october-november 2015, vol 8 issue 2 the battle of saragarhi imaj gen dhruv c katoch 32 regional...

OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2015, VOL 8 ISSUE 2 www.salute.co.in

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INDIAN AIR FORCE

LOOKING INTO THE FUTURE

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04DEFENCE PREPAREDNESS FINALLY LOOKING UP IMaj Gen Dhruv C Katoch

05NATIONAL WAR MEMORIAL I Lt Gen Sudhir Sharma

06THE STRATEGICALLY AGILE IAF IN THE NEXT GENERATIONI Air Marshal Sumit Mukerji

10THE TEJAS: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE IAir Marshal Philip Rajkumar

14PEOPLE’S LIBERATION ARMY AIR FORCE (PLAAF) Vs.INDIAN AIR FORCE (IAF) I Air Marshal V.K. Jimmy Bhatia

19NEW TECHNOLOGY AND MILITARY I AVM A.K. Tiwari

22TRAINING A SOLDIER PILOT: 5th GENERATION IAVM Amit Aneja

24SMART PRISONS – AN ESSENTIAL NEED IN CHANGINGTIMES I Parag Agarwal

25AN APPRAISAL OF CIVIL MILITARY RELATIONS IN THEBACKDROP OF THE ’65 WAR I Gen Ved Malik and ProfessorGautam Sen

29THE BATTLE OF SARAGARHI I Maj Gen Dhruv C Katoch

32REGIONAL ENVIRONMENT

34News

31SOLDIER OF FORTUNE: The Untold Special Forces Story ICol Subin Balakrishnan34News

[email protected] >> October-November 2015 >> SALUTE TO THE INDIAN SOLDIER 03

37RAISINA HILLS I Lt Col Anil Bhat

38VETERANS ALERT I Hony Capt Baldev Singh

39BOOK REVIEW I Lt Col Anil Bhat

40THAI RED CURRY I Aditi Pathak

41THE ITALIAN CONNECTION I Col Vijay Gidh

42BOOK REVIEW: THE MONSOON WAR I Maroof Raza

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EDITOR’S NOTE

SALUTE TO THE INDIAN SOLDIER << October-November 2015 << [email protected]

The festive season is upon us and it is time tocelebrate. In the defence sector, there is finallycause for jubilation. The last few months haveseen a steady improvement in India’s defencepreparedness, which had hit alarming lows as aresult of the lack of momentum over the pastdecade under the stewardship of the Congressled United Progressive Alliance. There has beena marked impetus in clearing essential defencerequirements for the armed forces, witnessedsince Mr Manohar Parrikar took over thedefence portfolio. These pertain to many bigticket deals which had been languishing foryears, despite the operational necessity ofequipping the Forces to counter potentialthreats. Thankfully, such dilly dallying is now athing of the past.

Great progress has been made in procuringessential requirements for the forces, which hasimproved defences preparedness considerably.While improvement is reflected across the board,three issues serve to highlight the changed envi-ronment. The first is the deal signed to make theTatra vehicle indigenously in India. The contracthas been awarded to Tata’s at a cost that is Rs 20lac lower than the next competitor. The savingsto the exchequer are substantial, given the factthat over a thousand vehicles are being pro-cured. The spin off effect on India’s defenceindustrial base will also no doubt be substantial.

The second bit of heartening news is theprogress being made on the acquisition ofartillery guns. Ever since the Bofors scam brokeout in the eighties, further acquisition of gunswas put on hold, leading to serious voids indefence preparedness. The artillery modernisa-tion plan of 1999, projected a requirement of 814mounted guns, 1580 towed guns, 100 tracked selfpropelled guns,180 wheeled self propelled gunsand 145 ultra light howitzers. While financially itis unviable to procure the entire requirement ofthe Army in one go, there is great forward move-ment in making up the voids, with G2G purchas-

es from the USA, and contract being awarded toLarsen and Toubro (L&T), an Indian conglomer-ate, to supply up to 100 self propelled howitzers(SPHs) worth approximately USD 750 million tothe Indian Army. In addition, the Army has givenBulk Production Clearance (BPC) to theOrdnance Factory Board for the supply of 144Dhanush guns, production of which has startedat the Gun Carriage Factory, Jabalpur. The DRDOis also developing 155 mm/52 Calibre AdvanceTowed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS) that willupgrade the 155 mm/45 Calibre Dhanush infuture.

