunji, which aircrafts in Indian inventory are capable of maritime strike as of now and what missiles do they use?

Buddha said...

Sir in your force magazine articles
In 1st one from your narration it seems china has made far enough progress in the field of MBT development and in your next article ' A Valid Concern'
You said china has assembled the fire power to conduct a punitive joint fire strike campaign on Indian posts and targets ..
What will be the reaction of
Will it lead to offensive ground operation from this side and how India is prepared now and how in next 2 years India will be prepared with fire power capacity ...
Your assessment of NDA 3 may come as true and BJP may not get above 220 seats with others they can have NDA3.
Thanks and regards.

Millard Keyes said...

@ Amit Biswas: Objection overruled. Prasun K Sengupta will continue.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To TECHNOLOGY, PHOTOGRAPHY & TRAVEL: Looks like what was stated & discussed in this blog about 4 years ago is now coming true:

https://www.newsrain.in/news/67507422/Ladakh-will-soon-be-home-to-world's-largest-solar-plant

To RAD: The sniper rifles will come from US-based Barrett, not Italy’s Beretta. And the AMRs already in use by the IA in large numbers are these:

https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r1I1j5I9nIU/WtKDg5QAozI/AAAAAAAAOWk/xgLihc9bOgEQnB134AIGf8_mDDS6pUEPwCLcBGAs/s1600/OFB-built%2BAMR-1.jpg

https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ub_odaIvm14/WtKDjI1SxNI/AAAAAAAAOWo/-9l3xmoK8kQb7ftk13kh23ESN9M996FOgCLcBGAs/s1600/OFB-built%2BAMR-2.jpg

And this is the Ghaatak SLR that will equip the IA’s infantry formations over the next several years:

https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fDAl0czox3w/WtKD9FiVOaI/AAAAAAAAOXI/DnSkF90xAzUs1pB9VRhu7nOKM9nSpwIJACLcBGAs/s1600/OFB-developed%2BGhaatak%2B7.62%2Bx%2B51%2BSLR-1.jpg

https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ezxKXANqXq4/WtKEDTLb7EI/AAAAAAAAOXQ/eh8Qt9755-onG-doI6sN0WM6gA4NywrFACLcBGAs/s1600/OFB-developed%2BGhaatak%2B7.62%2Bx%2B51%2BSLR-2.jpg

https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-R1_MWo3GypQ/WtKECN2lKcI/AAAAAAAAOXM/KAaLh617rYcCPWPspAhjS44uJDqsXJ0ZACLcBGAs/s1600/OFB-developed%2BGhaatak%2B7.62%2Bx%2B51%2BSLR-3.jpg

https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JRWYcRaHHR8/WtKEEO3Su1I/AAAAAAAAOXU/8i9cEH2YTDwvMCMa-iv5UzmxXtpPRxRiQCLcBGAs/s1600/OFB-developed%2BGhaatak%2B7.62%2Bx%2B51%2BSLR-4.jpg

To KAUSTAV: These were developed for sea-based launch of the Pralay SS-BSM:

https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZOPeW1Gf7OM/WtKAtZXChII/AAAAAAAAOTc/wIJlWvzwZ3Yv4vEdCn7ApON7hDHQ0WQ7wCLcBGAs/s1600/SLS-1.jpg

https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HHI_X0emq6M/WtKAvnAx0WI/AAAAAAAAOTk/tfqPPYc-tOUuARYuOnaDZcHHv82m4h3wQCLcBGAs/s1600/SLS-2.jpg

https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bEtobQ7Xoqg/WtKAwxsan7I/AAAAAAAAOTo/vko0tPAAYDwRdkfI1mHpIWNqqBUHjVi7wCLcBGAs/s1600/SLS-3.jpg

https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1sp-3QDh3H4/WtKAynu1EYI/AAAAAAAAOTs/6ZLUGjZRCzQ3BB9_Dq3Ii_6UdgExM9dAwCLcBGAs/s1600/SLS-4.jpg

Such launchers can easily be housed on-board such vessels:

https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1BTbQxJWmvY/WtUE5f8xh_I/AAAAAAAAObk/QKLyhL69_LUpsp_toyXebGf4VAnOMC2RACLcBGAs/s1600/GRSE-built%2BLCU%2BPoster.jpg

https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ow6ZVu0M1Ho/WtUE7r024gI/AAAAAAAAObo/h9nxur9lS3US_q6AlR6AhBBVNfZi3pYwgCLcBGAs/s1600/GRSE-built%2BLCU.jpg

rad said...

hi prasun
you mentioned that the OFB 7.62 x51 mm slr is being adopted in the future does it mean that it has passed all tests?

If at all it did ,OFB will be trumpeting its product , we hear no details regarding that?

the design could be validated set right by a established company like H&K, which rectified the problem with the Enfield sa 80.

Is the army being forced to accept the rifle? or doing so for lack of funds



asd said...

Dear Prasun,

As you had predicted:
https://wap.business-standard.com/article-amp/economy-policy/production-of-tejas-mark-1a-disrupted-as-iaf-sits-on-hal-s-proposal-119011300001_1.html

Tejas MK 1/ 1A are going to meet burial ground very soon. Now the issue is with IAF's technical evaluation team. Certainly considering the short comings they are going to reject it.

And TEJAS is going to meet the same fate as that of HAL AJT Sitara very soon with the arrival of MRCA 2.0. Since there will be no requirements of MK2 even.

What's your say. Am I realistic or pessimistic?

Ankit Kumar said...

1. The offer of Airbus for 14 EC725 to ICG has expired. What's the status now? Are we going to float new tender?

2. The shipyard making Makar Class Survey vessels for IN has run into problems. Only 1 vessel was delivered, and others were under various stages of construction. What will happen, will the IN go on to get 1 or 2 vessel which are in advanced stage of build or INS Makar will be the lone vessel in her class?

3. The Reliance's OPV project of Navy seems to be stuck. Two OPVs were launched, and should have been in service with IN by now. But there's no sign of them.

Thanks

Buddha said...

Sir if possible we the regular readers of this blog like to see a new article covering Indian current missile development and many other details.
How these will sharpen India's strategic impact upon its adversaries...

VARUN KUMAR said...

Sir
According to this bundlebaaz IAF is delaying Tejas Mk1A and Tejas twin seat trainers by not releasing ASR.
http://ajaishukla.blogspot.com/2019/01/tejas-production-disrupted-as-air-force.html

If it is true then what is the real reason of delay from IAF side on Mk1A and trainers.

one more request . Can you write a new article on LCA MK1, MK1A, MK2, Trainers present development status After AERO INDIA 2019.

Kaustav said...

Prasunda

Thanks a lot for many things, but of course immediate gratitude for the clarity and cold light of truth shed by you on the LCA/Tejas, Arjun/FMBT, Small Arms / Sniper Rifles, Rotary copters and the missile programs specially the Nirbhay and Parlay.

If you may respond, a few off topic queries :
1. The Kailas Mansarovar, alien / UFO / ancient astronaut /god and ancient high technology, quantum mystery, creation myths etc.
2. In the same vein, why are so many ancient Sanskrit / old motherlanguage texts found in Tibet.
3.If India indeed has overall superiority in certain areas at the border with Tibet, could we try to claim and capture Kailas Mansarovar and relevant water sources in this area. Of course, given lack of any strategic vision we wouldn't know what to do!

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To VISHAL: The IAF has Jaguar IMs with AGM-84A Harpoons, MiG-29UPGs with Kh-35UEs & will have Su-30MKIs with BrahMos-As for maritime-strike. The IN has P-8Is with AGM-84s & MiG-29Ks with Kh-35UEs.

To BUDDHA: The punitive joint fire strike campaigns will likely be conducted over those areas that serve as concentration areas for the IA’s armoured/mechanized assets along the LAC, i.e. northeastern Ladakh & northern Sikkim around the Finger/Sora Funnel area. As for the72,000 assault rifles to be imported, this has emerged as L-1:

https://www.sigsauer.com/products/firearms/rifles/sig716/

And for the 94,000 carbines to be imported, this has emerged as L-1:

http://caracal.ae/product.php?lang=en&product_id=3

To RAD: What it means is that the Ghaatak SLR’s design is now being optimised so that full-scale user-trials can commence. There’s no need for any other party to validate its design, since enough institutional expertise exists in-country for design optimisation.

To ANKIT KUMAR: 1) Yes, of course. 2) No more deliveries of follow-on vessels will take place since the IN has already encashed the performance guarantees as liquidated damages & that programme has not been terminated. 3) Yes, because there are serious systems integration challenges.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To ASD, VARUN KUMAR & KAUSTAV: Alright, let’s start analyzing what has been ‘reported’:

Claim: Tejas production was cleared in 2013. But, from that time till today, there have been over 300 changes
Reality: The bulk of the 300 changes pertain to the Tejas Mk.1A variant, which in turn means that the Tejas Mk.1’s design was terribly flawed & its certificate of airworthiness (CoA) standard of production (SOP) certificate should never have been issued for both the LSP- & SP-series aircraft. Clearly, the then DRDO Secretary & then RM of 2013 should be held accountable for fudging the paperwork for the sake of authorising the production of 32 SP-standard single-seater Tejas Mk.1s & 8 tandem-seater Tejas Mk.1s.

