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Inside this issue:

4
IAF requires numerical Strengths to fight
21st century war

7
Sea Harriers and Mig-29k dog fight over Goa

8
India’s Ballistic Missiles

EDITORIAL PANEL 10
IAC-3 might be nuclear powered Aircraft carrier
MANAGING EDITOR
AJAY NAIK

EDITORIAL ADVISOR 11
The MMRCA Game
VINAYAK SHETTY

RAKESH SHARMA

EDITORIAL PANEL India’s artillery woes: 13

VINAYAK SHETTY

AJAY NAIK

SUJIT KULKARNI Did we really reach the moon? 14

SANKAR BALU

SUJIT KULKARNI

NEERAJ KAKAR AMCA/NGFA (Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft or

Next Generation Fighter Aircraft) 20
DINAKAR PERI

JOYDEEP GHOSH Star Wars VII - The KALI strikes back 23

Super Carrier required for BrahMos 26

Email Managing Editor Strategic Long Bombers: Mission Accomplished. 27
Idrw.org@gmail.com
Conventional Submarines: Their new found role 29

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SECURITY AUGUST MONTHLY MAGAZINE FOR DOWNLOAD

Idrw.org have launched a new free online Monthly Magazine for the
readers and members of idrw.org called has " SECURITY " , and we
are launching the Inaugural sample Magazine for viewers on India's
Independence Day ,

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IAF requires numerical Strengths to fight 21st

century war
Vinayak Shetty security Editorial Panel

How will 21st century air war will be fought is still a question many strategic planners
have not been clearly able to answer, will it be superior aircrafts or Numbers of aircrafts
which will decide the fate of the war? IAF at 77 is standing at the lowest squadron (32
squadrons) strength in last two decade, other then the Sukhoi su-30MKI air dominance
fighters other aircrafts are on verge of obsolescence specially numbers of Mig-21 (6
squadrons) which IAF still operates, MMRCA Procurement having been going on for al-
most a decade now and aircrafts are still been flight tested . Introduction of Mid air Re-
fullers, UAVs and AWACS aircrafts will provide force multiplication to the air force but
both china and Pakistan also have been doing the same, not only they have inducted this
force multipliers but also have been building up the air defence systems with modern air
defence systems, our arch rival Pakistan has been able to locally produce portable Sam in
numbers and local production of this Anza Man pad Sam have dangered any low flying
aircrafts in enemy territory, PAF other then the few F-16, still fly older F-7,A-5, Mirage-
III/V, without much upgrades to this aircrafts are not an immediate threat to IAF ,but PAF
will be inducting new F-16 and JF-17 soon and are in process of ordering J-10B aircrafts
from china and will also acquire future fifth gen aircrafts which china has been building
for a while now , even with 200 fourth generation aircraft with BVR and PGM capability
PAF in immediate future can play a deterring role for IAF. Main concern comes from the
China, while recently numbers of aircrafts in PLAAF have come down due to retirement
of various older aircrafts; PLAAF has been inducting J-10, J-11, Su-27 and Su-30MKK in
large numbers will still be able to field more then 450 fourth generation aircrafts in imme-
diate future and more then 1000 fourth generation aircrafts by 2022 . Not counting PLAN
(Naval) aircrafts which in current form have higher aircrafts then IAF. IAF plans for in-
duction of newer planes are mostly with the induction of Su-30MKI in number by 2015
(290+) and locally developed Tejas (7 squadrons) and MMRCA winner aircraft (126 nos)
which will be replacement for retiring aircrafts like Mig-21, Mig-27 and Jaguars will get
the same number of squadrons which it currently has .Even with modern aircrafts and
continued on page 6

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INDESEC Expo 2010

India's only exhibition and conference dedicated to homeland security

INDESEC Expo 2010 is India’s only exhibition and conference dedicated to homeland security. Building on the phenomenal
success of 2009, INDESEC Expo 2010 maintains its total focus on the Indian Governments urgent need to procure the most
advanced technological solutions to meet their homeland / national security requirements. Senior visitors will include ministers
and decision makers from the Ministry of Home Affairs, central police and paramilitary organisations, the intelligence services,
Ministry of Defence, Coastguard, individual state ministries and senior police representatives – the people in india responsible
for determining and meeting India’s maritime, border, airport, transport, critical infrastructure security and disaster

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force multipliers will only improve IAF’s combat potential and effectiveness but strength
will remain the same ,lot of other factors have changed since last full scale IAF had
fought , industrial development of states bordering Pakistan has grown rapidly and enemy
air force have many strategic targets to choose from, treats of advance SAM system is al-
so one more factor which will play a major role in future air war , even a short war with
Pakistan in near future IAF can lose almost 150+ aircrafts if considered all the threats the
fighter aircrafts may face .Suggestion to improve the strength of IAF could be develop-
ment of local aircrafts in numbers , I could suggest family of fighter aircrafts with Medi-
um technology has to be developed in India it self and private participation should be en-
couraged to reduce work pressure on state run HAL and to maintain high number of out-
put production of this aircrafts, Production line should be given to private industry. Major
development can be started with currently developed aircraft Tejas, for example Tejas al-
ready has been divided in to two variants for Indian air force. Tejas MK-1 (2 squadrons)
will be inducted with current technology incorporated in Tejas LSP aircrafts, while Tejas
MK-2 will have better and more powerful engine and better avionics but it should not stop
there a Tejas MK-3 should be also be planned with better payload, more combat range
(conformal tanks) with stealth feature and with more agility .Tejas EW (electronics War-
fare) and UMCA (unmanned combat aircraft) can also be possible variants ,IAF has al-
ready directed ADA to work on concept studies on NGFA aka MCA which will be a twin
engine aircraft in 20-25 ton class ,wind tunnel models were recently displayed in Aero In-
dia 2009 and is expecting government clearance by mid 2010 .since development and
flight testing can take well over a decade ,Variants of Tejas has to be tried for not only
Strengthening IAF but also to increase the fleet strength of IAF .

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Sea Harriers and Mig-29k dog fight over Goa

Ajay Naik security Editorial Panel

It has been clear Wednesday morning sky for students of Bits Pilani, student have been
wondering around their campus for a while now after their lectures were over, sudden
loud sound of approaching military jet buzzes the sky for a moment, but Students have
hardly noticed the sound since their campus is based very close to Naval Air Base in Goa
and spotting flying naval jet around is a regular sight for them, but this time sound keeps
getting louder and louder , ignorant student watch up in the sky to spot two fast approach-
ing Sea Harriers flying very close to ground just few meters above the ground.
This is first time they have seen the jets fly so low and so aggressively over their campus,
soon jets disappear over the clouds gaining altitude and fast moving to sea , but what
comes next is a bigger surprise for them, a louder sound almost bursting their ears , this
time its new acquired single Mig-29k fast chasing them ,at the same time another Mig-
29k takes off from the base instead of following path taken by two harriers and lonely
Mig-29 , it banks right and heads to sea .
As per sources Sea Harriers and Mig-29k have been practicing WVR and BVR dogfights
in month of August. Sea Harriers have been recently upgraded with new MMR Radar and
now comes with new BVR AAM; Sea Harriers have been piloted by Veteran Naval Avia-
tors having more than 2000 Hours of flight on Sea Harriers, while Mig-29k pilots have
been freshly trained in United States and have flown Indian air force’s Mig-29A are eager
to show their skills.
We at idrw.org don't have any results of this massive showdown of power in goan sky ,
but will post any updates on this matter soon .