For the Air Force, orders have finally beenplaced for the Tejas aircraft. In a break from thepast, a long term view has been taken and thegovernment has decided to induct at least sevensquadrons of the made-in-India Tejas Mark 1-ALight Combat Aircraft or LCA into the Indian AirForce, to make up for a shortage of fighters. Aproduct of the Defence Research andDevelopment Organisation (DRDO) anddefence public sector unit HindustanAeronautics Limited (HAL), the Tejas has beenmore than 30 years in the making, but its induc-tion will send a strong signal to the environmentof the government’s commitment to the ‘makein India’ thrust. For the first time, bulk ordershave been placed for the aircraft, which gives sta-bility to the production lines, instead of piece-meal orders, as hitherto fore. The downside tothe orders placed on HAL is that the earlier trackrecord of this DPSU has not been very encourag-ing. This factor needs to be monitored and HALheld accountable, both for quality control andfor deliveries on schedule.

In essence, forward movement in theMinistry of Defence reflects better decision mak-ing at the apex level. This perhaps is the mostimportant signal emanating from the govern-ment, which should also give a fillip to the estab-lishment of a defence industrial base in thecountry. Happy Diwali and Happy Reading.

DEFENCEPREPAREDNESS

FINALLY LOOKING UPPublisher

Maroof Raza

EditorMaj Gen Dhruv C Katoch

SM, VSM

Associate EditorLt Col Anil Bhat VSM (Retd)

DesignUNEEDUS

Publicity ManagerHony Capt (Retd) Baldev Singh

Board of AdvisersLt Gen Sudhir Sharma

PVSM, AVSM, YSM ,VSM( Retd)

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Cover Photograph: Rafale fighter

MAJ GEN DHRUV C KATOCH

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GENERAL SPEAK

05

In the hype and inflamed passions of OROP, the Government’sannouncement of the setting up of aNational War Memorial and NationalWar Museum at Princess Park, NewDelhi, did not get the jubilation or theattention it so richly deserved. This is abit sad, as the issue of a war memorialhas been as emotive a long standingdemand of the veterans as has beenOROP. It would have been nice if thistoo had been fought for with as muchrighteous angst as has been the doggedstruggle for OROP. Notwithstandingthat, the announcement by the unioncabinet to set right this anomaly isindeed welcome. The notification statesthat the memorial will honour allmartyrs after independence in 1947. Abudgetary allocation of Rs 500 croreand a time period of 5 years has beenplanned for the construction of thememorial. The location finally chosen issignificant as it is a very prime locationon Rajpath and adjoining the iconicIndia Gate. As of last count, nearly22,500 brave men had laid down theirlives in the service of the nation. It isabout time we not only honour and paytribute to their sacrifice, but also have amonument where the nation can payhomage and be inspired by theseselfless warriors who have protectedour sovereignty and hard won freedom.

War memorials originated assymbols of victory, wherein victoriouskings and warlords erected columnsand symbols as self-gratification tocommemorate their achievements overthe enemy. No thought was given to thehapless warriors who were shovelledinto graves or cremated without anyceremony or gratitude. War memorialsin brick and mortar form, to giverespect to the fallen soldiers, whether invictory or defeat, started coming acrossvarious continents in the 14th century.The real trend of war memorials started

after the first Great War, where thehorrendously large casualties shookmany nations to the core. Russiapossibly lost the largest number of itsmen and women. It therefore has someof the most artistic, somber and wellkept memorials.