Claim: HAL can start this development only when the IAF issues the ASRs for mid-air-refuelling for the twin-seat variant. Thereafter, the development would take at least two years. Eight are the twin-seat trainer variant, for which the IAF is still to issue the ASRs... in 2016, the IAF suddenly demanded that its twin-seat trainers must also have mid-air-refuelling capability.
Reality: Any tandem-seat trainer used for operational flight conversion should replicate ALL performance parameters of the production-standard single-seat MRCA variant. So, if the 32 Tejas Mk.1s without AAR capability were forcibly thrust upon the IAF, then the same configuration should have been mandated for the tandem-seater Tejas Mk.1s as well. Similarly, the ASRs & SOPs for both the single-seat & tandem-seat Tejas Mk.1As should have been finalised concurrently & not sequentially. This again illustrates the professional ineptitude of the DRDO Secretary & RM of the year 2016.

Claim: As Business Standard reported last Tuesday, the Royal Malaysian Air Force could buy up to 30 Tejas Mark 1s.
Reality: Really??? Can anyone imagine Malaysia procuring MRCAs equipped with Israel-origin MMRs, Israel-origin ASPJ pods, Israel-origin HMDS, Israel-origin target designation pods & Israel-origin BVRAAMs??? Such spectacularly outrageous hellucinations can only emanate from fully certified ‘desi bandalbaazes’ living in an utopian world of their own making.

Another bombshell awaiting explosion is the unsuitability of the Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-23L twin cannon, seen here:

https://c1.staticflickr.com/6/5059/5469535608_2149d78db5_b.jpg
https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2483/3589795724_dc7c30d48f_b.jpg

The ONLY REALISTIC option therefore is to opt for the Nexter-built DEFA-791 cannon that is used by the Rafale:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b1/DEFA_791_cannon_for_the_Dassault_Rafale_fighter.jpg/1200px-DEFA_791_cannon_for_the_Dassault_Rafale_fighter.jpg

To KAUSTAV: 1 & 2) According to geologists, the waters of all the lakes in Ladakh & its eastern portions into TAR are saline, i.e. these lakes were seas 6,500 years ago & were all interconnected right through Central Asia & Central Europe (i.e. the Aral, Caspian, Black & Aegean seas). And it is throughout the belt of these interconnected seas that people now referred to as the Aryans & later Zoroastrians had resided & settled down (also refer here to the 6-part documentary on Alexander’s Lost Worlds).

3) This is where the now-forgotten 1842 Treaty of Chushul assumes criticality, because under that Treaty, Maharaja Gulaab Singh of J & K was granted a Jagir of 3 villages around Maansarovar under the 1842 Treaty of Chushul. Technically, therefore, those 3 villages ought to have become sovereign Indian territory after Maharaja Hari Singh inked the Instrument of Accession on 26-10-1947. Yet, this point was overlooked by the Govt of India back on April 28, 1954 when it signed a treaty with Beijing:

https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP80R01443R000300080003-9.pdf

https://www.dailypioneer.com/2013/columnists/on-the-defensive-on-too-many-occasions.html

In other words, India unilaterally surrendered all her legal claims to the Kailas Maansarovar area way back in 1954!

Kaustav said...

Prasunda

Thanks as usual. I have been intending to view the those links on the Alexander's lost worlds. I had only seen the one onbAhura Mazda's city captured by the Greeks. Inland seas would explain Tibet's role as a repository of ancient knowledge, but why the ET and unexplained mystery?

While on the matter of seas, this loot of GPS and invasion by Paki Coast Guard is interesting https://www.abplive.in/india-news/gujarat-pakistani-coast-guards-enter-indian-territorial-waters-and-open-fire-hold-fishermen-hostage-895356/amp

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

https://atos.net/en/2018/press-release_2018_11_22/atos-supports-indian-government-national-supercomputing-mission

Ved said...

Dear Prasun,
Is procurement of SiG716 intended for any specialised unit or is it the INSAS replacement. Why would army accept two rifles in same configuration ie Ghatak and SIG716?

Srinivasa Nanduri said...

Hi Prasun,

I don't get the idea of MOD. Caracal thru mku and iwi thru punj lloyd were ready to make guns for India, and it now went for Sig 716. I really don't understand their logic. Do they even use some common sense.

Also in case of additional Rafales and f16's I guess it is deliberately moving at glacial pace

And then the case of mcmvs, it is going nowhere. Bleeding Indian defences.

The fact that we gave mansarovar away tells us about our strategy thinking of the lack of it. Even sikh piligrim center's are with pakistan. What a country.

Regards,
Srinivasa Nanduri

rad said...

hi prasun
you are suggesting that the defa canon 30mm canon replace the 23mm on the LCA .how will it solve the problem ? as again they are going to place it under the intake .
more over the recoil is greater and i doubt the air frame can take the vibration and recoil as The LCA is a small ac.More over they would not have designed that part of the air frame to take this big canon.?
personally i like the idea as it is a more power full gun with more range .

The carbines and sig 716 are to be issued to the troops in kashmir??

caracal is a new company in UAE ,its carbine is designed on the m-16 , do they have enough expericance to deliver a good rifle?

just_curious said...

Prasun,

1 how is the korean Bhio better than pantsir, Tor systems esp when both the russian platforms have missles with greater range & are more heavily loaded
2 what tests, developments can be expected in 2019. What are the chances of nirbhay programme turing green, if none then what is the alternative
3 why is the tavor 7 ignored when IWI/ punj lloyd have a local manufacturing unit. Also, the ghataak SLR you mentioned in your comments to RAD, is it the new 7.62x 51 ofb rifle? coz there was one version -7.62x 39 which is also called ghataak
4 If BJP wins 2019 what all developments can be expected in terms of make in India development of weapons
5 how will the afghan scenario turn out for India going forward? given that the foreign minister met up with the CIS counterparts along with the afghan rep. it does look like india is confident of managing the event of taliban getting a seat in the fghan govt?
6 What can be expected from India's outreach to the CIS countries
7 With Saudi & UAE playing sugar daddies to porkis (for the nth time), isnt it a warning to India that these 2 + GCC in general cannot be trusted . Is there a way for India to keep them in check
8 Turkey time & again has sided with the pakis & intermittently has made its anti India stance known.. How to put them in their place

Kapil said...

China warns countries against helping Taiwan build submarines www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-01/14/c_137743139.htm

These Hans are doing everything they can to prop up jihadi bastards on our West by supplying critical weapon systems, but we have done nothing whatsoever to return the favour by establishing security and economic relations with Taiwan. They are even violating our sovereignty through CPEC and we are able to do nothing.

AJ said...

Prasun Da,

Why is the need for Caracal carbine when we have the JPVC? Is this a failed project? The JPVC has been in almost a decade now.

AJ

joydeep ghosh said...

@prasun da

1. last time i asked the wrong thing actually wanted to ask about your on the 6 barrel gattling gun you once you were working on, any news on that

2. i always suspected that Christain Michel was traded in DIRTY DEAL in exchange for UAE princes Latifah who was caputured inside Indian EEZ i believe, now i see it, the poor girl has been put on drugs in dubai, where is India's so called human right that we champion, the way i see it if this stays in power or another 5 yrs it will easily send back HH Karmapa lama & HH Dalai lama and other Tibetans to China for sake of few billion dollars

3. i dont see any thing wrong in letting go of claim to 3 villages in Mansarovar area as simply India could never maintain control over it much the same reason it let go of Baluchistan in 1947.

thanks

Joydeep ghosh

Vishal said...

1) Prasun sir, what is the current cost of each brahmos missile?
2) Have we been able to bring cost down over the last 15 years due to bulk production?
3) What submarine design are we offering the Taiwanese sir? I thought we don't have a SSK design of our own...

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To VED: All the new SLRs, carbines & sniper rifles are meant EXCLUSIVELY for the IA’s Northern Command.

To SRINIVASA NANDURI: MKU will licence-assemble (and not build) the Caracal carbines. To set up production plants will cost more money & will take more time.

Meanwhile, interesting analysis on US-Taliban talks:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Zsp5mY_u2Y&list=PLNSD0EXJ-HpIjoIPlHMBIpo--uH0JpFet&index=11

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRE_USlDd1Y

To RAD: Yes. Location of the cannon isn’t the problem. The recoil forces.vibration generated are. A single-barrel cannon will produce less recoil/vibration than a twin-barrel cannon.

