Experts Speak
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September 19, 2020
Gearing Up For Star Wars
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Recent news from the defence technology battlefront indicates that the Defence Research and Development Organisation is planning to provide combat capabilities to Armed Forces for fighting star wars type conflicts.
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September 19, 2020
Fresh Chinese Moves in Ladakh
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The number of PLA battalions deployed in Ladakh has gone up from 35 in August to 50 in September. Tensions are high as opposing troops are eyeball to eyeball in certain locations and there have been incidents of shots being fired in the air.
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September 19, 2020
Aircraft Drones
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The US Air Force (USAF) is converting obsolete F-16 Fighting Falcons into drones. This is a longstanding practice in the US; to make drones out of older planes as they age out and go obsolete.
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September 19, 2020
Hypersonic Prowess
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Hypersonic technology that makes platforms travel beyond the speed of sound is revolutionising warfare. Hypersonic vehicles propelled by air-breathing propulsion systems, in addition to the scramjet missile currently under development...
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September 19, 2020
Carbines and AD Gun Missiles System
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Despite the ongoing fierce stand-off with China at the LAC, Defence Ministry cancels tenders for carbines and air defence systems for the Indian Army which will now be procured locally as the focus is on Atmanirbhar Bharat.
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September 19, 2020
Corporatisation of Ordnance Factories
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The Union Government on September 11 has set up an Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) headed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh for corporatisation of the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB).
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September 5, 2020
Defence Minister at SCO Meet
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Defence Minister Rajnath Singh left for a three-day visit to Russia on September 2 for attending the defence ministers meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).
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September 5, 2020
2020 India-US 2+2 Dialogue
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The 2020 India-US 2+2 formal dialogue between foreign and defence ministries is likely to take place later this month after External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar is back from Russia after attending the SCO foreign ministers meet on September 10.
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September 5, 2020
Checkmating PLA at Pangong Tso
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Daddy Dragon Xi Jinping, Chinese President is hopping mad with his tail afire. Fresh attempts by PLA in Pangong Tso area have failed and it is clear that the PLA definitely suffered more killed than Indians in the Galwan clash on the night of June 15-16.
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September 5, 2020
Atal Tunnel across Rohtang and More
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Over the next few weeks, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to inaugurate the nine kilometer long Atal Tunnel. Named after former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in a tribute to him on his 95th birth anniversary...
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September 5, 2020
Indigenous Truck Mounted Gun System (MGS)
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The Indian Army needs some 4,500 howitzer guns for defending the country against China and Pakistan. First attempts of indigenisation by the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) began in 2004 for upgrading the barrel of the original Bofors gun from 155x39mm caliber to 155x45mm but the attempt could not materialise at that time.
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September 5, 2020
Super Swarm Drones
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)It was reported in these columns that the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has provided ‘Bharat’ surveillance drones’ produces by the Chandigarh-based Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory (TBRL) to the troops engaged in a standoff with China in Eastern Ladakh.
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September 2, 2020
The Inevitable Clash
By Lt. General R.K. Jagga (Retd)Don’t try to please a bully, it will only make him bolder! The Chinese Dragon continues to dance along the LAC turning belligerent militarily and trying to slice off parts of Indian territory with its “Salami Slicing” tactics. India needs to gain insight into the adversary’s mind to counter it and evolve sound pre-emptive policies.
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August 24, 2020
Aatmanirbhar Reset 2.0
By Lt. General R.K. Jagga (Retd)Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given a clarion call to use these trying times to become Aatmanirbhar (self-reliant). Defence Manufacturing in India has huge potential and can bring a transformative change, but is the industry ready to rise up to challenges and uncover the opportunities therein.
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August 24, 2020
China adopts an aggressive posture against Japan
By Air Marshal B.K. Pandey (Retd)From the aggressive posture that China has adopted in the region, it is clear that focus of her policy is directed against Japan, her most powerful enemy in the region.
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August 20, 2020
Modi-Abe Summit Coming Up
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The India-Japan summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe which got postponed last year is scheduled for early next month, the tentative date for which according to sources is September 10.