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India’s Ballistic Missiles

Vinayak Shetty security Editorial Panel

India lately has been progressing at a rapid speed towards induction of new ballistic mis-
siles; well it has to, china which has over 1000 conventional ballistic missiles currently
aimed at Taiwan, in matter of days might be aimed towards India if border tension be-
tween two giants explodes, most of the Chinese missiles are mobile and can be posted
close to Indian border at very fast rate ,due to better roads and rail links which Chinese
have been able to construct over years , this article will take into in details of the Ballistic
missiles India possess or already in development by countries premier DRDO labs in all
over India.

AGNI- TD
India’s first Agni Missiles was test fired in 1989, with limited 1200 to 1500 km range it
was more of Technology Demonstrator, it was also test bed for further new next genera-
tion Agni missiles which were later developed over the years after years of experience
working on this missiles .in mid-90’s some of them were inducted into Indian Army Mis-
sile regiments. It was also referred to have Agni-1 but later it was official called Agni-TD
and now most of them have been retired from force.
AGNI-I
It was a shorter missile which was developed after Agni-2 , need was felt since Agni-2 had range of
2500km + while Agni-TD where somewhere around 1200-1500km range , so shorter single stage solid
fuel 850km range was first test fired in late 2007 , it has been successfully test fired over the years now
and has been inducted into Indian Army’s Missile regiment , Numbers inducted have been never dis-
closed by Experts believe that around 30 to 50 missiles might have been inducted by now .

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AGNI-II
First test fired in mid-99 and later inducted into Indian Army ,initially it had a range of
2500km with one ton payload but was able to hit 3300km with lighter payload , it was the
first missile in Indian arsenal which was capable of hitting some major cities in china but
was not enough to bring whole china into its range . it has been inducted in full force and
has been considered until now has most reliable Agni missile in Agni Series .
AGNI-II AT
This new 2.0 gen Agni-2 missile will be tested soon by end of September 2010, it will in-
corporate newer technologies developed over the years, and improved Agni-2 will have
better range (3900km) with same 1 ton payload this could be achieved by using advance
composite and lighter materials, it seems that Agni-2 missile will be work horse of India’s
deterrence in Agni series of missiles.
AGNI-III
First tested in 2006 which was a disaster it was retested almost year after in 2007 which
was a huge success, DRDO and India rightly have under quoted the missile range has
3500km but western defense experts believe that missile can achieve 5500 km plus range
and even up to 7000km with a lighter conventional payload, bringing in whole of Asia
and Easter Europe , this is the first time Indian missiles will be able to over whole Asian
continent and volatile middle eastern sector , induction has been going on for a while now
but it seems to be in smaller numbers now .
AGNI-III SL
Development of Submarine launched Agni-III has been in development for a while now,
and work has been slow since its Carrier Nuke submarines (INS ARIHANT) has been de-
velopment and it might take little more time to test and integrate the missiles.
AGNI-V
Which will be based on Agni-III but will have one more stage to achieve greater range,
officially it has been told to media by DRDO that it will have 5500 km range, but with
lighter or even decent payload of one ton it will be able to deliver a payload over 8000km
far away, it has been described has china specific missile but AGNI- III can hit almost
every Major city in China, AGNI-V has been described by many western Defence experts
has show of India Military strength , and to prove to world that India can hit any country
over .

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PRTIHVI: it is India’s first ballistic missile which still is serving all three armed forces in
India, over the years three variants have been developed.
PRTIHVI I – Army version with 150 km range.
PRTIHVI II – Air force version with 250 km range.
PRTIHVI III- Naval ship based launch version of PRTIHVI with 350 km range.

IAC-3 might be nuclear powered Aircraft carrier

Ajay Naik security Editorial Panel

Chinese venture in to building fleet of aircraft carrier for their naval surface fleet
might throw in different plans for Indian navy , Chinese who are already working on
a 50000 ton STOBAR carrier known has “Shi Lam”, which was earlier known has
Varyag, a unfinished Soviet air craft carrier based on Kuznetzov carrier class which
Russia currently operates .
China have plans to build four more aircraft carriers of similar class two been conven-
tional and other two been nuclear powered which will enable the Chinese navy to op-
erate its carriers far away from it home naval base ,and armed with three dozen Su-
khoi-33 or Naval J-10 variant will have enough punch to showcase its capabilities in
international waters .
While at home work on IAC-1 which has been named INS Vikrant has been under
construction for a while in Kochi which will be launched by 2012 and will be opera-
tional few years later, IAC-2 has already been told will be a CATOBAR aircraft carri-
er with 65000 ton and plans are there to operate Fixed wings aircrafts like AEW
(HAWK EYE 2D) and also ASW aircrafts.
While IAC-3 which will be launched by 2018 and to be deployed by 2025 will be re-
placement carrier for INS Vikramaditya which will only have service life of 20 to 25
years when inducted by 2012 . Recent discussion with a serving naval officer has dis-
closed that nuclear propulsion might be used to power the third aircraft carrier.

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The MMRCA Game

Pratik Sawerdekar security Editorial Panel

The word MMRCA is again making lots of noise in defense circles as the Flight evalu-
ation test report by the Indian Air Force has been submitted to the Ministry of Defense.
The report consists of some 643 test points which were determined by the IAF have been
submitted to the Ministry for approval. Old news apart, the biggest debate going around
and quite for a while now is who will win the competition and gloat around at air shows
and exhibitions. All the experts have made very good commentary on this debate; every
debate made by them has some really good points and some really serious criticism.

All the six contenders need this contract as it will determine their future. The F-16
wants to squeeze everything out of it and prove that it is still one of the best platform, the
F/A-18SH needs a big contract from outside USA to ensure its future and that of Boeing,
Rafael needs to open its export account, Typhoon needs the deal to offset its downsizing
by sponsor nations and the entire future of MiG-35 and JAS-39 Gripen depends on win-
ning the contract. MMRCA deal is not only worth a lot in terms of money but also the
competitor’s future prospects and how the world sees it post-MMRCA depends on it.

Now we know that the suppliers will do everything to win but who will India choose is
a different game all together. IAF needs a fighter which will act as stop gap measure and
prevent further force depletion. But the game is just a bit more complicated than that with
players like Transfer of technology, life cycle cost, weaponry, politics, etc. playing hard.
Now India won’t get everything it wants because it’s not possible to hit a 6 on every ball
and dismiss the entire opposition in 10 balls. Like any other captain India needs to choose
the right players and right combination to win the game in the best possible manner with-
out creating any controversy.

I have divided the winning formula into three game plans all of them should ensure
victory at certain expense.

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Game Plan 1: The best beast wins!

The first game plane is relatively simple; India should choose the best platform availa-
ble to them. In this competition the Dassault Rafael and the Eurofighter Typhoon are
probably the best beasts. Both the platforms are quite new and come with the latest in avi-
onics, self-defense systems and weaponry. Both the fighters have very good kinematic
performance and are stated to receive new AESA radars. Rafael has its SPECTRA elec-
tronic survival system and Typhoon has its advance avionics and flight control system
which are said to be best in the business. The only downside to these aircrafts is that they
are very expensive to buy.