Here, I would like to dwell on whatMs Sudha Murthy wrote in her blog,post her visit to the beautiful Peace Parkin Russia, in the middle of which standsa large monument with a pillar. In themonument are inscribed the details ofthe various battles fought by Russia. Sheobserved a newly married couple arrivethere, the groom in military uniformand the beautiful bride in a white satindress, with two young girls behind her,holding up the ends of her gown. Thebride had a bouquet in her hands whichshe placed on the monument. Thecouple then bowed their heads insilence and slowly walked back.

Curious, Ms Murthy asked an oldman standing there to explain to herwhy that young couple visited the warmemorial on their wedding day. Thereply, as written in the blog is placed

below.‘Oh, that is the custom in Russia. The

wedding takes place normally on aSaturday or a Sunday. Irrespective of theseason, after signing the register at themarriage office, the married couplemust visit the important nationalmonuments near by. Every boy in thiscountry has to serve in the military for acouple of years at least. Regardless ofhis position, he must wear his serviceuniform for the wedding. This is a markof gratitude. Our forefathers have giventheir lives in various wars Russia hasfought. Some of them we won, andsome we lost, but their sacrifice wasalways for the country. The newlymarried couple needs to rememberthey are living in a peaceful,independent Russia because of theirancestors’ sacrifices. They must ask fortheir blessings. Love for the country ismore important than weddingcelebrations. We elders insist oncontinuing with this tradition whetherit be in Moscow, St.Petersburg or anyother part of Russia. On the weddingday they have to visit the nearest warmemorial.’

Ms Murthy concluded her blog withthe following words:

“This set me wondering about whatwe teach our children. Do we Indianshave the courtesy to remember ourmartyrs on the most important day ofour lives? We are busy shopping forsaris, buying jewellery and preparingelaborate menus and partying in discos.My eyes filled with tears at the thoughtand I wished we could learn a lessonfrom the Russians”.

The purpose of setting up a warmemorial would not be served unlesswe as a nation genuinely and with deepreverence and humility visit the warmemorial and pay obeisance to thosewho have made the supreme sacrifice.This spirit needs to be inculcated inevery Indian if we truly love our countryand its heroes!

NATIONAL WAR MEMORIALLt Gen Sudhir Sharma

[email protected] >> October-November 2015 >> SALUTE TO THE INDIAN SOLDIER

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6

IntroductionThe past decade has seen the IAF in abit of a limbo. The euphoria of breakingthrough the tactical hymen andprojecting its strategic avatar in its firstever transcontinental foray across theseven seas to participate in ExerciseCope Thunder in Alaska was crushed bythe UPA’s inaction in alleviating thedrawdown of fighter squadrons.Struggling to maintain a suitableoperational posture by the last resortaction of reduce to produce, the IAF hasbeen loathe to admit that there may besome necessity to cut corners ifoperational viability was not to becompromised. The situation isreminiscent of a bonded labourer,mired deep in debt with the money-lender, making two ends meet and keephis and his family’s head above water.The money-lender, the government,and the PSU(HAL)/ DRDO theextortionist, have ensured that thelabourer, the IAF, remains in that state.So who will bail out the poor worker? Itshould have been the indigenousdefence industry but if that is virtuallynon-existent and has no ability tosupport and sustain, the situation is notgood. Is the IAF destined to continue itsexistence on imported platforms andsystems or will the “Make in India”thrust prove its worth and provide thesustenance?

The State of FluxThe depletion of assets and theconsequent draw-down of fightersquadrons has been oft repeated andreally does not need elaboration. Whatis to be understood is that an averagelife cycle of a fighter aircraft has been25-30 years, depending on thegeneration, and it gets extended by 5-10

years because of upgradation. Astechnology has advanced in leaps andbounds, the corresponding costs havesky-rocketed, leaving defence forces(especially the tech-intensiveAirForces) and countries gasping, tomake good the numbers. Because of thephenomenal costs of acquisition, everycountry, including India, has resorted toupgrading its fleets to prolong itsservice.Given a rough thumb rule of life

cycle and the analysis of the wear andtear over two decades, one would feelreasonably confident that the IAFwould have managed to sustain thesquadron strengths and/ or increasethem depending upon the ever-changing strategic and threatenvironment. While many factors are atplay simultaneously, two things willimpede the progress and could actuallycompromise the operational potentialof the most dynamic element ofmodern warfare - a restricted budgetallocation or an acquisition processmired in bureaucracy.