To JUST_CURIOUS: The Hanwa Biho is meant to shoot down North Korean An-2T biplanes, not PGMs. 3) Check out the links I’ve provided above for the Ghaatak SLR specs. 4) Not much at all. It will be the same as matters are now. 5) Watch these:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Zsp5mY_u2Y&list=PLNSD0EXJ-HpIjoIPlHMBIpo--uH0JpFet&index=11

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRE_USlDd1Y

To KAUSTAV: If you were to taste the waters of all the lakes in Ladakh, the waters will be salty in taste, meaning that the entire area of Ladakh was once a sea. Similarly, the Taklamakan Desert/Tarim Basin & Gobi Desert were once thickly forested areas. The valley of Kashmir too was once fully submerged, if one were to believe that Sage Kashyap drained the Valley of water in order to make it a habitable piece of real-estate. A lot of answers will emerge ONLY AFTER archaeologists are allowed total access to the various Central Asian highlands & plateaux, which will also throw some much-needed light on the writing scripts available 6,500 years ago. Large-scale archaeological excavations will also show linkages between the designs of the ancient cities of that time (like settlements built on concentric circles the ancient Zariasthra along the Oxus River) & Atlantis, which was also constructed along similar lines. However, in terms of archaeology & anthropology, no one has to date been able to explain how two distinct communities—the Mayans of the Yucatan Peninsula & the Aryans of Central Asia—suddenly emerged in a highly evolved & developed state (in every sphere of material life) & then disappeared without any trace. It is as if they were teleported from somewhere & then teleported back to another unknown destination. The ET/unexplained mysteries are related to this phenomena of the now-you-see-now-you-don’t Mayans & Aryans. Furthermore, it has been alleged that the natives of Bhutan, Nepal & Sikkim were the results of rapid-prototyping of the Mongoloid race & that the Mayans too were the result of a similar rapid-prototyping exercise by the ETs.

Hopefully, matters will get cleared up once the Goraas/Caucasians undertake some serious & multi-pronged archaeological expeditions throughout Central Asia, while we brown-skinned natives continue to make fools out of ourselves through such antics in pursuit of false glories:

https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/a-forum-for-pseudo-science-congress-5536665/

And here is an interesting science-based probable explanation of the mysterious rocks found in Ravana’s fortress of Sirigaya in Sri Lanka, which strongly suggests the large-scale use of crystals & rare stones for creating directed-energy weapons:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_dlm5sNfYM&t=13s

And this, which explains that ancient Indians had mastered the large-scale use of polymers for the industrial-scale construction of urban infrastructure:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmqAg5VKuZA&t=24s

rad said...

hi prasun
will there be space to mount a bigger 30 mm gun and ammo compartment if selected . Will it not be a safer option to go for the 20mm cannon mounted on the LCH?

can you confirm the type and specs of the long rang IR missiles form the alamo family with the iaf and have they IIR seeker or an improved seeker from the archer missile ?

the radio freq alamo is supposed to be a big failure! with dismal kill ratios ? are the still with the IAF?


Satya said...

"If our nation is forced into situation of war, decisive success will be ours" COAS said today in his address on the occasion of Army Day.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To RAD: http://trishulgroup.blogspot.com/2008/11/su-30mkis-russia-origin-weapons-package.html

To SATYA: Discussion on terrain-specific IBGs of the IA:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6tzE_37nqE

Technology, Photograpy and Travel said...

dada,

I think india should also look for the tidal power generation option also

ag said...

Hey Prasun,

Could you please give any updates on KMGT, HTFE-25 and HTSE 1200. I tried finding online but couldn't find any recent news.

Thanks & Regards,
Amol

asd said...

Dear Prasun,

Ajai Shukla has recently posted a comparison between Pilatus PC 7 trainer vs HAL HTT 40 badic trainer. Can you please through some light upon it. Which one should IAF chose between?

BENO said...

Sir,
1.With regarding to the propulsion system for the ships why can't the lm 2500 gas turbine powering the shivalik class be used for p 15a and p15b destroyers instead of Ukrainian Zorya turbine?
2.Are there any developments for tejas lift trainer as some reports emerged two years back that HAL was developing Tejas Lift trainer?
3.is it possible that the multi role tanker transport will not take off if IAF goes for converting it's existing IL 76 for refuelling purpose?
4.when do you think hal luh will be induced?

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To AG: They are still another 4 years away at best from being declared flightworthy. Their ground-running tests have been proceeding at a snail’s pace.

To ASD: LoLz! And the 2 most important parameters reqd for comparative benchmarking are conveniently MISSING: 1) the direct operating costs of the two BTTs; 2) the no of maintenance man-hours per flying hour of the two BTTs. Only after these two figures are obtained will one be able decisively say which of the two BTTs is the superior one. Development of FADEC for TPE-331 engine & its certification on the HTT-40 will consume another 2 years of time. In other words, procurement of HTT-40s is a brainless option.

To BENO: Because the Project 15, Project 15A & Project 15B DDGs were designed since the late 1990s from the outset to be powered by Ukraine-sourced powerpacks & design of the Project 17A FFGs began much later in the previous decade. 2) Nothing at all. 3) It is very much possible since the IAF’s request for procuring brand-new airframes from either Airbus or Boeing & converting them to MRTTs is a cost-prohibitive option. Instead, second-hand airframes ought to be bought & they then ought to be converted as MRTTs. While the IAF requires 10 MRTTs, the reqmt for aerial refuelling tankers is higher, i.e. closer to 28. 4) Depends on the LUH receiving its certificate of airworthiness, which as per last year’s plans was due to be awarded by June this year.

spanky's Blog said...

Hi Prasun,
A belated very happy new year to you. 1st of all let me congratulate you on a series of spectacular posts. Also congratulations are in order for predicting Indian defense procurement/affairs in a perfect way. Be it Rafale or Augusta or P-75I, all your predictions have come true and to the point. It seems you are blessed with blood of ancient seers!!lol!!.
You can get your self tested.

1 Questions to you is regarding Tejas MK2. Do you have any indication if ADA is planning to showcase the model concept of the Tejas MWF during the Aero show in 2019? If not then by when we can expect to see the definitive concept being unveiled?

Thanks
Swarop

Anonymous said...

Prasunda,

Does IA have any deterrent/counter to PLAs putnitive fire assault capabilities on our armoured concentrations at the LAC ?

Satyaki

Rajesh Mishra said...

All the problems of HAL are entwined and convoluted. They have no beginning and no end.

Aditya Kamble said...

Dear Prasun,
Since India has not yet designed any diesel electric submarine, then what kind of offer has MDL made to the taiwanese govt.

RB said...

Dear Prasun, Apropos your reply to ASD on 16th January at 8.28 pm. Would not a mature engine like TPE331 in production from the 1960s and with 13,500+ (of all variants) already installed not already have FADEC?

Ankit Kumar said...

What is the planned/ideal/sanctioned strength of Aircraft Carriers, SSN, SSK, SSBN, Destroyers, Frigates, Corvette and other capital ships in Indian Navy?

ag said...

Hi Prasun,

Thanks for the reply. I understand that your reply was mainly for HTFE and HTSE. Is there any progress on KMGT engine. It was being tested in 2009, as per news articles online and I think that by now it should have completed its testing phase. I was expecting there might be some news about its testing on actual warships.

Thanks
Amol

Buddha said...

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iRsbguGZKxo&t=182s
Security scan KI vajra T

Again recent uproar made by
https://www.livefistdefence.com/2019/01/exclusive-amidst-spat-elevated-chance-of-iaf-su-30-order-to-hal.html

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6Gbe2UQQJm4
(Dear General Bipin Rawat, this is what is wrong with your military reforms. By the print)
https://m.timesofindia.com/india/india-to-use-a-humanoid-not-animal-for-gaganyaan-tests/articleshow/67580180.cms


Your comment sir..

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To SPANKY’s BLOG/Swarop: VMT indeed. There’s no need for any blood-tests at all & all my ‘predictions’ were purely the outgrowth of commensical reminiscing & the triumph of logical reasoning over bounded irrationality. And here’s what can be added to the list:

https://theprint.in/opinion/dear-general-bipin-rawat-this-is-what-is-wrong-with-your-military-reforms/179070/

The above explains in layman’s terms what I had stated in this blog on January 12, 2019 at 5:44 AM.

However, the following report totally misses the point & therefore jumps to totally wrong conclusions:

https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/cover-story/story/20190121-battle-of-the-bulge-1427715-2019-01-12

As for the LCA-AF Mk.2, ADA has been showcasing its scale-models since Aero India 2011 & frankly, there was never an difference between the displayed scale-models of Tejas Mk.1 & Tejas Mk.2. That for you is indicative of the amount of attention that ADA pays to the details!

To SATYAKI: Of course. Why else would the IA & IAF invest in procuring land-launched versions of BrahMos-1 Blocks-2 & 3?

To ADITYA KAMBLE: Not MDL, but L & T. The latter had shown an illustration of a SSK design at DEFEXPO 2018 & I had uploaded the image of this design in the DEFEXPO 2018 thread last year.