Game Plan 2: The Political Power play

Politics is the real game changer here. More than often experts, politicians, officials
and air force personnel’s have touted this to the star player in game. Looking at the cur-
rent trend the Americans look the strongest in this area and will probably emerge victori-
ous with their F/A-18SH if the final decision is a political one. Now, the Super Hornet is a
very good fighter with deadly capabilities and the best Radar in the competition. It would
also mean that India would receive great deal of support in various fields like nuclear sci-
ence, Research and development, Military cooperation, UNSC permanent seat, etc. from
USA. The downside to this is that anything Americans sell comes with several strings at-
tached which the Indian media has put light on several times.

Game Plan 3: The L1 Policy

The third and the final game plan is L1, the lowest bidder wins. IAF wants these fighters
as a stop gap measure and they will be demoted to level 2 fighters once 5th generation
fighters start entering service which is by 2025. That means the gains of this game will
last only a decade hence it makes since to buy a reasonable capable fighters at low cost. In
this scenario the MiG-35, Gripen and the F-16IN have a good chance. All three have some
very good qualities and they are jack of rest. The MiG-35 will need less of everything as
it an upgraded version of MiG-29 with which IAF has absolutely no problem. Gripen is a
new platform like Rafael and Typhoon but is cheap, F-16 will allow IAF to understand the
threats it faces with PAF (F-16Blk-50 and JF-17) and PLAAF (J-10) having fighters with
similar or less capabilities. The downside to this will be that IAF won’t be getting any-
thing worth for long term future and need not necessarily be the sharpest knife.

Conclusion:

India has to choose the fighter keeping in mind its long term and short term objectives. If
she wants to buy the best than Rafael and Typhoon are the one to look at, if she wants to
achieve its political goals than Super Hornet is probably the best buy and if she wants to
just spend less and get the job done than MiG-35, JAS-39 Gripen and F-16 are the aircraft
which come cheap.

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India’s artillery woes:

Dinakar Peri security Editorial Panel

A fresh RFI (Request for Information) for the Indian army’s 155 mm/52 caliber towed artillery
guns was issued two months back for a record fourth time after the current ongoing process was
scrapped, signaling yet again the process going back into the never ending loop of proposals,
trails, accusations and cancellations.

There seems no end in sight to the Indian army’s artillery modernization. The ghost of Bofor’s
and corruption continue to haunt the force and the result: the army has not inducted any new
piece of artillery in the last two decades since the infamous bofor’s scandal. The 400 Bofor’s
guns bought in the 80’s are the latest in the inventory and some of them have been cannibalized
for spares to maintain the others. We just don’t seem to get over the ghost of Bofor’s and the
lackluster attitude of the government in general and the defense ministry in particular is further
pushing back things when we urgently need to augment the most potent force multiplier and area
dominating arm of the land forces.
The government is in the process of rising to new mountain divisions to be deployed in the
northeast border but the question is - where are the guns to equip them? In the event of a conflict
in the north east or in Kashmir, armored divisions will be greatly limited due to the mountainous
terrain and it’s the artillery that will play a crucial role in enabling the forward thrust by the in-
fantry which we have seen happen during the Kargil conflict. And with future conflicts being
short and swift this assumes even greater importance.
The requirement of the towed guns is about 1580 units, 400 purchased off the shelf and remain-
ing to be license produced in India. The just cancelled process was approved in 2007 and after all
the delays two short listed guns were supposed to commence field trials last month for which the
guns are in the Phokran test range when it was stalled. The reason is with one of the contender’s
ST kinetics (gun iFH 2000), Singapore being blacklisted, only BAE Systems (fielding the FH77
B05) was left in the fray, resulting in a single vendor situation and resulted in the cancellation of
the process. There is also a requirement of other types of guns as well albeit in lesser numbers
but even with them the story is no different.
The army is trying to procure 145 light guns (BAE Systems M777 lightweight howitzer) through
the direct Foreign Military Sale (FMS) route from the US for which the process is underway.
The other requirements of the army are 145 units of 155 mm/39 Caliber Ultra-Light Howitzers,
180 units of 155 mm/52 Caliber Wheeled Self Propelled Guns and 100 units of 155 mm/52 Cali-
ber Tracked Self Propelled Guns which are in different stages of cancellations and reissue. With
the process back to square one, all we can do is pray that at least this time the process will culmi-
nate on a positive note and deliver the army their much needed guns.

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Did we really reach the moon?

Neeraj Kakar security Editorial Panel

On 22nd Oct 2008, the PSLV left Sriharikota for a mission that would bring back the glo-
ry of Aryanland, glory that had been lost for over five centuries. And while various space
agencies & experts around the world were monitoring it closely, some of them were spec-
ulating that ISRO was reporting incorrect coordinates & the mission, in reality had fal-
tered. However after many complex maneuvers we proved our critics wrong & India was
in the lunar orbit & the tricolor was on the moon.

A month later a report came out where a senior F-15 pilot from the Nellis AF base had
ridiculed the capabilities of the IAF’s best aircraft. He had talked about FOD problem of
Russian engines & the uselessness of the famous Pugachev’s Cobra during the Red Flag
wargames, which reaffirmed my doubts. So I was running through news articles, defense
forums & blogs trying to prove to myself that the reports were wrong. My patriotic self
found solace in one of Vishnu Som’s article & I was able to convince myself that India
could give anyone a run for their money.

A few days later something would happen that I would start to doubt our achievements &
capabilities. I would start to question – did we really reach the moon ? .. Read on ..

I switched on the television at around 11 in the night on Wednesday, November 26, 2008
when news channels were reporting news of sporadic shooting at various places in Mum-
bai. I quickly rushed through all the different new channels, trying to collect as much in-
formation as I could. There had been a blast in Parla, & shooting was on at VT station.
And then I saw the footage that rattled me & disclosed the enormity of the situation. Ter-
rorists had taken over a police vehicle & were shooting indiscriminately while on the
move. It was as if some goons had taken over the financial Capital. The distance would
have been atleast 50 yards and the bullets hit the targets bang on, even with the Toyota
Qualis moving, that proved a point - that the men were highly

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trained. There was news on 200 hostages in the Oberoi & some more at the heritage Taj.
There had been shooting at Leopold’s.
I had worked in Mumbai in the year ‘01 –‘02 & had been a regular at Café Mondegar &
Leopold’s. In January this year I had been in Mumbai & visited Leopold’s 5-6 times .
Such was the charm of the place. And had it been a few months ago, it could have been
me, hit by an AK-47 bullet. The whole area under target was Mumbai’s pride. This Ma-
rine drive section, at any time has people who are worth more than the GDP of Pakistan.
The Taj is a place where many have dreamt & many others have seen their dreams come
true. One can never understand what Nariman point means to Mumbaikars.

It was 1:30 am when I woke up my dad who is as much a news junkie as I am & the anal-
ysis started. As we surfed across news channels, he immediately started his usual tirade
against Pakistan & how Indira Gandhi would go to war & finish up the …ds while I de-
cided to choose the ‘lets wait & get our facts right’. There was news coming in of a cou-
ple of senior police officers dying in action. And while some of the channels were still
showing the ATS chief wearing an oversize or ill designed bullet proof jacket & preparing
himself for the ordeal, some had started reporting that he has died in action. I was watch-
ing the developments minute by minute & it reminded me of the 1999 Kandhar highjack
& then out of nowhere Mr Patil appeared & mentioned in an extremely feeble voice that
the NSG was being stimulated. So with a little peace in my mind, driven by a sense of
confidence that I had on the NSG, I slept.