Strategic PartnershipsThe Soviet yolk was firmly establishedon India’s neck in the aftermath of theChinese aggression of 1962. Withoutremorse, one must admit that the Sovietweaponry that was acquired more thanadequately met the requirements of theIndian armed forces in the interveningyears. The collapse of the Soviet Unionand the steady rise in India’s stature inthe comity of South/ South-East Asiannations saw the proffered outreach bythe USA, France and surreptitiously,Israel. The strategic partnerships thathave been created have yieldedmultiple and multifarious dividends tothe Indian armed forces, throwing up

choices never imagined before. Thestate of the economy, as it grew,provided the financial security andconfidence to foreign investors andoffers started tumbling onto thedoorstep.Technology is not static and the

corollary is that neither are itsderivatives. Weapon systems appear toage before your very eyes because rapidtechnological increments are forcingobsolescence on the equipment. Threatperceptions for India have not changed,they have merely increased. Operatingbelow the nuclear threshold, it has beena constant battle to maintain an edgeover our primary adversary, Pakistan.With an extended credit line and Chinamore than a willing provider of state-of-the-art systems, the Pakistan armedforces have not been found wanting. Tocounter the rising parity and stayahead, India, the world’s biggest armsimporter (because it remainsunsupported by an indigenous defenceindustry) has had to maintain a steadyprocurement plan over the years. Acomplex procurement policy which is awindfall for bureaucratic delays andfears of breaching probity, have ensuredsetbacks in acquisition, leading to asituation of operational compromise.

Getting Up-to-DateThe life cycles of the platforms in theIAF necessitated firstly, replacement ofthe large numbers of legacy MiG-21sand secondly, supplement and enhancethe precision strike and multi-rolecapability of the Jaguar and Mirage-2000 which will reach the end of theirservice life in the foreseeable future.The direction was clear and the rightsteps taken. The LCA was given the go-ahead and the SU-30 MKI was

THE STRATEGICALLY AGILE IAF IN THE NEXT GENERATION

Air Marshal Sumit Mukerji, PVSM, SC, VSM


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developed and delivered by theRussians with corresponding transfer oftechnology. In both cases HAL was thenodal agency to produce the fighters forthe IAF, there being no other source inIndia. The tragic history of the 30 year(and on-going) development/production programme of the LCA hasbeen oft repeated and dragged over thecoals. Suffice to say that the IAF,anticipating the draw-down of fightersquadrons as a direct effect of the delayin the LCA programme, put up itsproposal for the MMRCA (126 aircraft)in 2007. Approved and budgeted, theacquisition was touted as the “biggestarms deal of the century” - the dubioustag of the largest arms importer in theworld labeled on India was just beingendorsed. But only we in this countryunderstand how bureaucracy can

undermine the hopes and aspirationsof the people.For seven long years the process

continued, the Dassault Rafale wasselected but the programme stalled in aquid pro quo because of the escalatedcosts (naturally) and the fact thatDassault was expected to standguarantee for the quality of Rafale jetswhich were to be produced by HALunder licence agreement. Had theprevious government continued, wewould have stagnated the deal and onedoesn’t really know where it would haveended up. The announcement by thenew government in 2014 that theMMRCA deal will be revived came as abreath of fresh air to the IAF and topundits of national security. Frantic toand fro activity signified the resurgenceand climaxed with the PM’s visit to

France.