To RB: No, not necessarily. Because FADEC usually works in conjunction with HOTAS & FBW flight-controls. And exactly how many BTTs have HOTAS & FBW flight-control systems?

To ANKIT KUMAR: Only the official planned strengths of a few principal surface combatants have so far been owned up by the IN, these being 3 aircraft carriers, 12 DDGs, 24 FFGs & 24 submarines of which six will be SSBNs & six will be SSNs & the rest SSKs.

gourav said...

Hi Prasun,
Can you comment on the following?

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/modis-decision-to-buy-36-rafales-shot-the-price-of-each-jet-up-by-41/article26019165.ece/amp/

Anonymous said...

Dear Sir,

Couldn't agree more with that military reforms must be driven by the political will (strategic vision) and money. However, what if one or both of these are lacking?

Many a leader will pass the buck up. In the meantime the service continues to bloat. One has the option to allow that to continue or try (agree it might not be the optimum) to address some of the issues that can be managed at that level.

RAT

spanky's Blog said...

Hi Prasun,
I agree with you on the approach of common sensical and logical reasoning. Most problems (atleast 70%) can be solved by applying common sense along with logical reasoning. Your 'predictions' clearly prove that something as complex as defense planning can also solve most of its problem by using common sense and logical reasoning. Probably that is why All Mighty has blessed us with both. But it seems in India whenever you join any politics, then you need to cast that part of your brain out and then only you can ahead in your political career. It is really sad and worry some.
Thanks for sharing the print link. It again illustrates what you have saying for past few years "Reforms in defense have to be politically owned and initiated by MOD/politicians" from top. IMO the Army probably knows the above is not going to happen and he is trying to do whatever he can on his own. It might be his strategy to sell to media so that media can hold the government of the day accountable if the reforms doesn't happen. What do you think?

Its sad that ADA has still not learnt properly from it mistake of LCA MK1. I was hoping since LCA has been classified recently as MCF , there is chance that ADA might come up with new scale model which is much more detailed.
I have 2 more questions regarding LCA MK2

1. Has the design for MK2 frozen? Or it is still being finalized.
2. How much ownership/involvement does IAF has with MK2? Or is it again a standalone Scientist Venture?

Thanks
Swarop

Anonymous said...

Prasunda,

1) VMT. However, are'nt the Brahmos suited for pinpoint high value targets rather than tank/troop concentrations ? What counters do we have for the A-100's, etc. ?

2) Looks like the Pralay's test is getting delayed. Repeated NOTAMS with no subsequent news. Dose'nt this show some inefficiency in how this programme is run ?

Satyaki

Aditya Kamble said...

Dear prasun,
I have a few questions
1. Don't you think that the OFB is taking horibly long time in developing indigeneous small arms.
2. Why all indigeneius small arms are based on Russian designs. Why don't OFB try out an AR style rifle.
3. What's the status on JVPC and belt fed lmg.

Buddha said...

https://m.economictimes.com/news/defence/looming-crisis-lack-of-hal-blades-for-choppers-likely-to-haunt-army-in-siachen/amp_articleshow/67581540.cms

Sir problem looming large ....

DAshu said...

Only protest - https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/india-summons-pakistan-envoy-protests-court-order-on-gilgit/articleshow/67596081.cms

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To GOURAV: This is the best rebuttal:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DxMYF_AX4AEDH0F.jpg

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DxMYF_JXcAA7jiD.jpg

And as for licenced-production of foreign hardware promoting so-called self-reliance, here’s what HAL had recently stated: “The licensed production of the Russian AL-31FP turbofan engines powering Su-30MKI multirole fighters at HAL’s engine division in Koraput is being successfully implemented in accordance with the contracts concluded earlier by Rosoboronexport. It’s a successful example of Make in India. AL-31FP engines are being manufactured and assembled from the kits delivered by the Ufa-based UEC-UMPO (producer of AL-31FP, part of UEC) production company.”

Pay close attention to this part: ‘kits delivered by the Ufa-based UEC-UMPO’. In pother words, ‘manufacturing’ is not from India-sourced raw materials.

To SPANKY’s BLOG/SWAROP: One has to follow the sequential process in order to derive the answers that you seek. Firstly, has the IAF issued any ASQR for LCA-AF Mk.2? No. So without any ASQR, how can the design of LCA-AF Mk.2 or MCA or anything else even get underway? And if the design work has not begun, how will anyone know the final shape & form of such an aircraft?

To SATYAKI: The SS-150 Prithvi-1 SS-BSMs are still available & are part of the IA’s ORBAT. They will be replaced by the Pralays. No one from any govt agency has stated that the NOTAMs issued were meant for Pralay flight-tests. Therefore, any news reports to this effect emanating from the ‘desi patrakaars’ were wildly speculative.

To ADITYA KAMBLE: 1 & 2) Not at all. Just make the OFB publicly-listed with an enormous amount of govt divestment & you will see how wonderfully the OFB is able to transform itself for the better. 3) JVPC is already in service with a few CAPFs.

To DASHU: Gilgit Baltistan Depruvations:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aq8zneiKNPE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llz1cli2xHw

To BUDDHA: IA’s mechanized & armoured formations along the Soras Funnel in northern Sikkim:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtz8kA-JuLg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3Qyl1KPAR8

To PINKAL SHAH: DRDO’s agro-farms in Ladakh:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCC17EjsOmY

AMIT BISWAS said...

Prasun sir t 72 has been designed in Russia where temperature remains cold, will it have any problem operating at icy heights in north sikkim/ladakh

DAshu said...

Pak is on the offensive it seems with Chinese backing- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBg5XS8Vpn8

VIKRAM GUHA said...

PrasunDa,

Sec of Defence Production, Ajay Kumar, said today, that by the end of 2019, defence exports will cross Rs.10,000 crores. He said the growth in defence export was possible due to the government's reforms, which made it easier for private companies to enter the defence sector.

https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/economy/indias-defence-export-may-cross-rs-10000-cr-by-end-of-fy19-ajay-kumar-3409721.html

Will you please elaborate how defence exports have taken off from India & what exactly is being exported.

Regards,

VIKRAM

bhoutik said...

*your views on a couple of reports please..

1) a claimed sino tactical stealth fighter-bomber >>> http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/25989/intel-report-confirms-china-developing-stealthy-regional-bomber-in-addition-to-strategic-bomber

2) https://theprint.in/security/satellite-images-show-china-is-building-underground-facility-50-km-from-india-border/179792/

*and have the roads in Doklam been black-topped, or have they stopped short of the red line?

*also, why has the US not conducted FONOPS through the taiwan straits for awhile?

*a High Altitude Test Bed facility was supposed to be coming up at HAL's koraput division, haven't heard anything since

*hypothetically - if an Indian admin. stops recognizing tibet and xinjiang as part of china, what would their response be. and such a policy from India - could that be sustainable?

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To ANUP: here are far better images:

http://pibcms.nic.in/WriteReadData/Gallery/PhotoGallery/2019/Jan/H2019011961816.JPG
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DxQrgKBU0AMHZp0.jpg
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DxQrgKEU0AIZfW4.jpg

To AMIT BISWAS: LoLz! Looks like you did not browsae through my thread on IA & Mountain Warfare of 1987 (OP KARTOOS). Anyway, do read these:

https://www.newslaundry.com/2017/02/10/the-road-to-ladakh
https://www.newslaundry.com/2017/02/17/the-trials-in-ladakh

To DASHU: While India’s ‘netas’ are happily taking joyrides on what they perceive to be ‘Tanks’ & not tracked SPHs:

https://twitter.com/narendramodi/status/1086515992124186624

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrXa3MPmVM8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3QQiPaYX9o

Has anyone ever wondered why such ‘netas’ never bother to take such rides under simulated battlefield conditions under the blistering sun during the annual summertime field exercises of the IA?

And to top it all, it seems the GoI has no records on killings of Kashmiri Pandits:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ShDIdlFFxQ

So, from this we all can safely conclude that successive Govts of India have since the 1990s been to date shedding only crocodile tears. And why so? Well, a ‘goraa/firanhi’/Caucasian has bluntly explained it all here, which no Indian neta will dare explain or reveal:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62xzgxCYlRE

https://www.amazon.in/Their-Words-Understanding-Lashkar-Tayyaba/dp/1849045720

To VIKRAM GUHA: LoLz! Such lasughable & ill-informed remarks will only emanate from domeone who does not understand how the global supplier chains for military-industrial OEMs function. Also, ‘possible’ does not automatically translate into a more certain ‘probable’.

To BHOUTIK: 1) Yes, it is being developed by Chengdu Aircraft Aviation Group & it will replace the existing Xi’an JH-7As. 2) The underground facility is a captive power-generating station. No roads in Doklam are black-topped. They are made of concrete further north. 3) The USN conducts FONOPS along the Taiwan Strait at least twice a year. 4) There’s no need now for such a facility when airborne testbeds like the IL-76MD from Russia are now available to India. 5) Of course it will be sustainable. But India will not take such a step so as to force China to adopt a similar ambivalent stand on the status of PoK. And that’s why China is exerting enormous pressure on Pakistan to entice India into negotiations for reviving the 4-Point Formula so that the viability of CPEC remains enduring.