The next morning while I was readying for work, I switched on the TV & realized that the
encounter was still on. I was getting anxious about the outcome now. Because when the
encounter gets long drawn, even though the terrorist gets weaker, the achievement of his
mission becomes greater, especially when the whole world is watching.

The terrorist & the purpose - Terror.

I came back from office & wanted to take a break from the madness & decided to go out
for Chinese food at ‘Yangtse’ with my wife. That’s when my dad shouted at me – “make
sure you don’t go to a hotel – you know whats going on in the country !”. And he was
damn serious. So the entire country was in terror. Mission accomplished!
Two of them had been spotted at the VT station by a close circuit camera.
One of the guys wearing a Versace T- shirt. After all the global coverage this episode re-
ceived, I’m sure the issue of copyright infringement in the subcontinent is going to be dis-
cussed in the Versace boardroom. Anyways, there was something about those guys that
kept telling me ‘highly trained’, the way they moved , they way they held their guns &
one of the news channels reported that they did have some Russian M38s carbines which
is one of the best assault rifles. It looked like they had planned their mission very meticu-
lously.
On the other hand the NSG men are tough & trained. They may not be as glamorous as
the American SWAT teams but trust me they are one of the best in the world because they
have gone through one of the toughest live exercises in Kashmir. However they are still
not trained for urban battles like these. I kept wondering, how could anyone run with that
kind of a helmet, they did not have communication devices in their ears which nowadays
even nightclub owners can afford for their bouncers. Some of them had the big SLRs.
Cant we afford night vision goggles for our NSG, Are we that famished? I’m sure a coun-
try that can afford to buy a multi billion

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dollar aircraft carrier can definitely do a bit for the elite commandos of our country. The
Fidayeen & the NSG are no match. After all, the NSG guys are pulled out of the military.
The special force commandos have been chosen from our regular jawaans & armymen, &
what is inherent in them is the sense of ‘follow orders’. And that is where the enemy wins
because he is smart, he is well equipped, he is motivated, he knows the battleground and
he can change his strategy the moment he wants. Most of all he is prepared to die, with
maximum damage.

The politics of terror.

The truth of the matter is that Manmohan Singh still needs someone to write his speeches
when the country is in a war like situation & deliver it robotically on national television,
while Vasundhara Raje is still using terrorism as an election issue. The truth is that what
did the BJP do after the parliament was attacked apart from wasting a billion dollar of tax-
payer’s money by mobilizing the troops to the border & then blinking first. They were the
ones who made LeT what it is right now by releasing Masood Azhar after the Kandahar
episode. What could they do when intelligence inputs on Kargil were ignored & later eve-
rything was blamed on the IB.

I have a firm conviction - you always get the government you deserve & I’m sure anyone
who reads this is going to say “Well I don’t think India deserves such shameful govern-
ments!” Well, my friend India is not you & me, India is the people who can’t read this ar-
ticle. India is the people who choose their religion over humanity; India is about one bot-
tle of country liquor for at least 20 votes. India is the people who still marry their daugh-
ters into the same caste even if they are burnt alive. It’s a country of great divides & my
friend the ignorant India wins, because the intellectual India is too few or too comfort lov-
ing to stand in a queue & go out to vote. And we as Indians are too scared to dirty our
hands in politics. We are the selfish India & we deserve these incompetent governments.
Unsurprisingly there has been no national mourning after this incident, because they want
us to forget everything disguised as the great spirit of Mumbai or the great spirit of India
in the garb of restraint & resilience.

The world – that is still round.

But the point is, that its not a level playing field when it comes to strategic affairs. ‘Might
is right’ is the rule of the game.
LeT are termed Kashmiri freedom fighters & Al Qaeda is termed a terrorist organization.
That is what Pakistan feeds them & that is what they choose to believe in. Not because
India has a meek voice. But because it’s in US’ national interest to believe & make the
world believe in Pakistan’s version. Its the epitome of double standards. There was specu-
lation, a few weeks ago that Obama & Zardari had made a deal to continue cooperation on
the western border as long as the ‘Kashmiri cause’ was kept alive. My friend called me
from NY & he was surprised by the international attention that this crisis was grabbing.
CNN, Fox news, NBC…everyone was covering it live…round the clock & the message
that was going across was that the system just collapsed & the organizations were crip-
pled to prevent or even thwart such an attack. That investigating officers who are not fit to
run, are old & have big paunches are not left with an option other than to go into an en-
counter & lay down their lives – later termed as ‘supreme sacrifice’. Is there no concept of
first line & second line of support? Why did the ATS chief had to lead the effort without
understanding the situation.

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Until that chopper arrived over Nariman house the world was looking at a system ill
equipped for an operation that could neutralize the terrorists.
This country has a defense budget of more than 30 billion dollars a year, a small fraction
of it is sufficient to raise & maintain a good counter terrorism force.
The only other country that deals with a similar problem of terrorism & of the same inten-
sity is Israel and look at their secret service - the Mossad. They track each gram of urani-
um that gets sold in the international market to check if its routed to Iran. When ‘The Mu-
nich tragedy’ happened, over the next few years, Mossad agents went on a killing spree in
various countries hunting down the conspirators of the crime committed against them.
The only agency that impressed me during this operation in Mumbai was the MARCOS –
so swift & efficient in their operation that nobody came to know when they came, who
they were, & when they left. I am yet to see such a stealthy operation from the NSG.
Some of the other better scenes on the media were the sharp shooters on top of the Gate-
way of India. And please , equip our police with a decent tape to atleast cordon off the
area. But what surprises me is the kind of recce done by the terrorists. They had the entire
map of the area. A detailed map of the Taj hotel, they knew in which rooms the Brits were
staying & that Nariman house had a majority of Israelis including a rabbi.
And just because we buy military equipment from Israel does not mean we are their allies,
India has always had good relations with Mr Arafat and has never mediated a solution in
someone’s favor unlike the Americans. Yet we have been tagged !

The moment of truth – The RAW angle

Alright now, if all of you are done with ‘India is a great peace loving nation’ & ‘Pakistan
is an …ole’ or ‘militants are heartless’ & ‘soldiers are brave souls laying down their lives
for us’. My dear ladies & gentlemen embrace yourself for the truth. And I am going to say
it only once, so listen very carefully. It is just a game that different secret agencies keep
playing with each other…& they are just trying to beat the other one in the game. That is
their job and they do it well !
With the Taliban going down in Afghanistan, Pakistan’s ISI is slowly losing control over
Afghanistan’s drug money. On the other hand RAW is gaining ground along with the Kar-
zai govt, Northern alliance & the US. During the days of the Mujahedeen the ISI regulars
were a part of the Taliban, many of them had fought against the northern alliance & they
just couldn't digest non Pashtuns taking control of Kabul. As a result of many ‘unknowns’
in Afghanistan the Indian embassy was bombed on July 8th, 2008. Some of the very senior
officers of RAW, IB & the military attaché of the ranks of colonel & brigadier were
killed. It was just too much for the RAW to gulp & in little time they organized the bomb-
ing of JW Marrriot in Islamabad in which many foreigners were killed & the complete fa-
çade went down. It killed whatever business, tourism and cricket that was left in Pakistan.

At any time the ISI has many fidayeens available for operations. So its just a question of
instructions & ‘prepone’ orders on one of their plans. Of course Dawood has no option
but to help on logistics & planning – who knows colaba more than him & the LeT is more
than happy to internationalize the Kashmir cause.