The DilemmaThe shock value of the Govt to Govt dealin the acquisition of 36 Rafale fightersoff-the-shelf (against the 18 direct and108 to be made by HAL) cannot beestimated. But it threw up a slew ofinteresting possibilities for the thinkers,strategists, aviation aficionados andanalysts. What did it really mean? Was36 going to be the final figure or wouldwe go the Mirage-2000 way, buy aninitial number off-the-shelf and followup with some more? The depletion ofthe fighter force could not be matchedwith this 25 percent of the initialMMRCA proposal, so what do we do forthe balance? To avoid compromisingnational security, do we procure aninterim platform in lieu of the LCA?


Does the LCA remain relevant when it isfinally produced in numbers, or is therea move to curb the LCA at the twosquadrons of Mark I and foursquadrons of Mark II stage and insteadlook towards the Advanced MediumCombat Aircraft (AMCA)? So manyquestions, so many possibilities.

Agile War-fighting for the IAFTechnology has increased thecapabilities of airborne platforms aswell as increased its vulnerability towell-designed and well-honedfirepower. The cat and mouse game isnever ending. In these scenarios, theIAF must define the expected role of itsfighters and their respective tasks.Needless to say the airpower maxim of“Flexibility” must be at the core ofmodern warfare, to cater to the rapidlychanging environment all around.Thus, acquisitions must revolve aroundthe fact that fighter aircraft of tomorrowcannot be restricted to “missionspecific” but must possess multi-role/swing-role capability to exploit theever-changing complexion of the airwar. With this in mind and the fact thatmanned aircraft will continue into thenear future, some of the likely roles thatfighter aircraft of the IAF will undertakeare:-� Air dominance.� Deep strategic strike on centres ofgravity.

� Defensive /offensive counter air.� Maritime strike.� Battlefield interdiction & strike.� Surgical strikes on high value targets.Across a simultaneous two-front

threat (the worst case scenario), this is atall order. So there can be littlecompromise for numbers,notwithstanding the multi-role/ swing-role capability of most aircraft at thattime.The Rafale is not really the

replacement for the MiG-21. Its sheercapability provides the solution for thereplacement of the Jaguar and Mirage-2000. With the operationalising of theLCA Mk I and Mk II taking a long time,an excellent opportunity presents itself

in the form of the Saab Gripen. Alreadyevaluated extensively, this highlycapable agile multi-mission fighter withan excellent growth architecturefactored in, would be the ideal gap-fillerand it is waiting in the wings. Thequestion is -will the IAF want to besaddled with another type on itsinventory? The extensive TOT offered bySaab will certainly fuel “Make in India”,making it an attractive proposition forthe government. The SU-30 MkI is herefor the long run and its versatility mustbe exploited to the hilt. Unlike the slowprogress of the LCA, the AMCA isexpected to move a lot faster, given thethrust by the present government andits keenness to promote indigenisationof the Indian defence industry. TheAMCA is likely to debut probably just

after India acquires the jointlydeveloped Indo-Russian FGFA. Withfeatures similar to the Lockheed MartinF-35, its defining properties of super-cruise, stealth, high-manoeuvrability,etc will make it an extremely potentplatform. The IAF goes into the nextgeneration with a combination offighter platforms which will providestrategic reach, flexibility, versatilityand lethality across the spectrum ofconflict.

Make in IndiaIs there a reason, one wonders, whyIndia has continued to be the world’sbiggest arms importer? Has theindigenous defence industry been keptin the background on purpose and notpermitted growth? Was it the lack of


THE PRIME MINISTER’S THRUST ON “MAKE IN INDIA”HAS ADDED A FURTHER FILLIP AND FOREIGN OEMS ANDOTHER MANUFACTURERS ARE LOOKING FOR JVS ANDOFFSET PARTNERS, BUOYED BY THE ECONOMICSTABILITY PREVAILING AT THE MOMENT. INDIA MUST BEREADY TO CREATE THE CONFIDENCE, WITHOUT ANYSCAMS DISCOLOURING THE WATERS AND BE READY TOABSORB THE HUGE AMOUNTS OF TECHNOLOGY BEINGOFFERED FOR TRANSFER.