To ARPIT KANODIA: We are after all discussing a country where 43% of its children suffer from stunted growth. Consequently, the lives of children in that country, especially in the rural areas, have ZERO value, to say the very least.

Kaustav said...

Would be hilariously funny, if it only wasn't so bloody sad. The latest idiotic 10% reservation is just a precursor to 90% reservation and 100% destruction. SA Iyer right on the ball and comparing China and India very aptly and accurately. Difference between a meritocracy and a reservation chaploosy. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/Swaminomics/chinas-aiming-for-college-excellence-india-for-quotas

Chetan Sinha said...

Hi Prasun,

We are a 10 year old SME & we design ball-bearings. Will you please be kind enough to suggest what product/s we can manufacture that is required by India's armed forces & we can also subsequently export?

Many Thanks,

Chetan Sinha

Anonymous said...

1) Sir did Maj Gen HS Panag raise what would essentially be a precursor to a mini IBG in 80s?

2) how do we solve the canon issue on Tejas now?

3) how much the maws, rwr jammer requirements of a helicopter differs from a fighter in terms of directions covered/numbers needed?

4) I understand smart fencing alerts against intruders crossing between any two sensor "poles". How do these sensors are ensured protection against direct approach by intruder or direct damage to themselves?

5) any scope of utilizing Tejas mkI with multiple ew pods and in future basing them on forward bases in west? Possible at all?

6) can rudra variant carry troops too?

7) How many helicopters form a heli " unit" and how many dorniers 228 make up a squadron?

Thanks,


- VSJ

PK said...

Hello prasun da

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ca-C3voZwpM

An eye opening documentary on cyber security and cyber warfare capability of israel.

Now where india stand in the world of cyber warfare it seems in our case situation is very bleak do our netas and policy makers even understand what havoc can be created through cyber warfare and the cabapilities required to counter that.

Ashish Gautam said...

F16 in IAF Colors on horizon....
https://www.google.com/amp/s/wap.business-standard.com/article-amp/news-ians/tn-defence-corridor-to-attract-rs-3-123-crore-investment-119012000461_1.html
1) how is everything going on with project ghatak UCAV??
2) earlier u shared a report from TOI mentioning beureucractic red tapism delaying FICV n FRCV procurement... I want to know that by what time period can we see trials happening between Tata, Mahindra, l&t etc for FICV project???
3) FICV will be made for urban warfare situation?? Including multiple cameras etc?? or for sub urban n desert situation like our tanks??
4) do u think modi may authorise another under cover surgical operation for killing of Hafiz Saeed etc kinda people before elections for gaining more support??
5) even if India conducted a cross border op killing these leeches then do u see any limited war getting triggered coz of it??

Anonymous said...

Dear Sir,

What do you make of the rationale to improve the relationship between Paks and USA?

Here they are talking about Pak doing exactly what USA has been asking for 18 years and FTA.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-pakistan-afghanistan/senator-graham-urges-trump-to-meet-pakistan-pm-khan-idUSKCN1PE0OI

There was also news about Saudi's investing between $10-16Billions in a refinery in Gwadar. How long before UAE/Qatar do the same and why?

with all this investment coming in, how long before China begins to loose its clout in Pakistan?

RAT

Sidharth said...

Prasun da,

So IA Northern Commands hs this sniper rifle "Beretta Victrix Scorpio TCT". Any info. how many of this badass purchased.

asd said...

Dear Prasun,

Recently LCH completed the weapons trial. Does it mean that it is going one step ahead for it induction? Is any stupidity associated with this LCH project like LCA Tejas? In a scale of 10 how much will you assign to LCH?

Satya said...

Another blunder by gormint and army revealed - 9/11 attack derailed IA's plan to capture PA posts along the LOC https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/911-derailed-army-plan-to-capture-pakistani-posts-along-loc/article26044550.ece

Anonymous said...

https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/weird-news/744877/alien-news-cia-documents-ufo-ussr-cold-war-usa

Aliens shot down by KGB turned soldiers into STONE – CIA file shockingly claims
A CIA file document has revealed the fate of Russian soldiers who shot down a UFO. what happened after the Soviet Union shot down a UFO in the height of the Cold War in shocking revelations.

How much of the above news is true?

Jasgill said...

Hello sirji plz create new thread on Indian military present and future small arms like sub machine-gun, assault rifles, sniper rifles, LMG, MMS.

SK said...

The bandalbaaz return's again.

http://idrw.org/honeywells-high-cost-threatens-jaguar-fighters-engine-upgrade/#more-191152

Your thoughts

just_curious said...

Prasun,


your thoughts on the following ..

-http://idrw.org/honeywells-high-cost-threatens-jaguar-fighters-engine-upgrade/.. this sounds a classic MoD act ... what is next for this
- http://idrw.org/india-develops-advanced-laser-pods-to-boost-fighter-jets-attack-skills/ .. how are these compared to the more famous peers ( rafael litening , thales talios, lockheed martin sniper pods .. is the drdo reinventing the wheel when not reqd.. would it have been useful to focus energies in other areas?

Ram Bharadwaj said...

Prasun,

What is the status of the jaguar engine upgrade (honeywell F-125 engines)?

http://idrw.org/honeywells-high-cost-threatens-jaguar-fighters-engine-upgrade/#more-191152

Is it delayed due to financial crunch?

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To CHETAN SINHA: That can be answered only by the MoD-owned Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) & you will have to contrct OFB for securing such informarion & business leads.

To VSG: 1) He was referring to the concept of fully mechanised & combined all-arms Battalions & Brigades. 2) Select a new-generation cannon. But a far unresolved issue is that of the certified technical service-life of the airframe. The ASQR had specified the TTSL of the airframe as 4,000 hours, but as of now both the Tejas Mk.1 & Mk.1A airframes have a CEMILAC-certified TTSL of only 1,000 hours! 3) They are the same for both fixed-wing & rotary-wing aircraft platforms. 4) Through overlays of multiple types of sensors, such as unattended ground-based sensors. 5) IMPOSSIBLE. Without any credible self-defence capability & devoid of cannons, any such aircraft will be a sitting duck & will be knocked out of the sky with least effort. 6) Yes. 7) Between 12 & 18.

To PK: In terms of cyber security the existing capabilities are being beefed up, but no capability exists in the domain of cyber warfare, which is offensive in natire, while cyber security is defensive in nature.

To ASHISH GAUTAM: 1) Nothing is going on at all, except wasting the Indian taxpayers’ money. How can any such stealthy UAV (and not UCAV) be developed when even the far simpler Rustom-1 & tapas UAVs have yet to be developed? 2) How can trials even begin when not even the GSQRs for FRCVs & FICVs have been finalised? 3) Do you ever foresee the IA invading hostile cities? 4) Dou you think such terrorists hang out in terrorist launch-pads? Or are they safely residing in urban areas on the outskirts of major Pakistani cities? As it is NaMo was having a sleepless night on the day the IA’s SF (Para) detachments went a mere few hundred metres across the LoC! %0 Not at all.

To RAT: Here’s the interview with the Senator: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xkve2Ajug78

No one is talking about improved US-Pakistan relationships & in fact POTUS Trump is most likely to read out the Riot Act to Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi whenever the two of them come face to face. And the investments that are being talked about are all long-term in nature that will not fructify before the next 15 years, to say the very least.

To SIDHARTH: Those are for the BSF, which already uses Beretta-supplied SMGs, assault rifles & shotguns.

To ASD: The IAF’s version of the LCH is reqd to shoot down only UAVs. Hence, demonstrating the ability to fire the MBDA-supplied Mistral-ATAM missile is good enough for the IAF. The IA’s version of the LCH on the other hand is reqd to fire ATGMs, which are still not available as of now.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To SK, JUST_CURIOUS & RAM BHARADWAJ: Those are classic examples of PAID NEWS. But it is indeed true that Honeywell is totally pissed off with the typical Indian delaying tactics. But the real question is, why adopt such delaying tactics? The answer: HAL had promised 5 years ago to fully develop the HTFE-25 turbofan & offer it for retrofit on the Jaguar IS by 2018. But obviously such promises were never meant to be kept & so we now have a man-made crisis.

To JUST_CURIOUS: LoLz! The photo shown is that of the SIVA HADF pod, & not any optronic sensor-carrying pod.