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August 20, 2020
Riyadh Delivers a Kick to Pakistan
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Behind Pakistan’s obsession with Kashmir is the Pakistani army’s aim to continue ruling the country indirectly and stay in power, raking in millions in the process. The civilian governments are puppets of the army.
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August 20, 2020
The Electro-Magnetic Pulse (EMP) Threat
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)On August 1, 2020, a post on Twitter appeared purportedly from Global Times of China quoting Qien Huayo source that read, “Chinese Helicopter shot down by unknown Indian EMP burst, 7 killed”. It is not known if the tweet was genuine or fake but it was deleted after a short time.
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August 20, 2020
India’s Infrastructure Push in Maldives
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Located about 600 km off the southwest coast of India and 750 km southwest of Sri Lanka, Maldives consists of a double chain of 26 atolls spread over 90,000 sq km of territory.
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August 20, 2020
Make in India Stealth Submarines
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The Chinese aggression in Eastern Ladakh appears to have egged the government in giving impetus to the Indian Navy’s Project 75(I) (P75(I)). Project 75(I)-class submarine is follow-on of the Project 75 Kalvari-class submarine for the Indian Navy.
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August 20, 2020
ANI should be Andaman & Nicobar Islands (ANI)
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)On August 10, 2020 Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated India’s first undersea fibre optics cable project linking Chennai with Andaman and Nicobar Islands (ANI). The project has been aptly named CANI; Chennai - Andaman and Nicobar.
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August 7, 2020
Disengagement or Deceit Again
By Lt. General J.K. Sharma (Retd)Throughout their history, China has had brutal conflicts with their neighbours and time and again it has been proven that they cannot be trusted.
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August 7, 2020
China-Pakistan Collusive Threat
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)News reports of July 22 cited Defence Minister Rajnath Singh having asked the Armed Forces to be prepared to respond at short notice as also build and sustain military capabilities to deter any adversary in the long run.
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August 7, 2020
China’s Sakteng Googly
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)In Beijing’s characteristic rotten style, the Chineses representative at the 58th meeting of the Council of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) on June 2-3, 2020 tossed a googly by illegally claiming Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary in Bhutan as Chinese Territory saying that it was “disputed area”.
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August 7, 2020
Defence Production & Export Promotion Policy
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)On August 3, 2020 the Ministry of Defence (MoD) relased a draft Defence Production and Export Promotion Policy (DPEPP) 2020 whose stated objective is to achieve a turnover of 1,75,000 crores (US$25 billion), including export of 35,000 crores (US$ 5 billion) in aerospace and defence goods and services by 2025.
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August 7, 2020
Bharat Drones
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)News reports of July 22 have revealed that the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has provided indigenously-developed drones called 'Bharat' to the Indian Army amid the ongoing boundary tensions at LAC between India and China.
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August 7, 2020
Chinese Consolidation in POK
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)China appeared uncomfortable with completion of India’s Darbuk-Shyok-Daulat Beg Oldi (DSDBO) Road in Eastern Ladakh. But it has no compunctions about blatantly undertaking projects in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) which is Indian Territory.
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August 7, 2020
No Dearth of Young Talent
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Saad Nasser, a class five dropout from school in Bengaluru has developed a fully autonomous sub-ton carrying vehicle which is driverless and acts with precision.
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July 29, 2020
Desperate Quad
By Lt. General J.K. Sharma (Retd)An isolated China attempts fortifying alliances in frustration
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July 28, 2020
Inducting New Light Tanks
By Lt. General J.K. Sharma (Retd)The strategic prudence lies in exploiting country’s own bandwidth to equip our armed forces with indigenous light tank which will transmit a far stronger message of indigenously equipped self-reliant nation.
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July 20, 2020
Defence Minister’s Ladakh Visit
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)On the first day of his visit to forward areas, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visited Ladakh on July 17, accompanied by Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat and Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane.
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July 20, 2020
Lessons from Ladakh Standoff
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The norm we follow is to appoint committees after conflict situations whose reports are either buried like Henderson Brooks report of 1962 or lessons forgotten like of Kargil Review Committee.