THEME ARTICLE


confidence in a budding privateindustry post independence thattriggered the decision to make DRDOand the PSUs the sole agencies of alldefence equipment manufacture? Withthe burgeoning industrial growth sincethe ‘90s, did not the government feel thenecessity of uplifting the indigenousdefence industry, which was clearlyfloundering in most projects, byintroducing private players to infusefresh ideas and develop a suitableinfrastructure for the future? Well, whilewe cannot turn the clock back, therealisation that indigenous capability isthe core to sustainability andeffectiveness has come as a welcomechange. There are many apprehensionsin the private sector because they willnow be dealing with a bureaucraticgovernment machinery (and maybecorruption?) which does not pay ontime for services ordered and expects alltrials to be at ‘no cost no commitment’.Confidence must be infused into theprivate industry.Because of the stunted growth of the

private industry in the defence arena,there is no real infrastructure or thedesired quality, save for the big names.But the aviation industry has becomesuch an expensive proposition thatmost companies, however wellestablished, are resorting to jointventures and outsourcing, to cut costs.This has proved a haven for thoseinterested in the defence industry andits huge potential. While some mediumplayers had forayed into the game andwere producing components for theinternational aviation industry likeDynamatic Technologies and the TataGroup, the scope has increasedmanifold and provided opportunitiesall around.The Prime Minister’s thrust on

“Make in India” has added a furtherfillip and foreign OEMs and othermanufacturers are looking for JVs andOffset Partners, buoyed by theeconomic stability prevailing at themoment. India must be ready to createthe confidence, without any scamsdiscolouring the waters and be ready to

absorb the huge amounts of technologybeing offered for transfer. As amateursin the game, we must not bite morethan we can chew. Jumping into hightechnology which requiressophistication and stringent qualitycontrol may not be suitable at thisstage. I should hope that they move in aprogressive manner to establishstandards and credibility. The newlyestablished Confederation of IndianIndustries National Committee onAerospace (CIINCA) under the tutelageof Chairman HAL is expected to pavethe way for providing the directions forcollaboration with foreign OEMs,taxation issues, import strategy, supplychain management, etc.

ConclusionThere is light at the end of the tunnel.Realisation seems to have dawned withthe present pro-active government atthe helm. The Indian Air Force in thenext generation will be proud of itsinventory. In the coming years thetechnologically sophisticated airborne

platforms that will provide the swordarm to warfare conducted by the Indianarmed forces, be it on its own borders orotherwise, if so dictated, will have theagility and lethality of a most potentforce. Indigenisation in the defencesector has taken off with the clearanceof private enterprises to participate. Ifthe herd of white elephants like DRDOand the PSUs do not pull up their sockswe may actually see their decline. Thechanging face of defence production inIndia will ensure the reliability andefficacy of the armed forces.

An ace fighter pilot, Qualified FlyingInstructor and Fighter Combat Leader,Air MarshalSumit Mukerji is perhapsthe only officer in the IAF, who has

commanded units with Mig21, Mig 23U, Mig 25, Mig 27 and Mig 29 aircraft.

The Air Marshal has also served astheIndian Air Attache in the IndianEmbassy at Washington. He retired

from the IAF after 40 years of service inJune 2011 as the AOC in C Southern Air

Command.


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THEME ARTICLE

10

IntroductionBack in the early 1980’s, the IAF startedto look around for a replacement forearly marks of the Mig-21 fleet, whichwould become due for replacement inthe next 15 years. After discussions withthe IAF, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited(HAL) and the Defence Research andDevelopment Organisation (DRDO),the Government of India (GOI) decided

to build an indigenous fighter as areplacement, rather than import one.This was a very sensible decision as nocountry could hope to achieve any sortof strategic independence in foreignpolicy affairs without a strongcapability to manufacture weaponsrequired for its armed forces within thecountry.After the Marut programme in the

1960's no indigenous fighterdevelopment programme wasattempted in India, mainly due topaucity of funds. Meanwhile,aeronautical technology gallopedahead in advanced countries like theUSA, the erstwhile Soviet Union andEurope. Fly by wire technology, inwhich there is no physical link betweenthe control column in the cockpit and