To SATYA: LoLz! Looks like Happymon Jacob is fast scaling the dizzying heights of CUCKOOLAND while composing outlandish fantasies!! And the cretins (desi patrakaars) of THE HINDU are only too happy to follow suit. Here’s the reality: the only sector where the PA presently dominates the IA along the LoC is the Tangdhar Sector, within which the Leepa Valley falls. The IA’s 104 Bde under 19 Division is responsible for defending this sector under XV Corps. Back in 1971 the 104 Bde, located west of the Nashtachun Pass, was guarding the approach the Kishenganga River. It had the additional responsibility of preventing ingress/infiltration by the PA into the Kashmir Valley through Tootmari Gali from the Leepa Valley, which lies to the south of Tangdhar & north of the Jhelum River. In 1971, during hostilities, the IA did make some inroads into the Leepa valley, but was not successful in dominating the entire Valley despite carrying out OP GHAZAB & OP TANAJI. And after the ceasefire, the PA secretly inducted fresh troops into a salient (at Shishaledhi, also known as the Kaiyan Bowl) that it had managed to hold on to & refused to withdraw. This became known to the IA only in March 1972. Consequently, the IA in May 1972 mounted two tactical offensives, first of Company-strength, & next with a full Battalion. However, both these attacks were unsuccessful. And since the Shimla Talks were fast approaching, it was decided to discontinue such ground offensives in that sector & this has since proved to be a major source of embarrassment for the IA.

Fast-forward to September 2001, when the IA discovered that the major ingress/infiltration into the Kashmir Valley was taking place through Tootmari Gali from the Leepa Valley & hence, just like in May 1972, plans were drawn up (OP Kabaddi) for capturing all the dominating heights of the Leepa Valley by crossing the LoC. However, the then Indian political dispensation vetoed this operation since it did not want to be seen as the one to unilaterally alter the delineated LoC. Also, the then NDA-1 govt reached this conclusion AFTER the then GOC-in-C of HQ Northern Command, Lt Gen Rustom K Nanavatty, flatly told Gen Sundararajan ‘Paddy’ Padmanaban, the then COAS of the IA, that the Northern Command was simply not capable of mounting any kind of limited land offensive across the LoC due to the highly depleted stockpiles of its war reserves—a situation that prevailed right up to late 2002 & throughout OP Parakram.

Now I’m sure these FACTOIDS will result in Happymon morphing into SADMON. Well, I can’t help it if such delusional folks don’t take the trouble to do some serious research for unearthing the factoids.

And here's another delusional 'analysis':

https://southasianvoices.org/pakistan-conventional-deterrence-assessment/

PK said...

Hello prasun da

What are your views on this article it according to this article it seems that aryan invasion theory is true and the harrapan civilization predates the vedic period.
https://amp.scmp.com/culture/books/article/2181932/indias-genetic-pizza-new-evidence-early-indians-influence-and-how

Arun said...

Can you tell us how come the Israeli's are taking out Syrian Pantsirs ?

Sudipta said...

Prasun Da, I need your permission to use images posted in this wonderful blog (giving credit to you/your blog) in video I am making on how Brahmos missile works.

rad said...


hi prasun
could you give us some dope on the so called LDP pod designed by the DRDO. Is it false? if not i bet there should have been some hand holding by Israel as we have bought a large no of pods from the and could be a quid pro?
what would be the greatest tech challenge in developing the LDP? We dont have any IIR CCD imagers to start with as i know?.
but we seem to have made laser rangers for the jaguar .

THe litening pod seems to have a FLIR that is capable of giving an advantage in air to air combat much like the IRST. What would be the nominal range of the flir in Air to air combat?

AMIT BISWAS said...

What role will IAF LCH will play if it doesn't get ATGMs. I wonder what they are getting these LCH for if they could not take on armoured columns from standoff distance using ATGMs.
I believe Far better option would be to place all attack helicopter assets present and future under army command and modify accordingly...whats your view sir

Girish said...

Been a while since I have posted anything here... but felt that we could all use a good laugh....

Hope you all enjoy the article below ! ;-) :-D

According to his profile, the author is "Sub Editor who has close to five years of experience in the field of journalism. He has worked with leading news agency ANI for over 2 years before joining OneIndia. Apart from writing on political and national affairs, he is also interested in defence related matters."
Read more at: https://www.oneindia.com/authors/vikas.html

I really don't like 'personal attacks', but the comment (below) in the article is simply asinine and deserves all the ridicule it can get!

The article.

https://www.oneindia.com/india/indian-air-force-s-mig-21-woes-what-are-the-possible-replacement-2840469.html

And now.....

Under the article section, 'Choices that IAF may consider' the author has written that "The other good single engine fighters that India can consider are F-16, Mirage, Gripen, other SAABs, Chengdu J-7, MiG-27, Su-7 through 17."

I hope he is aware that the Chengdu J-7 is a Chinese fighter, right? Unless of course, he is suggesting that the IAF consider buying new fighters from their ADVERSARY !! (Also, just FYI, the J-7 is no longer manufactured and is considered obsolete. And that the J-7 is a MiG-21 clone ! Which is exactly what we are trying to replace!!) Why he would even suggest 'considering' planes from an ADVERSARY country to equip OUR air force simply defies all logic and common sense !

Also, "other SAABs". Again, the Gripen is the only SAAB out there now. All older SAAB models have been retired and are no longer in production. So once again, I wonder what logic he applied here.

As for "Su-7 through 17", these too are obsolete and no longer in production. Incidentally, the IAF did use Su-7's in the 1971 Indo-Pak war, and have long since retired these completely in 1986! The Su-17 production in 1990. Again, I wonder what logic he applied here also.

The MiG-27, is still in service only with the IAF and the Kazakhstan Air Force, and has already been retired by ALL other operators of the type. Also, it is considered obsolete. It is no longer in production.

The "Mirage" (I can only assume he meant the Mirage 2000, since all other older 'Mirages' (3/5/50/F1) are obsolete) is also no longer in production, having been replaced by the Rafale.

A simple Google search (and even corresponding articles on Wikipedia) can confirm the above. So I really wonder what 'research' he did before you wrote that article. Regardless, his logic continues to defy all common sense understanding. Especially the part where he suggests that we should consider an aircraft manufactured by an enemy nation ! (Thankfully, he has not suggested that the IAF buy the JF-17, which is being used by the Pakistan Air Force and also assembled in Kamra, Pakistan. I guess we should all be grateful for that !)


Hope you guys had a good laugh !

asd said...

Dear Prasun,

Recently you mentioned about Pakistan using nuke in chicken neck area in case of a war with India. So what are the options Left with India to respond to Pakistan?

Vishal said...

Prasun sir,

1) Recent reports paint a very troubling picture of the morale and training of Western navies.

https://www.navytimes.com/news/your-navy/2017/10/09/i-now-hate-my-ship-surveys-reveal-disastrous-morale-on-cruiser-shiloh/

http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/15654/heres-whats-in-the-navys-damning-new-reports-on-its-destroyer-collisions?iid=sr-link1

http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/17140/almost-all-of-the-uks-surface-combatants-are-in-port-while-germany-has-no-working-subs

Not to mention the shocking sex and drugs scandal aboard the Royal Navy SSBN last year.

It is at this juncture that the PLAN is dramatically expanding both in terms of technology and training.

How does the PLAN compare with Western navies especially USN in terms of training in the South and east China seas? I know the US is superior anywhere else in the world.
But in seas close to China do you think the Chinese can match the US in training and Co ordination?

2) Would you rate the IN to be superior to PLAN in training?

3) Is the radar on the upcoming sa'ar 6 corvette of Israel, the 1x2m corvette version of mf star or the larger 3x3m frigate version that are on the Kolkata?

4) What is the maximum range of the MF-STAR on the Kolkata for a fighter sized air target?

5) How the MF-STAR compare with the Aesa radar on the Chinese type 52d?

6) How does the MF-STAR compare with Western Radars like Thales APAR and SPY1-D?

Thanks

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To PK: What we have been wrongly taught by mainstream archaeologists & anthropologists is that human evolution has been uniform & uninterrupted. That’s now being proven WRONG through various more recent archaeological excavations, which have revealed on average, human evolution was abruptly interrupted by the ‘Gods of Yore’ every 4,500 or 6,500 years, in order to set right the ‘defects’ found among the human species & after that the evolution continued from where it was last left of, i.e. the human genes was genetically re-engineered to evolve to a higher state of consciousness/intelligence. Sub-global cataclysms were created by the ‘Gods of Yore’ through their subordinates (the so-called Devas or Angels) & these subordinates & their subordinates (the Rishis/Sages) were responsible for establishing various human settlements throughout the different continents & this explains why there have been four distinct races (Australoids, Negroids, Mongoloids & Caucasoids) of human species. However, mainstream archaeologists & anthropologists until recently were highly reluctant to delve deeper into this issue for fear of contradicting Charles Darwin’s theory of natural evolution. They had to change their PoV only after archaeological excavations & the deciphering of the Sumerian cuneiform writing script, which details the various engineered sub-global; cataclysms & which are then repeated in the Jewish Torah & the Christian Bible. From these, we can safely conclude that the Indian subcontinent’s human species partly owed their origins to the various Semetic communities that sprang up in Mesopotamia (today’s Iraq) & from there they spread to today’s Syria, Iran, Turkey & Central Asia. These all were subjected to ‘interruptions’ or genetic re-engineering over a period of some 200,000 years & their most downgraded versions were & are in today’s Middle East & stretching eastwards to Harrapa, as explained here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vfYCtDxxu8&t=6s

