The reaction of our neighbours China and
Pakistan to US President Barack Obama’s visit to India underscores the
dangers posed by these two to India and the Asia-Pacific region. The
collusion between Beijing, Islamabad and Pongyang in the horizontal
proliferation of nuclear weapons and the means of delivery has created a
bulwark from behind which Pakistan-trained terrorists have tried to sap
the strengths of both India and the US. It reveals that the kernel of
the China-Pak geostrategic relationship is based largely on the use of
terrorist ‘non-state actors’. In its ‘all-weather’ support to Pakistan,
China is also bolstering to the hilt the use of Islamic fundamentalist
jihadi terrorists as tools of state policy.
This conjunction of the nuclear,
conventional and sub-conventional methods of warfare has stoked fears in
the region that they will provoke a two-front war against India to
satisfy a craving for an overland connection between China’s Pacific
Ocean seaboard and the Arabian Sea over illegally held territory that
belonged to the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir acceded to
India. It also highlights the new hegemonic aspirations in the Indian
Ocean region. It is in this context that this year’s biannual Aero India
exposition acquires special significance for creation of the
wherewithal within India for an aerospace defence capable of sustaining
two-front war on the India-Pakistan and India-China frontiers and Pak /
China-inspired machinations in the hinterland.
The new BJP-led government has sought to clear the logjam in the acquisition of new generations of fighter-bombers to replace the ageing and obsolescent MiG family of Russia-built aircraft that helped defend India successfully in the 1965 and 1971 Wars with Pakistan. It is now time to look two decades ahead at what should be India’s posture in the aerospace domain. That is what the DSA in this issue has sought to do. The Republic Day parade highlighted the current capabilities, including the air display by US supplied medium-lift C-130J Super Hercules, the heavy-lift C-17 Globemaster and P8I maritime reconnaissance and strike aircraft and the Russian Sukhoi deep penetration strike aircraft all of which have a very specific China orientation and can handle Pakistan collaterally.
The accent of air power in the coming decades will be on acquisition of fifth generation-plus fighter-bombers and the ability to reach into the Chinese heartland if necessary. This entails the upgradation of not only the air power infrastructure of the Air Force, Army and Navy but also the flexible deployment facilities for the Paramilitary forces like the Border Security Force, the Central Reserve Police Force and Indo-Tibetan Border Police. So in a way the upcoming Aero India 2015 will create more value addition to the procurement process in lieu of the announcement of 49 per cent FDI in Defence by the current government and all the major manufacturers of the aero products and technologies around the world will be participating.
This edition is dedicated to the Aero India 2015 show and you will find many, research-based articles by the experts on all aspects of air power which make this edition a very special one. DSA has the privilege of publishing an interview with the Deputy Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal SBP Sinha in this edition. Under a new DSA feature titled ‘Know The Chief’ we present a complete profile of our Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha, his great career graph and his achievements.
This edition also carries Pre-budget Musings by renowned subject experts. With the announcement of defence budget round the corner, this is an integral aspect that needs meticulous scrutiny of its strengths and weaknesses. It is an exercise in explaining the crux of national security planning and the means and sapience of achieving the required Defence capabilities. I am sure that these articles will open new ways and provide insights to develop a robust defence budget of India considering the shortfalls and the challenges that our Defence forces are facing.
The new BJP-led government has sought to clear the logjam in the acquisition of new generations of fighter-bombers to replace the ageing and obsolescent MiG family of Russia-built aircraft that helped defend India successfully in the 1965 and 1971 Wars with Pakistan. It is now time to look two decades ahead at what should be India’s posture in the aerospace domain. That is what the DSA in this issue has sought to do. The Republic Day parade highlighted the current capabilities, including the air display by US supplied medium-lift C-130J Super Hercules, the heavy-lift C-17 Globemaster and P8I maritime reconnaissance and strike aircraft and the Russian Sukhoi deep penetration strike aircraft all of which have a very specific China orientation and can handle Pakistan collaterally.
The accent of air power in the coming decades will be on acquisition of fifth generation-plus fighter-bombers and the ability to reach into the Chinese heartland if necessary. This entails the upgradation of not only the air power infrastructure of the Air Force, Army and Navy but also the flexible deployment facilities for the Paramilitary forces like the Border Security Force, the Central Reserve Police Force and Indo-Tibetan Border Police. So in a way the upcoming Aero India 2015 will create more value addition to the procurement process in lieu of the announcement of 49 per cent FDI in Defence by the current government and all the major manufacturers of the aero products and technologies around the world will be participating.
This edition is dedicated to the Aero India 2015 show and you will find many, research-based articles by the experts on all aspects of air power which make this edition a very special one. DSA has the privilege of publishing an interview with the Deputy Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal SBP Sinha in this edition. Under a new DSA feature titled ‘Know The Chief’ we present a complete profile of our Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha, his great career graph and his achievements.
This edition also carries Pre-budget Musings by renowned subject experts. With the announcement of defence budget round the corner, this is an integral aspect that needs meticulous scrutiny of its strengths and weaknesses. It is an exercise in explaining the crux of national security planning and the means and sapience of achieving the required Defence capabilities. I am sure that these articles will open new ways and provide insights to develop a robust defence budget of India considering the shortfalls and the challenges that our Defence forces are facing.
Jai Hind!