THE TEJAS: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

Air Marshal Philip Rajkumar, PVSM, AVSM, VM


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the control surfaces on the aircraft,digital avionics in a 'glass cockpit' inwhich round dial instruments werereplaced by multi-function screens andthe use of composite materials ratherthan metal in the airframe were the keytechnologies which India lacked. Inorder to bridge the gap, it was decidedto incorporate these technologies in theproposed fighter. As the new fighterwas to replace Mig-21s in operationalsquadrons, the IAF wanted the newaircraft to be available for inductioninto squadrons by the late 1990s. Thiswas a very tight time frame and HALexpressed its inability to meet it. TheDRDO set up the AeronauticalDevelopment Agency (ADA) as aprogramme management office andsaid it would harness nationalcapabilities in the public, private andacademic sectors to meet timelines.HAL was to be the principal partner inthis endeavour. A provision was alsomade to obtain consultancy fromforeign aircraft companies in crucialareas like fly by wire technology. TheIAF was sceptical about the ability ofIndian industry to absorb all these newtechnologies and produce a ‘ready to goto war’ fighter, within the required timeframe. A wise decision was taken to gofor a technology demonstrationprogramme by building threeprototypes, two flying and onestructural test specimen, andconducting a limited flight testprogramme of 200-220 sorties to provethe new technologies.

The Technology DemonstrationProgrammeThe technology demonstrationprogramme was beset with difficultiesfrom the word go. There was a woefullack of infrastructure to build a modernfighter in the country. It had to becreated from scratch. Skilled manpowerwas scarce. Computational facilitieswere rudimentary. A main framecomputer had to be imported from theUSA. Expertise was also lacking andDassault of France was chosen to helpout with the Project Definition Phase

(PDP). The PDP was completed by theend of 1988 but a decision to go aheadwith the project was held up for want offunds. By the end of 1990, India wasalmost broke and the LCA programmewas put on the back burner. It was onlyafter the Narasimha Rao governmentassumed office in mid 1991 and set theeconomy back on the rails that theproject was revived. A big bangbudgetary sanction of Rs 2,188 crorewas obtained in June 1993 and metalcutting started at HAL, Bangalore.Consultancy contracts with foreignaerospace majors were inked and goodprogress was being made when the1998 Pokhran nuclear tests resulted incrippling technology sanctions.Undaunted, Team LCA forged aheadand the first technology demonstratoraircraft piloted by Wg Cdr RajivKothiyal, took to the air on 04 Jan 2001.In spite of the risks involved inincorporating so many newtechnologies in a single aircraft, thetechnology demonstration programmeof 200+ flights on two aircraft wascompleted without incident by 31 Mar2004.

The Present StatusPrime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayeewitnessed a flying demonstration of theaircraft at HAL, Bangalore on 04 May2003 and named the aircraft Tejas,which is the Sanskrit word for radiance.2925 test flights have been completedin perfect safety so far. Initialoperational clearance was achieved inDecember 2013 and the then Chief ofthe Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal NAKBrowne received the documents fromChairman, HAL. The aircraft has beentested in its full altitude and speedenvelope and has exhibited satisfactoryhandling characteristics. Test pilots arevery pleased with its handling qualitieswhich is the ease with which the aircraftcan be flown and the missionperformed. The glass cockpit andhelmet mounted sighting system givesthe pilot excellent situationalawareness and visual combatcapability. As the R-73 Russian all

aspect close combat missile (CCM) hasbeen integrated, the aircraft will be alethal opponent in within visual rangeencounters. A laser target designationpod has been integrated and laserguided bombs have been dropped withvery good accuracy. In short, theaircraft can perform an usefuloperational role as of now.Beyond Visual Range (BVR) missile