As I had explained before, the various settled communities in the ancient area of Bactria (today’s Central Asia) were as advanced their Sumerian counterparts 6,500 years ago & even traded with them by sea through the Persian Gulf. But a sub-global cataclysm in that period led to the desertification of northwest China & large parts of central Asia & the break-up of the Oxus River, following which those Bactrians decided to migrate further south where the seven great rivers existed & were not destroyed by the cataclysm. But nowhere in any ancient text is the term ‘Aryan’ used to designate any settled community or human species. Consequently, the only plausible explanations is that the ‘Aryans’ were a select group of highly evolved people numbering not more than a few thousands who were tasked with resettling the Bactrian communities throughout northwest India & in the process, these communities came into contact with their Semitic ‘cousins’ residing in Harrapa, Mohenjo Daro, Lothal, etc etc. And after their jon was done, these ‘Aryans’ went back to where they came from. It is also noteworthy that even in ancient times, no one was engaged in creating empires. There existed only kingdoms, with the first on-the-record Indian empire to be created being the Mauryan Empire.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To ARUN: How? Elementary: they are using innovative deception tactics, like first launching swarms of decoy cruise missiles & EMP-generating gliding munitions & after overwhelming the Syrian air-defences, are launching the real armed cruise missiles like the Delilah & Spice-1000/2000 PGMs.

To SUDIPTA: Kindly proceed at Warp Speed.

To RAD: LoLz! Let’s analyse what the DRDO has released so far: "Laser designator pod (LDP) is the laser sensor-cum-targetting system used in aircraft and provides inputs in actual flight conditions. These are advanced airborne infra-red targetting and navigation pods to improve both day and night attack capabilities in all weather conditions. It performs tasks like detection, recognition, identification, designation of surface targets, accurate delivery of guided bombs and accurate ranging". Indian scientists P. Suresh Kumar, N.N.S.S.R.K. Prasad and K. Senthil Kumar, who developed the system indigenously, evaluated the performance of the LDP and found that the achieved average positioning accuracy in terms of azimuth and elevation computation for static and moving ground targets was +/- 2.3 metres. It met all the requirements needed to test the air-to-ground weapons in a flight simulator.”

Firstly, LDPs cannot be used for navigation, period. Two separate pods are reqd for navigation & targetting, like those of LANTIRN. Secondly, this statement says it all: “It met all the requirements needed to test the air-to-ground weapons in a flight simulator”. In other words, what the DRDO has developed is a part-task trainer for simulating the performance of LDPs. In other words, it is a computer-based training tool, & not an actual LDP. And here’s all data on the SIVA HADF targetting pod:

https://www.drdo.gov.in/drdo/pub/techfocus/aug06/August-06-Final.pdf

BTW, did you notice that the last annual report available at ADA’s website pertains to only the 2015-16 period? No annual report for the years 2016, 2017 & 2018.

https://www.ada.gov.in/images/Annual%20Report%202015-16.pdf

And then there’s the CAG audit report:

https://saiindia.gov.in/sites/default/files/audit_report_files/Union_Performance_Defense_Design__Manufacture_Light_Combat%20Aircraft_17_2015.pdf

In either of them, can you come across any literature dealing with the installation/integration of any cannon on any version of the Tejas LCA?

To AMIT BISWAS: As I had repeatedly stated before, the IAF variant of the LCH is meant ONLY FOR shooting down UAVs. And that’s why the IAF has placed orders for only 10 units, & not the 65 that was once being touted as a figure by various ‘desi patrakaars’. Secondly, the IA on record has stated that it wants 114 LCHs, meaning these LCHs will carry ATGMs as their principal offensive armament.

Russia’s Stealthy S-70 Okhotnik-B UAS:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exn1A6icLAE&feature=youtu.be

Pakistan Army’s AEX Al-Bayza 2019 air-defence artillery demonstration at Tamewali:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqa1No5pYYs

Indian Army T-72CIAs at Teesta River in northern Sikkim:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gJaR-h6hdk

To ASHISH GAUTAM: DRDO’s latest newsletter:

https://www.drdo.gov.in/drdo/pub/newsletter/2019/jan_19.pdf

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To GIRISH: LoLz! I can also inform you that the list of such ‘writers’ who are neither technocrats nor domain experts is growing by the day to join the ranks of ‘desi bandalbaazes’ like Arun Shourie, N Ram & this one:

https://www.hindustantimes.com/analysis/question-the-government-on-rafale/story-p8aukao2dpS5ZHgcRTdPhJ.html

To ASD: Elementary: employ the concept of VERTICAL ENVELOPMENT to achieve the element of surprise, just as the IAF’s Mi-4 helicopters were used for creating the ‘air bridge’ over the Meghna River in East Pakistan in December 1971. Looks like the IA was forgotten about this path-breaking innovation & no one from the IA even mentions it anymore during any seminar/symposium. And something similar is also visible when it comes to warfighting doctrine formulation, as explained in these two reports:

https://thewire.in/security/indian-armys-land-warfare-doctrine-2018-questions-and-concerns

https://thewire.in/security/new-land-war-doctrine-is-not-credible-deterrent-to-china-or-pakistan

To VISHAL: All those issues/questions were discussed & answered in great details in several past threads.

To KAUSTAV: The first-ever massed firing of DF-26 IRBMs by the PLA’s Strategic Rocket Forces Command:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uxNtSswMUM

These DF-26s were launched from an area (39.702137º N, 105.731469ºE) outside the city of Jilantai (Jilantaizhen) roughly 100km north of Alxa in the Inner Mogolia province in the northern part of central China. The DF-26s were visiting a new missile training area established outside Jilantai since 2015.

Kaustav said...

Prasunda,

Thanks, while our deterrent capability is on full display. After the SL Navy turds, this is the first time that an Indian fishing vessel has been shot at and sunk at sea with the loss of 1 Indian citizen.
https://m.economictimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/india-protests-pakistan-sinking-of-fishing-boat

This is the second time within a year that the Porkis have done this. It is obvious they want to create trouble. Earlier they looted a boat and sunk another one. This time they fired at Indian fishermen and shot up their boat sinking it and causing the probable loss of 1 Indian fisherman. The purpose of course is to show that the GOI and IN/ICG cannot protect our own. But this is an act of war and GOI will be shown in a poor light. It is also a violation of human rights and law of the sea. The Porkis know the GOI is scared to escalate in an election year and losing face and votes if they don't. Talks are off anyway.

john said...

Prasunda,

Why Helina is not integrated with LCH ? Few weeks back there were reports that DRDO successfully tested it from helicopter. Does it still face issues?

When can we expect Super Sukhoi contract ?

Is there any other option for Jaguar engine upgrade?

What is the status of uttam radar integration and testing with LCA?

Chandan said...

Sir, most modern and upcoming Radars are scalable. Eg: Aegis, Seafire etc. Apart from increased range what are the advantages of a larger aesa radar as opposed to a smaller one.

Unknown said...

Sir I am following your blog for many years I am requesting you tell real fact of real upgradation in the power of Indian defence forces after inducting dassault rafale in service

Unknown said...

Sir
How do submariners differentiate b/w friendly and enemy submarines?

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

Interesting Reads:

https://theprint.in/diplomacy/india-set-to-partner-with-south-african-defence-firm-which-upa-govt-had-blacklisted/182879/

https://theprint.in/opinion/as-indians-watch-uri-time-for-army-to-talk-about-other-daring-and-unsung-operations/182638/

https://indianexpress.com/article/india/indian-air-force-rafale-china-pakistan-worry-in-next-two-years-only-26-fighter-squadrons-short-by-16-5553150/

Kaustav said...

Prasun da

Thanks enormously for the lovely video which show extensively the DF26 non cannisters IRBM operations and launch. But Chinese and Russian missile TELs are truly a class apart in terms of mobility. Thanks once again.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To BHOUTIK: The latest Taiwan Strait FONOPS by the US Navy:

https://twitter.com/eurasiamap/status/1088415942911111168

To KAUSTAV: VMT. And incidentally, Russia might have revealed what in India is known as the BrahMos-NG:

New Russian Cruise Missile 9M-729: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOo_jOy8kAI

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DxnBCeWXcAAoMzu.jpg
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dxl0cpHVAAYX730.jpg
https://southfront.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/5c4863c4fc7e93bd538b462f.jpg

Plus, an explanation on China’s Spies: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-l6N1XdtUBM

Excellent analysis of Pakistan, Then & Now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXJYgcaug00

Yesterday, Pakistan test-fired its Hatf-9 Nasr MLRS:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fu_RkI7Elp4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDm6FVWhZP8

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DxrI_K_WoAANo6C.jpg
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DxrI_K6WwAc3kTE.jpg

Satellite Images of Al Watah Missile Production Facility in Saudi Arabia:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgCK1puOans

To VIKAS GAUTAM: Every submarine-type/class has its own unique acoustic signature, just as different combat aircraft & helicopters produce different sounds when flying.