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July 20, 2020
Infantry Getting Makeover
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)No matter how hi-tech the modern battlefield gets. No matter how powerful the aircrafts, drones and the robots become, mission of the Infantry will continue to close-in and destroy the enemy by close quarter violent combat in any war operation and then physically hold the ground.
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July 20, 2020
Landing Platform Docks
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)With increased Chinese footprints in the IOR, amphibious capability assumes importance for India. India Navy’s amphibious capability consists of nine older tank landing ships (LST) of various sizes and capabilities.
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July 20, 2020
Turkey’s Swarm Drones
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)According to Turkish media, Turkey’s Defence Technologies, Engineering and Trade Inc. also known by its Turkish acronym STM, was to deliver over 500 ‘Kargu’ drones to Turkish armed forces on June 15, 2020.
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July 20, 2020
Chinese Specter on India-Iran Relations
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)According to media reports, Iran has decided to exclude India from the 628 km railroad project that links its port in Chabahar to Zahedan on the Afghanistan border, citing delays by the Indian government in funding and starting the project, and has announced that Iran has decided to construct the railway line on its own.
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July 6, 2020
Reading the Tea Leaves —
PM at frontline: Defining National Strategy
By Lt. General J.K. Sharma (Retd)Prime Minister’s personal appearance on the frontline has unequivocally reinforced that entire of Ladakh is Indian Territory and any intrusion and aggression will be met with full might and resolve of the nation. With this the PM has clearly defined the National Strategy.
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July 6, 2020
Defence Minister’s Russia Visit
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Defence Minister Rajnath Singh left for a three-day visit to Russia on June 22 for holding discussions with top Russian military brass and to attend Russia’s Victory Parade at the Red Square on June 24 to commemorate 75th Anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945.
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July 6, 2020
Light Combat Helicopter
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is confident that it will receive the first contract for the indigenous Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) by the end of the year. The price negotiations for the LCH having been completed, HAL has increased production of the LCH.
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July 6, 2020
New Chinese Front in Depsang
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)In the current India-China standoff in Eastern Ladakh, China has once again displayed its strategy of surprise ambiguity and deceit. The surprise aggression was made under the garb of an exercise, followed by a quick move forward.
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July 6, 2020
India’s Fifth Generation AMCA
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) Chairman and MD R. Madhavan recently announced that India’s fifth generation fighter program, the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) will be a corporate public-private program.
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July 6, 2020
China’s FATF Shield for Pakistan
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)On June 24, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global terror financing watchdog, decided to keep Pakistan in the "Grey List" as it had failed to check flow of money to terror groups like the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM).
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July 6, 2020
AK-203 Delayed?
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)On the day Defence Minister Rajnath Singh was attending Russia’s Victory Parade at Red Square in Moscow on June 24, Indian media broke the news that the joint Indo-Russia Rifles Private Limited (IRRPL) between the Indian Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) and Russian Rosoboronexport and Kalashnikov company has run into pricing problems.
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June 29, 2020
Before & After Galwan
By Lt. General J.K. Sharma (Retd)It is the difference in historical perception, the policy of "Nibble and Occupy" adopted by China and lack of understanding on the part of successive Indian governments since independence of the huge strategic disadvantage of loss of peripheral territory, that has emboldened China to attempt violations with impunity.
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June 20, 2020
Morale Booster by the Chief of the Air Staff, IAF
By Air Marshal B.K. Pandey (Retd)“The development on the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh is a small snapshot of what we are required to handle at a short notice”, said the Chief of the Air Staff.
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June 18, 2020
India China Stand-off in June 2020
By Air Marshal B.K. Pandey (Retd)The nation needs to be concerned about the overall strategic and economic relations with China which have been in turmoil in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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June 18, 2020
The Galwan Clash
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The news of “at least” 20 Indian soldiers including a Colonel and at least one JCO clubbed to death by the PLA in Galwan on the night of June 15/16 has shocked the nation. Number of injured reportedly were 17.