So what happened on Oct 26th was in retaliation to the Marriot bombing. Now, if you
want you can keep on blaming the politicians, Pakistanis, the LeT, the Americans running
for oil & cleansing Muslim governments in the process, or the Jews creating a mess in the
middle east. But know it for sure that we are as much responsible for it as anybody else.

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Everyone wants to spy on the other, so places like Afghanistan & Tajikistan are important
for their strategic significance, everyone wants oil & everyone wants others not to lay
hands on ‘that’ oil. It’s all connected. It’s a conflict of interests that each country has with
the other. If you think coast lines can be made impermeable, you are going to try in vain.
Most of us are fed on anti Pakistan propaganda by our media. We never come to know
what we do in Afghanistan, or who fuels the balochis or who funds the MQM. Of course
it is us. We created the LTTE & it came back to bite us. The same is happening with Paki-
stan as well. Poor Zardari didn’t even believe when it happened in Mumbai, cus he didn’t
know about it. He still doesn’t know much. Maybe Musharraf knows more than he does.
We have a lawless neighbor, so we need to be better prepared. But don’t think it will pre-
vent all attacks or we will be able to secure our borders or coast line. It is thousands of
nautical miles of coastline. No coast guard is competent to secure it. Borders can never be
impermeable. With all the money that the Americans have, they couldn’t secure the Mexi-
can border, billions of dollars of cocaine is brought in every year despite all efforts.
So we can simply try, so that at least we can say ‘we tried’. And we should be better pre-
pared because I hope not, but it will happen again, its just a matter of time.

The Media
This is clearly by far the most widely covered incident of terror in the recent past.
And even though media has done a great job in covering it, journalists have risked their
lives & done beyond what was expected. But it was all for footage & TRP. I would not
categorize them better than the politicians because I found them fighting like dogs over a
piece of news. Whereas the coverage of Times Now has been remarkable, they never
failed to mention the ‘exclusivity’ of the pictures or the news. At the end of the operation,
it was utter chaos when JK Dutt was addressing the news persons. At one occasion they
were asked by NSG chief not to show live pictures because the terrorists could have ac-
cess to information being aired. Couldn’t they have done that themselves as ethics, or
couldn’t the government have enforced at least that. Vilasrao Deskhmukh looked so con-
fused at that moment. There needs to be a fedral agency which takes control during such a
situation because neither the politicians are prepared for such decisions nor the law en-
forcement agencies are prepared for such action.

And I don’t understand why everyone’s favorite NDTV reporter gets so hysterical & gets
more dramatic than is required. Few people know that during Kargil she was pulled up, as
her broadcasts were giving away our positions to the enemy. And this time again I saw po-
lice shouting at her to keep away from the Hertiage Taj after the operation was over. It
was surprising to see a journalist of her stature not know the difference between a rescue
worker & a guy from forensics. And others couldn’t even get the brand of vehicle, while
some said its a ‘mahindra bolero’ others said ‘jeep’ & some said ‘tata sumo’ whereas it
was a Toyota quails which was hijacked by the terrorists. They just know how to shout
with their microphoness poked into their faces & all that concerns them are TRPs. While
all news channels were still taking commercial breaks & helping P&G sell soaps & sham-
poos in the middle of this chaos, the only factual & unbiased piece of reporting was com-
ing from the BBC.
The concept of ‘breaking news’ had started some 10-15 years ago, it was supposed to be
some news which brings the country to a halt. Something like Mrs Gandhi’s death. Or the
breaking out of Gulf war. And today when Amitabh falls sick, it still is breaking news for
many news channels.

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The question, and the solution – or the lack of it.

But one good thing in disguise is that the incident has brought all of us together & we are
putting questions & thinking of solutions. For the first time in life I realized that Sanjana
Kapoor has more to herself than the Prithvi theatre. As she spoke on NDTV, she made a
lot of sense to me. However Shobha De was very well confronted by Jayanti Natrajan.
Jayanti was right - who can know more about terrorism than Sonia Gandhi herself who
lost her husband to it. The change of power in Islamabad has just begun & Zardari may
have good intentions – However it needs a change in the ideology of a nation, a change in
the social setup of Pakistan, a setup that has taken deep roots in the last 60 years. That
change will come, & it had just started happening with an elected leadership in Pakistan -
one who understood that they had more to gain from India than they could lose. But this
act of terrorism has come at a really bad time. Unfortunately India does not have the guts
to invade that country & tell them that ‘if you can’t put your house in order, then we will’.
If a country has nuclear weapons there isn’t much that you can do against it except eco-
nomic pressure via international sanctions. But in the current situation if that happens it
will do nothing but weaken the Pakistani economy, pushing more commoners to take up
the cause of Jehad.

In the midst of all this confusion – I question myself – did we really reach the moon ? Cus
the state of affairs in this country doesn’t say so.

Article was written on the backdrop of 26/11 Mumbai Attacks

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AMCA/NGFA (Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft

or Next Generation Fighter Aircraft)
Sujit Kulkarni security Editorial Panel

India, one of the world’s brightest emerging technical superpowers – currently, the sev-
enth biggest nation in terms of land area, and the second biggest in terms of population is
preparing to make a major military leap forward. It will be flying its own indigenous
stealth, fifth generation fighter aircraft soon.
The last decade of the twentieth century Indian Aeronautical Development agency is
working on this crucial project with the help of DRDO (Defense Research Development
Organization). ADA has been constantly in touch with Indian Air Force and gathering all
their requirements.
The new fighter is a so-called "AMCA – Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft" . Currently
only wind tunnel testing model is available which displayed at the Aero India 2009. Be-
lieves it will take 10 years to develop the aircraft. It also released further details on the
twin-engine design, which will incorporate stealth features.
India's Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) has begun talks with the Indian air
force to involve the service in the design for its proposed medium combat aircraft (MCA),
and hopes to put forward a plan in a few years to secure government funding for detailed
studies.
"In India, we have a fighter aircraft design team that comprises officials from various de-
partments. It was formed to work on the Tejas light combat aircraft, and it makes sense for
them to move on to a new fighter design after completing that," says P S Subramanyam,
programme director (combat aircraft) at the ADA, which oversees design and develop-
ment of the Tejas. "We are engaging the air force on the MCA and finding out about their
requirements."

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The Medium Combat Aircraft (MCA) is a twin-engined 5th generation stealth multirole
fighter being developed by India. It will complement the HAL Tejas, the Sukhoi/HAL
FGFA and the Sukhoi Su-30MKI and the as yet undecided MRCA in the Indian Air Force.
The main purpose of this aircraft is to replace the aging SEPECAT Jaguar & MiG-27. De-
sign work on the MCA has been started.

Development

In August 2006, India's then defence minister Mr. Pranab Mukherjee announced in Parlia-
ment that the government is evaluating experiences gained from the Tejas programme for
the MCA.
In October 2008, the Indian Air Force asked the Aeronautical Development Agency
(ADA) to prepare a detailed project report on the development of a Medium Combat Air-
craft (MCA) incorporating stealth features.

In February 2009, ADA director P.S Subramanyam said at a Aero-India 2009 seminar, that
they are working closely with Indian Air Force to develop a Medium Combat Aircraft. He
added that according to the specification provided by the Indian Air Force, it would be a
twin-engine aircraft powered by the GTX Kaveri Engine in the twenty ton category.