To CHANDAN: There are no other advantages, only that of increased volume of airspace being scanned & monitored.

To JOHN: All reports of HELINA firings from helicopter were conducted from the Dhruv WSI/Rudra. Not a single HELINA has so far been fired from the LCH. Super Su-30MKI contract should be inked much later this year. Yes, the IAF definitely wants the Jaguar IS/DARIN-3s to be re-engined with F-125 turbofans. How can the ‘Uttam’ AESA-MMR be tested on the Tejas Mk.1 when the on-board environment control system reqd for cooling purposes has been designed for use only with mechanically-scanning EL/M-2032 MMR?

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/india-tests-new-anti-radiation-missile-to-destroy-enemy-radars/articleshow/67676064.cms

https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-upjYPthxnCo/WtKAYVJZ3sI/AAAAAAAAOTM/Wh8oGs5oFNg0tflkRGaLoHi8slHDO6zRQCLcBGAs/s1600/NG-ARM%2527s%2BPHH-1.jpg

https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-t97GlyTMAfA/WtKAbCLFc6I/AAAAAAAAOTQ/4emROq-aTOQSeUb2LfE4dPxXNytLDyJPQCLcBGAs/s1600/NG-ARM%2527s%2BPHH-2.jpg

The Microsat-R is like the nano-satellite swarm concept I had explained earlier & it will have a 90-day service-life. About 13 minutes 26 seconds after lift-off yesterday, Microsat-R, an imaging satellite was successfully injected into its intended orbit of 274km.

ag said...

Hi Prasun,

Thanks for responding about HTFE-25 and HTSE. Could you please give any update about KMGT as it has been 9 years since last news in 2009, it being tested at Naval Dock Yard, Vishakapatnam.

Thanks & Regards,
Amol

rad said...

hi prasun
the depicted pics of the new cruise missile seems to be a subsonic type like the kalber type and not the hyper sonic stuff whose pics were posted in aero inda. Have i missed some thing ?
more over the launch tube canister seems very long and does not conform to the regular launch tubes.
great pics of the NGARM missile.
I still dont understand the logic of making a light weight ARM when the world over the similar missiles are double or more the weight of the NGARM which i presume would be in the weight class of the astra missile given it similarities.
the war head seems woe fully small unless DRDO has developed some thing more accurate to have such a small warhead for an ARM.
what are the imported components?

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To RAD: Yes, you missed watching the video of the launch/firing of this missile, which clearly shows the the missile's nose cupola separating exactly like those of the BrahMos-1, K-15 SLBM ^ Shaurya. Now, why shoukd any subsonic cruise missile have just a jettisionable nosecone? Therein lies your answer to whether the depicted missile is subsonic or supersonic.

And here are the new products being displayed at this year's Republic Day Parade: IAF MR-SAM/Barak-8, K-9 Vajra tracked SPH, BMP-2K ICV with Pearson Engineering-supplied track-width mine-plough, and the Arjun ARRV. Images can be seen here:

https://i0.wp.com/www.socialnews.xyz/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/23/c6c624d426357a89ccef885f7a466113.jpg?quality=90&zoom=1&ssl=1

https://i2.wp.com/www.socialnews.xyz/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/23/bd870a9f3fc36f53368bc99efa54a180.jpg?quality=90&zoom=1&ssl=1

https://i1.wp.com/www.socialnews.xyz/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/17/4975a87b5357fc88a9add5b3361ca37d.jpg?quality=90&zoom=1&ssl=1

https://i0.wp.com/www.socialnews.xyz/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/17/9c0d8d826d54e4e955d044528b1a2b47.jpg?quality=90&zoom=1&ssl=1

https://i2.wp.com/www.socialnews.xyz/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/23/42a7ec3085e8610af60ee81a0d07e450.jpg?quality=90&zoom=1&ssl=1

https://i1.wp.com/www.socialnews.xyz/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/23/2aa11bb4d031c2f55acdfededa5c0f29.jpg?quality=90&zoom=1&ssl=1

https://i1.wp.com/www.socialnews.xyz/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/23/b60dfa8e72d64dd34600c9515e090de9.jpg?quality=90&zoom=1&ssl=1

https://i2.wp.com/www.socialnews.xyz/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/23/9e403a5a39e2b0ec0109ba63245797db.jpg?quality=90&zoom=1&ssl=1

DAshu said...

this is what you had told before - In addition, as far as early warning goes, it is Israel that has been collaborating with ISRO for co-developing new-generation mini-satellites with dedicated optronic or SAR sensors. Up to 12 such mini-satellites can be launched by ISRO during any national emergency by a PSLV launcher & these mini-satellites will be low-cost, i.e. with a lifespan of not more than 90 days in low-Earth orbits for the sake of uninterrupted/persistent ballistic missile early warning & monitoring of BM launch sites inside hostile territory.
So is this the primary purpose of just lunched microsatellite, if yes another 11 minisatellites are on their way ?

Buddha said...

Sir after having seen the vdo of Hati 9 Nasir .It appears that it has quiet good pinpoint accuracy .
So even if without small tactical weapons, the missile with regular conventional war head can bring havoc on gathering of invading indian armed force .
Sir the Nirbhoi cruise missile development seems very much delaying the potential capacity of power projection of indian armed force .. Inventory of 4500 sub sonic cruise missile is always nightmarish for enemy forces . Is there any good news that u can share..
Northeast again at burning point over citizenship ammendment bill..What is your view sir..
Recent few poll predictions predict hung result ..Will these state hamper Indian force modernization and economic growth.
Is there any problem encountered with Helena missile with integration LCH for Indian army..
They need almost above 150 LCH for air bridge campaign.
Waiting eagerly for your new article...
Thanks and regards.

Anonymous said...

Prasunda,
HELINA having been succesfully tested from Dhruv WSI/Rudra, how difficult - from technical perspective - is it to do the same from LCH?

Do you expect it to be cleared for FOC this year?

Kane

Chandan said...

1) Sir, don't larger AESA Radars also have an advantage in having more transmitter & reciever modules than there smaller versions?

Doesn't this mean It is capable of producing greater number of beams, in various frequencies if necessary, than its smaller counterpart thereby making it more difficult to jam, while simultaneously allowing them to track more targets and guide more missiles to their targets?

2) According to a recent article by navy recognition, 2 ex French naval officers said the type 055 destroyer does not possess L band Radars on its sides, since that position being so close to the waterline would hinder its performance, but that those may actually be just jammers.
If so then that means that the type 055 have just 2 Radars (S band and X band).
How does this affect your earlier conclusion of the type 055 being a generation ahead of our destroyers?

3) How would you compare the Russian poliment redut SAM system with the European PAAMS and our MF STAR - Barak 8 system?

Manu Singh said...

Prasun,

Subramaniam Swamy said interesting things about China and his role. Do you have any idea?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYF3SJ9Fk70

Also, what do you think of our Saudi Arabia policy?

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To AG/AMOL: There is NOTHING happening with the KGMT. It has been plagued with serious unreliability issues.

To DASHU: LoLz! What Pakistan has fived into now is a perpetual circular debt cycle, which is far more damaging than just indebtedness. As for the Microsat-R concept, this is the first of many more test-launches & hence the entire cluster will not be deployed in one go this time. I have been working on this project for the past 5 years along with some Israeli aerospace partners & ISRO & its operating concept will be something similar to what has been described here:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/06/world/asia/pentagon-spy-satellites-north-korea-missiles.html

To BUDDHA: LoLz! Tjhere’s no way of knowing whether that inbound rocket was lauched from 60km away in a parabolic trajectory or was fired directly from a raised pedestal. Hence, the suspicious close-ups shown of the impact point. In reality, where’s the need for any such accuracy when a TNW is to be detonated?

To KANE: A successful test-launch of a missile does not automatically translate into a successful target engagement. So let us not get taken in my broad & bague statements of the DRDO. Back in 2017 during Aero India I was told by the DRDL officials that the HELINA was having difficulty in homing in on targets beyond 5km during daytime.

To CHANDAN: What you need to understand about EW is all here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBLHZwEXKeA

2) The active phased-array jammers on the portside & starboard side of the Type 055 DDG both on the front & rear of the superstructure gives it superior EW capabilities when compared to what the IN’s DDGs have on board. On top of that, the Type 055 DDGs have VL cells capable of launching long-range subsonic LACMs as well as supersonic ASCMs. 3) The Russians on average tend to lag behind the West in high-performance electronics.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/special-flight-to-bring-back-high-value-target/articleshow/67697257.cms

This could well be Tahawwur Hussain Rana, Daoud Gilani aka David Coleman Headley's one-time business associate.