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June 18, 2020
Coming – Rafale Fighters
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)There have been some queries about what has happened to delivery schedule of the Rafale fighters with onboard India specific systems that were expected to have started arriving by end May 2020.
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June 18, 2020
Indigenous Fighter Jet for Navy
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)News reports of June 4 have confirmed that the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) under the Department of Defence Research and Development (DR&D) of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has given the go ahead for the development of a twin engine Made-in-India fighter jet for the Indian Navy.
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June 18, 2020
Revisiting ‘One China’ Policy
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)While the PLA is continuing serious monkey tricks in Eastern Ladakh, the Indian Capital witnessed an interesting webinar titled "Revisiting 'One China' Policy" to explore possible options that India can pursue to send strong messages to Beijing.
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June 18, 2020
Artificial Neural Networks Ionospheric Model (ANNIM)
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Tracking the variability of the Ionosphere is important for communication and navigation. The ionospheric variability is greatly influenced by solar originated processes and the neutral atmosphere origin.
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June 18, 2020
Oli Steering Nepal into China’s Lap
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)On June 13, Nepal’s Parliament unanimously passed a new map that shows Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura areas (totaling about 370 sq km) in its territory. Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli took this arbitrary decision without discussing the boundary issue with India.
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June 8, 2020
PROGNOSIS
Indo-China Border Talks
By Lt. General R.K. Jagga (Retd)Top Indian and Chinese generals held talks to resolve the high altitude face-off in the Ladakh region between India and China as a result of China's growing military assertiveness
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June 6, 2020
India-Australia Pacts Boost Bonding
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)In a virtual bilateral summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on June 4, India and Australia upgraded...
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June 6, 2020
IAF Fighter Jet Programme
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)On May 27, 2020 the Indian Air Force (IAF) inducted the second squadron of LCA Tejas into IAF’s 18 Squadron (‘Flying Bullets’) with Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal R.K.S. Bhadauria giving the thumbs up to Tejas by flying a solo Tejas sortie at Sulur airfield in Tamil Nadu.
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June 6, 2020
Gwadar Could Mirror PLAN’s Djibouti Base
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Djibouti, in the Horn of Africa, is China’s first overseas military base operated by Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). Built at a cost of $590 million in 2017, it is strategically situated in the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait which separates the Gulf of Aden from the Red Sea and guards the approaches to Suez Canal.
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June 6, 2020
Taliban-Al Qaeda Links Sustained
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)A report by the United Nations released on June 2, 2020 has confirmed that the Taliban in Afghanistan still maintains close relations with the terror network of Al Qaida despite having signed a peace deal with the US on February 29, 2020, agreeing to tackle militant groups.
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June 6, 2020
Space Policy and Gaganyaan
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)India’s big mission of the maiden human spaceflight ‘Gaganyaan’ is on course to be launched by or before 2022 wherein the country will send two to three astronauts to space.
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June 6, 2020
Upgraded Infantry Combat Vehicle ‘Sarath’
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)On June 2, 2020, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) placed an order on the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) for 156 upgraded Russian-origin BMP-2/2k Infantry Combat Vehicles (ICVs) ‘Sarath’ for use by Indian Army’s (IA) mechanised forces at the cost of 1,094 crore ($145 million).
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May 30, 2020
Way Ahead for the Indian Armed Forces
By Lt. General R.K. Jagga (Retd)The threat of the virus is all-pervasive and to ensure Force Protection, an essential towards operational readiness, the Armed Forces have issued exhaustive instructions/guidelines
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May 29, 2020
Indo-Chinese Conundrum
By Lt. General R.K. Jagga (Retd)India is witnessing its worst-ever border tensions with China since 1962 with both countries bringing forward thousands of troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh. Is this mere Sabre rattling by China or will it result in a larger conflict between India and China?
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May 29, 2020
India-China Stand Off“The present situation is that we will win in Malacca and loose at Dhoklam.”