Design

The design of MCA will be different from the HAL Tejas. The airframe will be designed
for a very small radar cross-section. The aircraft may feature serpentine shaped air-intakes
and horizontal stabilizers.
A twin-engine design using the GTX Kaveri engine with thrust vectoring is proposed to
allow the aircraft supercruise capabilities. The design intent is to carry weapons internally,
hence increasing stealth. The twin engine MCA will weigh 19-20 tonnes. A wind-tunnel
testing model of the MCA airframe was seen at Aero-India 2009.

Features

The Medium Combat Aircraft has been shaped for low radio observability. It will carry an
internal weapons bay. It would feature supercruise and thrust vectoring capabilities. Large
amounts of composites and other materials will be used for enhancing stealth features.The
aircraft will also feature Integrated Modular Avionics and Data fusion capabilities. Its avi-
onics will be specially designed for complete situational awareness, pilot decision aid and
aircraft management. It will have advanced sensors and Net-centric warfare capabilities.
The aircraft will be equipped with missiles like DRDO Astra and other future advanced
missiles, stand-off weapons and precision weapons.

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Advanced Technologies

Airframe

The aircraft has a serpentine shaped air-intake. It will have an internal weapons bay. The air-
frame is specially designed for stealth and extreme maneuverability. It will also feature advanced
radomes.

Propulsion

The aircraft's power plant will be the GTX Kaveri, an advanced version of the Kaveri Engine
featuring thrust vectoring, supercruise and a very low infrared signature.

Aero-Flight Dynamics

The aircraft will have the capability of internal weapon release in supersonic flight. It will have
high asymmetry controls and a re-configurable control system

Stealth

The airframe would feature radar absorbing composites and paints. The airframe has been spe-
cially designed for low radar cross-section. The aircraft would also have an on-board Micro-
Electro-Mechanical system
Avionics

The aircraft will feature Integrated Modular Avionics and Data fusion capabilities. It will have a
decision support system to aid the pilot and advanced sensors. It will also feature Flush Confor-
mal Antenna and pods in addition to advanced communication and Net centric warfare capabili-
ties.
LCA is the learning curve for Indian scientists; they have learned from the ground up and created
the building blocks necessary for aircraft building process. So the MCA will cause a little less
problem (Hopefully)
The best thing about the MCA would be to fix a time frame for the work to start and the aim
should be to finish the work within the stipulated time. It’s difficult for defense matters to follow
such fixed timetable but would be great if India manages to do so.
We hope that the IAF doesn't make the mistakes it made the first time around for the LCA, by
simply stating its requirements and then not doing any Project Management at all.
If this project has to succeed, it requires that the customer, IAF and the DRDO's R&D establish-
ments, the program management house, ADA and the production house, HAL will need close
synergy. Closely tracking developments in this program will give the IAF a feeling of ownership
for the NGFA, something it lacked sorely till recently for the LCA where they were detached and
simply thought of it was a tech demonstrator that would eventually die out. And from the per-
spective of ADA/DRDO/HAL, it will give them insights into operational requirements, IAF's
technical expertise and any changes to the ASRs required will be communicated quickly instead
of being done after the design has begun.

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Star Wars VII - The KALI strikes back

Neeraj Kakar security Editorial Panel

Source: weaponsblog.org

In January 2009, the Brahmos Army version was undergoing a specific user scenario test
which failed. The missile overshot its target by a few kilometers.
No one ever knew what parameters were getting checked & what exactly went wrong.
The media cover up was that the missile failed to detect its target in a simulated urban en-
vironment with similar target decoys scattered at close proximity. But it was widely spec-
ulated in defense forums that the Americans had sniffed the test in advance & had selec-
tively turned off the GPS in the test area, talk about the good old American gift - 'to Rus-
sia with love'. This has led to India's interest in having its own GPS system the GAGAN/
IRNSS after talks failed, for India to be a part of the Russian GLONASS and the EU's
'Galileo'. Reportedly, the recent Brahmos tests with GLONASS receivers have been suc-
cessful and it’s an important direction towards removing dependency on American GPS.

The modern economies & their armed forces in particular are heavily dependent on satel-
lites. Reconnaissance imagery, communication via satellite phones, target co-ordinates for
missiles launched by land, fighter aircrafts or ships, everything needs an input from the
satellite in one way or the other.

Imagine a war theatre in 2050, it is definitely not going to be on the land, air or sea.
It will be in space. In January 2007 China shocked the world by shooting down one of its
satellites 500 miles away from earth. This has sent the men in Pentagon in a tizzy as the
Americans are more satellite or network centric (read dependent) than anyone else.
Consider what China can do if it knocks out 10 or 20 of America's most important mili-
tary transponders in space. Forget about missiles missing their targets & F-16 pilots ask-
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for manual co-ordinates from the local ATC, there would be no DTH TV and the F-22
would fall out of sky like a stone. The outcome is unimaginable chaos. I believe, with al-
most everyone having the N-bomb nowadays, thanks to AQ Khan, the next most powerful
weapon will be a country's capability to knock out the adversary's satellites. This will also
be the most potent deterrent in the years to come. It’s the 21st century 'Little Boy' that can
bring a superpower to its knees.

Assuming CAG keeps doing a good job and the DRDO restructuring goes well, coupled
with an 8% GDP growth, assuming ISRO/DRDO are exempted from international sanc-
tions and technological apartheid; come 2025, and DRDO would present to the Indian
armed forces the weaponized KALI - Kilo Ampere Linear Injector or the kinetic attack
loitering interceptor. The Kali is a BARC-DRDO project started in 1985. Kali in simple
terms is an electron injector. The electron beam is further concentrated to form a high en-
ergy EM ray. It is a high power X-ray/Microwave gun which can blast a missile or a satel-
lite. The latest form of KALI is the Kali-5000 which can produce beams as strong as 40
GW, which is good enough to vaporize or cause extensive damage to electronic gadgetry.
However currently at 26 tons, it is too heavy to be weaponized, it is too power hungry and
needs a lot of recharge time.

The US already has been running the Kinetic Energy Anti-Satellite (KE-ASAT) program,
funded by approx. $50 Mil yearly, and the Chinese have the ASAT program. The Chinese,
however, have been much more innovative. They are speculated to have created the satel-
lite suicide bomber, it is a 'parasitic' microsatellite or a Nano-satellite that attaches itself to
a bigger satellite and then detonates itself on Beijing's instruction. It is a new age predator
beyond anyone's imagination.

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Space war capability is generally categorized as Space situational awareness, Defensive

counter space, and Offensive counter space.
A major component of SSA involves collecting intelligence of the adversary's space oper-
ations. DSC involves attack detection, identification & reporting. A simple example of
Offensive counter space is the capability to pre-emptively take out enemy satellites break-
ing the backbone of its defenses. So where does India stand. DSC efforts are already
on but what enhances the capability of DSC is effective SSA. And that is where India
needs to do more. In the next decade ISRO's capabilities in this area have to be leveraged.
GAGAN and CARTOSAT are just the first baby steps in this direction.

There is also unconfirmed news of the Indian DURGA - directionally unrestricted ray-gun
array, which is a miniaturized KALI, a space based laser interceptor. It means that India is
progressing from Space Situational Awareness to defensive & offensive counter
space. Putting it in perspective, there are times when an idea or a vision can put you ahead
of the others in the race even if you are trailing by leaps. Converting ISRO’s Space situa-
tional Awareness into Defensive counter space is the present day opportunity which needs
to be grabbed. Where MoD spends 60 Billion USD annually on aircraft carriers & fifth
generation fighters, just a few extra bucks on this program can get itself a UN permanent
seat offered on a platter. Its bigger than the Surya, bigger than the BMD, it’s the KALI !!

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Super Carrier required for BrahMos

Vinayak Shetty security Editorial Panel

First test fired almost a decade ago in rainy days of June 2001 then project know PJ-10 ,
has come a long way , Worlds first Anti-ship Supersonic cruise missile designed to take
out an aircraft carrier made the world sit and notice its capability , BrahMos Missile pro-
ject has added great power punch to Indian armed forces attack capability and it has bene-
fited Indian Navy the most since it will provide great punch to knockout enemy surface
fleet and also vital sea shore based installations and development of BrahMos Mk-II for
Indian Army will help Army take out high valuable enemy target in case of war .
Biggest disappointing has been Air force version; BrahMos Corporation had suggested in
mid-2004-5 that Sukhoi su-30MKI will be able to carry three Air launched BrahMos,
while many at that time had taken this reports with pinch of salt since each BrahMos
weights 3 tons in weight and carrying three even by Heavy class Sukhoi-30 mki could
have put high level of stress to the airframe.
Since then better Sense seems to have prevailed and only one BrahMos was decided to be
integrated , but the question remains is Sukhoi Su 30 MKI the right platform to carry 2.5
ton BrahMos Missile ?? , well Sukhoi Su 30 will need special modification and strength-
ening of airframe and most likely less than 40 aircrafts will be modified to carry BrahMos
under its belly ,this mean not all aircrafts can carry Brahmos , so this will also limit future
BrahMos -2 carrier limited to only forty so aircrafts .
Canberra Type aircraft scaled up by 30 to 35 % could have been perfect for the job to car-
ry this massive missiles that to in good 3 to 4 in numbers, better aircraft could have been
Tu-16 which Soviets have long retired but carbon copies are still manufactured in China
and still used has a Cruise missile platform by their air force.
India which does not operate any aircraft in this class now, can work on modified Turbo-
jet RTA-90 version with a bomb bay of three meters in diameters and ten meters in length
could accommodate at least three BrahMos, RTA-90 might be considered by many read-
ing my article has least likely aircraft for the job but it could be a great “Juggad “ for Indi-
an Air force and save valuable airframe life’s our prime Air superiority fighter air-
craft ,since even Russians have no plans for such arrangements even in their Various Su-
khoi platforms they operate .
New BrahMos Carrier Aircraft could do the job much better than MKI ,since it will be
able to carry more missiles in single sortie and been in internal carriage will put less stress
on the aircrafts airframe which are any way designed to carry such massive payload . Lo-
cally modifying the aircraft will also be cheaper and also can be air launch platform for
other missiles like BrahMos -2 and Nirbhay.

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Strategic Long Bombers : Mission Accom-

plished .

NJS security Editorial Panel

The Long range aerospace power of today’s air force is a potent force deterrence of
both conventional and nuclear conflict, long range bombers platforms are able to
Conventionally destroy multiple target per sortie. Creating desired effects at the stra-
tegic operational and tactical levels simultaneously .

If we compare major super power’s in world like US and Russia has major role in it,
for ex ., B-52 , B-1 and B-2 is considered to be backbone of US air force for Longer
range strategic Operations , on other hand Russia the former Soviet union has large
arsenal of long Range strategic bombers like Tu-95 bear , Tu-22 M3 Backfire ,Tu-160
Blackjack for its Nuclear and conventional role. The Tu-160 is also significantly larg-
er and faster than the B-1B and has a greater combat range with 7,300 km along with
service ceiling 49,200 ft and maximum speed of Mach 2.05 .

As per report Twenty B-2s are operated by the USAF . which is "low observable"
stealth technology designed to penetrate dense anti-aircraft defenses , B-2s were first
used in combat to drop bombs on Serbia during the Kosovo War and US also contin-
ued in Iraq and Afghanistan wars .
As per India which has many powerful neighbors on boarder side ,which need de-
cent volume of longer range bombers , but has only 4 nos Tu-22 M3 backfire for
Land attack purpose , which has been rented from Russia in year 2004 from its instant
stockpile . These bombers are totally different from normal fighter jets could be used
for more longer range with better payload for guided /unguided weapons to strike
deep inside enemy territory . Some official news also confirms

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china is already manufacturing massive nos of Tu 22 m3 backfire version for its airforce /
Naval purpose with 100 % Transfer of Technology from Russia .

India already ordered 8 nos of P8I Poseidon long range ship / Submarine attack Naval
based Aircraft from Boeing to replace its old Russian Naval bombers , As for Airforce
we Still Need more Land attack bombers like Tu-160 Blackjack which is considered to be
superior to other Strategic Bombers . India should
Realize the need of Strategic bombers incase of war (period) against Red Giant .

Digg Well before the “Kingdom Under Fire” .

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Conventional Submarines: Their new found role

Dinakar Peri security Editorial Panel

The strategic role submarines play in a conflict is an often repeated statement and in the
larger sense it is nuclear powered submarines (SSN) that have long overshadowed the
conventional submarines (SSK) in their size, endurance, range and every other aspect.
But, with recent advances in technology conventional diesel electric submarines have
evolved into potent platforms on par with their nuclear counterparts and even exceeding
them in some abilities. The increased threat to coastal security, recently expanded exclu-
sive economic zones of all states and changing nature of maritime roles have also contrib-
uted to the renewed demand for SSKs which are the ideal platforms because of the ease
with which they can operate in littoral waters for patrolling or protecting off shore oil rigs,
preventing piracy etc. The recent spurt in ocean piracy and also the tentacles of terrorism
extending to the sea have forced . They also come at a fraction of the cost of SSNs which
are too expensive to maintain and operate for such roles.

The foremost thing is SSKs are small in size displacing few thousand tons whereas SSNs
are over 10,000 tons. This is their biggest limitation and in turn affecting all other parame-
ters like range, armament and so on. While nuclear propulsion gives virtually unlimited
endurance to SSNs, their only limitation being the endurance of the crew, diesel electric
submarines have lot of shortfalls with their diesel generators and fuel cells. They have to
surface periodically for oxygen for the crew and to recharge their batteries and release the
exhaust from their diesel engines which makes them vulnerable to anti submarine plat-
forms. Even the armament of SSK’s was very limited but modern ones have a diverse ar-
ray of weapons. Apart from torpedoes and mines they are capable of launching long range
land attack cruise missiles. For instance all kilo class subs (Sindhu class) of the Indian na-
vy are being equipped with 300km range Club-S cruise missiles.