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May 28, 2020
New Direction in Defence Production and Procurement
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Delivering the fourth tranche of the economic package in wake of COVID-19 in a press briefing on May 16, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced three major decision related to defence which will have far reaching effect in boosting the defence sector
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May 28, 2020
New Amphibious Warfare Craft Commissioned
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)On May 15, 2020, INLCU-75 another amphibious warfare landing craft entered the Indian Navy at an official ceremony at Port Blair. The Landing Craft Utility (LCU) Mk-IV class vessel was commissioned by Commander-in-Chief Lieutenant General P.S. Rajeshwar.
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May 28, 2020
Modernisation of Military Airfields
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Media reports of May 8, 2020 quoting official sources disclosed that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has signed a 1,200 crore ($160 million) contract with Indian company Tata Power SED for the second phase of the military infrastructure modernisation programme to cover 37 of the IAF, Indian Navy and Coast Guard airfields.
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May 28, 2020
Hindustan Turbo Trainer 40 (HTT-40) On The Roll
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Procurement of the indigenous Hindustan Turbo Trainer 40 (HTT-40) aircraft for the IAF is in the offing. In February 2010, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) had accorded an approval for the design and development...
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May 28, 2020
Nepal Turns Chinese Proxy
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)In a show of open defiance to India, Nepal has unveiled a new political map in which the Indian areas of Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh and Kalapani are shown within Nepal.
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May 28, 2020
China Muscle Flexing Along LAC
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)On May 5, PLA resorted to aggression indulging in physical fight with Indian troops in vicinity ofPangong Tso lake in Ladakh. It may be recalled that PLA had resorted to stone-pelting and attacking an Indian patrol with rods and sticks in same area on August 15, 2017.
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May 10, 2020
Boosting Jihad
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Despite the spurt in terror attacks, cross border violations and infiltration attempts by Pakistani terrorists, bodies of killed terrorists continued to be handed over to relatives for burial, providing a platform for anti-establishment propaganda.
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May 10, 2020
Kulbhushan Jadhav – Pakistan Stays Defiant
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Harish Salve, India's counsel for Kulbhushan Jadhav has said that India may have to back to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to get direction as Pakistan has failed to act on the court's directions to give consular access to him.
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May 10, 2020
Gilgit-Baltistan – More Pakistani Mischief
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)In an effort to showcase to the world its control over its illegal occupation of Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK), Pakistan has made another mischievous move. In a recent ruling, the Pakistan Supreme Court allowed the government to amend a 2018 administrative order to conduct general elections in the region.
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May 10, 2020
Defence MSMEs
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)As India battles the scourge of COVID-19, the prospects of economic growth have begun to lookbleak. Among various forecasts, Moody is predicting a zero per cent growth.
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May 10, 2020
HM commander Riyaz Naikoo Killed
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Riyaz Naikoo, chief of Hijbul Mujahideen (HM) was killed on May 6 during an anti-terrorist operation conducted by the Army and J&K Police in the Beighpura area of Pulwama district. A second terrorist, believed to be an accomplice of Naikoo, was also killed in the encounter.
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May 10, 2020
Chinese Marines in Indian Ocean
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)News reports of April 18 indicate that within five years Chinese marines will be operational in the Indian Ocean. In September 2019, China launched its largest amphibious ship—the Type 075, which is roughly like US Navy’s 40,000-tonne amphibious ship USS ‘Wasp’, central to three ships carrying an American Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU).
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April 26, 2020
Drones and Robots in Pandemics
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)As the world battles COVID-19, technology has thrown up apps, robots, drones and chatbots to help humanity. Indian startups flooded the National Security Advisory Board offering hundreds of apps.
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April 26, 2020
COVID-19 Terrorism
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Recent intelligence reports had indicated that Pakistan was aggressively moving COVID-19 infected cases to POK and infiltrating them into J&K.
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April 26, 2020
Advancements in Drone and Anti-Drone
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The yesteryears race of mine and anti-mine has long since been overtaken by the race of drone and anti-drone. These technologies are evolving at a terrific pace with newer inventions showing up periodically that have also been reported in these columns from time to time.
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April 26, 2020
Israeli Light Machine Guns are Coming
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)India has signed a contract with Israel Weapon Industries (IWI) for importing 16,479 Negev light machine guns (LMGs) to meet a long-standing requirement.