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Traditionally, the SSKs single biggest disadvantage was their frequent need to surface to
recharge batteries. The invention of the snorkel greatly reduced this problem, because
with it the sub can recharge batteries while sailing at periscope depth. Apart from that the
greatest development is the air-independent propulsion system (AIP), which allows in-
creased submerged endurance. Thereby it enhances survivability during transit to the op-
erating area or when moving to attack. The top submerged speed of most modern SSKs is
not more than 20 knots, but they can sail at that speed for only few hours. Long range and
endurance are not as important for submarines operating in the littorals as for those de-
ployed on the open ocean or needing to transit long distances. Nevertheless, modern SSKs
are capable of transiting long distances at relatively low speed and on the surface. Their
submerged range is measured in several hundred nautical miles (nm). For example, the
German Type 212A’s have a range of 8,000 nm at 8 knots on the surface, or 420 nm at 8
knots submerged. Their endurance is about 30 days. Type 214s have a maximum range of
12,000 nm at a speed of 9 knots. They can sail at the submerged speed between 16 and 20
-plus knots for a few hours several times during a 50-day mission. An SSK can transit to
the prospective operating area by using batteries or snorkeling. Once there it can use AIP
for long, submerged, quiet patrols at low speed. Type 212A submarines can sail sub-
merged by using AIP for about 15 days. However, an AIP SSK still has the need, from
time to time, to come to snorkel depth to take on oxygen for its crew. Nevertheless, AIP
technology is evolving rapidly, and some experts predict, for example, that the power out-
put of a typical fuel cell module could well double or triple in the next several years, al-
lowing an even more advantageous trade-off between underwater speed and endurance.

In this context, the Indian Navy wants the last 3 scorpion submarines to include DCN’s
MESMA air-independent propulsion (AIP) systems, changing them from CM-2000 to
AM-2000 Scorpion designation. The MESMA anaerobic system will change the Scorpi-
on's ability to operate underwater for sustained periods without having to surface. An AM-
2000 is still not in the same league as SSN nuclear subs which can do this indefinitely, but
it is a substantial improvement that reduces the need to surface frequently. A CM-2000
Scorpion can operate underwater for 4-6 days without surfacing or snorkeling to get oxy-
gen to recharge its batteries. An AM-2000 Scorpion, in contrast, will be able to operate for
up to 18 days, depending on variables like speed, etc. Incidentally, the Indian navy has
shelved plans for BrahMos vertical launchers and instead opted for AIP modules to be in-
corporated in the last three scorpions.
Conventional diesel-electric submarines have definitely evolved as potent platforms rival-
ing their nuclear peers and can be devastating in well trained and experienced hands.

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Relevance of aircraft carriers in the twenty first

century! What it means to India?
Dinakar Peri security Editorial Panel

The fact that carriers are operated by very few countries across the globe shows the cost
and complexity of operating them. Any country needs exceptional scientific and engineer-
ing skills to build and operate and of course the economic muscle to afford and maintain
them. Currently, there is a debate raging across US strategic and defense policy circles
(US navy operates 11 super carriers, more than the rest of the world put together), about
the logic of building and operating large aircraft carriers along with the aircraft and com-
plement of ships which runs into billions of dollars when the large size makes it vulnera-
ble in the era of increased sophistication of conventional diesel electric subs (SSK) with
AIP (air independent propulsion) and proliferation of long range anti-ship missiles. And
with news of a new Chinese long range anti-ship ballistic missile based on DF-21/CSS-5
(1500km plus range) being touted as a game changer in the Asia-pacific region has added
to demands from various quarters to invest more in trident submarines armed with toma-
hawk cruise missiles than on flattops.

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The logic behind the argument is that, the money can be spent to buy additional littoral
combat ships (LCS), submarines, UCAVs etc and can be bought in large numbers. As is
said, “Till now, in any crisis US presidents used to ask “Where are our carriers”? but in
the 21st century they will say “Where are the tridents?”. So, what does all this mean to In-
dia? That is when we are contemplating to have three carriers and a force structure cen-
tered around two carrier strike groups.

The great Chinese strategist, Sun Tzu once said: “The best way to win a war is to never
have started one in the first place”. The statement speaks for itself and is more than apt for
India – a country that has not invaded another country in the last 10,000 years of its histo-
ry and with growing threats and insecurity in the subcontinent. And to do that we need a
strong deterrence which sends a message to our adversaries and make them rethink their
transgressions and belligerent designs. A carrier is one such platform. From the second
World War till date carriers have time and again proved their influence both during war
and peace and also their ability to change the tide of war. The carrier is the largest mobile
military platform ever built in history and is our four acres of sovereign space outside the
main land. A carrier with its complement of ships and planes can project power like noth-
ing else and can change the course of battle as witnessed in the past in the Falkland wars
and now in Afghanistan. During the 1971 Bangladesh liberation war, INS Vikrant de-
ployed in Bay of Bengal near Bangladesh did a commendable job in cutting off sea sup-
plies and prevented Pakistani vessels from approaching the shore. Large oversized carri-
ers may be a strain on the budget but small to medium carriers can play a pivotal role in
enhancing the prestige of the nation. Technology keeps advancing and its true for both
measures and counter measures. For instance, when the U-boats came in during the world
war the surface ships still went on and so did they when naval aviation came into exist-
ence. Targeting a carrier in the open sea requires extreme level of sophistication. For any
missile, the speed and accuracy notwithstanding, it’s still highly tricky to target a moving
platform in the vast open sea. That requires precise and highly realistic intelligence from
sensors and space based assets. The carrier and the complement have their own counter
measures and in the Indian context, the Mig-29K aircraft onboard INS Vikramaditya or
the soon to be inducted indigenous carriers can take care of targets hundreds of miles
away.

There is also a new SAM under development by DRDO with Israeli cooperation to re-
place the Barak missiles presently installed on naval ships. In fact, a ballistic missile is
relatively easier to shoot down which have a fixed trajectory than cruise missiles which
are highly maneuverable and terrain hugging. We also have our own potent weapon in our
arsenal, our very own BrahMos which is actually proven and is operationally deployed.

Ironically, while the western countries are pruning their defense spending and contemplat-
ing a cut in their carrier plans, Asian countries China, India and Japan are going in full
steam to put in place formidable carrier groups by the end of next decade. The Chinese
are going ahead in full swing with their carrier dreams and plan to center their force
around two nuclear powered carrier battle groups and the Japanese have recently revised
their policy and expressed their desire to field full fledged aircraft carriers unlike the heli-
copter carriers they currently operate. Thus, carriers with their support fleet are a force to
reckon with and pretty relevant and essential in the twenty first century and will continue
to project power into the foreseeable future.

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E-ZONE

BLACK SQUADRON
Introduction

This is story based on Two ex IAF pilots inducted into a Black Squadron flying EW ver-
sion of NGFA , operated by our intelligence agencies ,is story is based in the year 2020
this is totally fractious characters and events which never have taken place or likely to
take place , this story is brain child of Vinayak Shetty , and totally his imagination . This
is done to keep interest in magazine and also for Entertainment purpose only

Plot

Story involves two Serving IAF Sukhoi Su 30 pilots who are kicked out IAF due to an in-
cident ,which will be revealed in first episode and how they are approached by nonexist-
ence Squadron operated by our Intelligence agency and it will cover their adven-
ture ,missions, and other things they are made to do when flying in this “ BLACK
SQUADRON “.

Next Month we will carry the first Episode , to keep viewers interaction at maximum , we
are letting viewers suggest names of the pilots and also squadron they were operating be-
fore been kicked out , and also reason of they been kicked out , they can also send mis-
sions and operations they are likely going to conduct in future episodes.

Any one Good in Photoshop or Corel Draw can also design a Electronic warfare based
NGFA based on Pak-FA , and Squadron patches for the Pilots

We are proud to announce the name of the first episode

DRAGONS CAVE
(Spoilers : Mission Inside Chinese territory)

Please send your suggestions and art work ,stories to

Idrw.org@gmail.com

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