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April 26, 2020
Torpedoes for Indian Navy
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)On April 13, the Trump Administration notified the Congress of its determination to sell Harpoon Block II air launched missiles and lightweight torpedoes worth $155 million to India.
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April 26, 2020
New Terrorist Outfit in J&K
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)A new terrorist organisation calling itself ‘The Resistance Front’ (TRF) has cropped up in J&K in wake of the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution.
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April 11, 2020
COVID-19 Biological Weapon
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)At a time when COVID-19 was ravaging multiple countries with deaths and infections multiplying every second, cities/regions/nations locked down, economies shattered and unemployment going berserk – in effect de-stabilising the world...
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April 11, 2020
Tejas Mk1A for IAF
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Ahead of the Air Force Day on October 8, 2019, Air Chief Marshal R.K.S. Bhadauria in his annual address had stated that the IAF would be looking to indigenous platforms like the Tejas and the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) to meet the requirements of its squadron numbers as well as modernise its inventory with fourth generation plus and fifth generation aircraft.
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April 11, 2020
Kabul Gurdwara Attack – Pakistan Nailed
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The dastardly attack by four terrorist on the Gurdwara in Kabul on March 25, 2020 killed 27 Sikhs and a follow up bomb blast close to the crematorium where the dead were being cremated caused injuries to some.
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April 11, 2020
Army Spectrum Network
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Indian multinational giant Larsen & Toubro (L&T) engaged in technology, engineering, construction, manufacturing and financial services operating in over 30 countries has disclosed on April 7, 2020 that it has bagged a large order from the Indian Army for establishing a first-of-its-kind...
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April 11, 2020
India-Turkey Fleet Support Vehicles
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)News reports of March 23, 2020 have confirmed that India is going ahead with a $2.3 billion (about 15,000 crore) deal to manufacture five fleet support vessels (FSVs) in collaboration with a Turkish shipyard.
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April 11, 2020
Another Major Maoist Ambush
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Amidst speculation that that the Maoist insurgency is dying down, Maoists struck a major blow by ambushing security forces on March 21 near Minpa Forest of Kasalapad area of Sukma District.
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March 21, 2020
J&K - Political Dynamics and Normalisation
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)On March 8, 2020, Altaf Bukhari, former MLA from the J&K Peoples Democratic Party, launched a new political party called ‘J&K Apni Party’ (JKAP).
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March 21, 2020
Counter-Drone Drone
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)It has been covered in these columns that an indigenous Anti-Drone System developed by the Defence Research & Development Organisation...
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March 21, 2020
Loitering Munitions
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)In 2016, US Companies were looking to market the Hero-30 loitering munition to the US military. Hero-30 is a man-portable unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or drone designed for about 30 minutes loiter with a 0.5 kg warhead.
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March 21, 2020
Defence Procurement Procedure 2020
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Releasing the Draft Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) 2020, on March 20 Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said, “Our aim is to make India self-reliant and a global manufacturing hub...
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March 21, 2020
Deep Underwater Rescue
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Indian Navy’s first Deep Submergence Rescue Vessel (DSRV) procured from Britain (James Fishes Defence of UK) to meet unique requirements of our Navy completed Sea Acceptance Trials successfully last year in June.
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March 21, 2020
Indigenous Combat Robots
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)During DefExpo 2020 held in February this year, Indian Start-up Company, Defence Master India Pvt Ltd, displayed ‘Sooran’, an indigenous combat robot...
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March 9, 2020
US-Taliban Deal – Trump's Compulsion
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Signing of the US-Taliban deal by US Special Representative Zalmay Khalizad and Mullah Abdul Gani Baradar on behalf of Taliban at Doha, Qatar on February 29 had all the trappings of a mega show.
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March 9, 2020
NSUAS for Indian Navy
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has issued a Request for Information (RFI) on February 24, 2020, for a Naval Ship-borne Unmanned Aerial System (NSUAS) as the Indian Navy (IN) is looking at acquiring 15 naval ship-borne drones for surveillance and reconnaissance roles at sea.