integration, ironing out some minorglitches in radar performance, integralgun firing in the air, air to air refuellingtests and small expansion of themanoeuvre envelope, are theremaining tasks to be completed toachieve final operational clearance.Integral gun firing tests have beencompleted on the ground. As of now,the stand alone testing of theindigenous electronic warfare suite isin progress on one of the prototypes.On satisfactory completion of tests, thesuite has to be installed in a pod andfurther airborne tests carried out. It is awork in progress but the end is in sight.The big unknowns as of now are the

maintainability of the aircraft andproduct support availability in the field.Unfortunately, this data can only beobtained after the first squadron isformed and the aircraft is flown dailyfor 200-300 hours every month forsome time.This is because the lowintensity of flying during the flight testprogramme at the manufacturer'sfacility where expertise and spares arereadily available does not give thecorrect picture. There is no option butto attack these problems as theyemerge in the field. This writer haswitnessed at first hand the induction ofseveral new types of aircraft into serviceand on every occasion, problems haveoccurred. So there is no reason fordespair. In fact, the IAF should give thesame leeway it gives to foreignsuppliers to Indian agencies. Thenatural tendency is to be extrademanding of our own people.

The FutureThe IAF has ordered 20 aircraft withoption for 20 more. The first production


version was flown last year and HAL hasset up exclusive production facilities forthe Tejas. The rate of production has tobe increased to meet IAF squadron re-equipment goals.The IAF has said that the Mark 1

version currently flying does not meetits operational requirements. Animproved version with a more powerfulengine, the US made General ElectricF-414 engine has been asked for. Thisengine is a little wider than the GE F-404 IN20 engine in use now. To fit thenew engine, the rear fuselage of theTejas has to be redesigned with theintroduction of a half metre plug tolengthen the fuselage and the airintakes made slightly bigger to cater forincreased mass flow requirements.Weight increase will take place and thehigher thrust engine may not be able todeliver the improved performancerequired. One has to wait and watchthis space.An alternative approach could be to

improve the Tejas Mk1 itself bylengthening the fuselage by half ametre, redistributing the layout ofequipment to get rid of the ballast andrebalancing the aircraft. Servicingrequirements, suggested by the IAFproject monitoring team, could betaken care of and the additionalinternal volume could be used for anelectronic warfare suite and/or morefuel. This is within the capability ofADA/HAL designers to achieve in ashort period of time. The improvedfineness ratio (an importantaerodynamic parameter related tosupersonic performance) due to theincreased length may well improvesupersonic performance. In thiswriter's opinion it is a quicker and farbetter option than trying to fit the F-414engine.Prime Minister Narendra Modi's

'Make in India' initiative is a muchneeded shot in the arm for the Tejasprogramme. A flying fourth generationfighter made in the country is availableand crying out for further development.The dynamic Defence Minister ShriParrikar has strongly supported the

Prime Minister's initiative. It is hopedthat right decisions will be taken andthe Tejas programme's growthpotential will be fully exploited. Indianever did that with the Marutprogramme and fell behind by threedecades.

Gains of the ProjectThe foremost gain of the project has,undoubtedly, been closure of the threedecade long aeronautical technologygap in several critical areas. First, theability to design a Control Law (CLAW)for a fly-by-wire flight control system(FCS) is a major gain. It would havebeen a commendable achievementeven for an aerodynamically stableaircraft but to develop and flight test itfor an unstable compound delta wingaircraft is truly remarkable. The design

and development of a quadruplexdigital computer system for the FCSwas also done indigenously. Theintelligence in the computer in theform of the CLAW and house keepingsoftware was developed, tested andintegrated on the flight controlcomputer at the AeronauticalDevelopment Establishment (ADE) atBangalore. The building of an 'IronBird' at HAL's design bureau to test theFCS on the ground and thenconducting an exhaustive testprogramme on it to validate FCSsoftware was an entirely newexperience for theADE/CLAW/ADA/HAL engineers. As aresult, the country now has thecapability to design, test and integrate a

complex fly by wire FCS for a modernfighter aircraft. There is, however, nogainsaying the fact that foreignconsultancy provided by US and Britishfirms played an important role inachieving this capability. The credit tothe Indian engineers lies in the fact thatthey were able to absorb thistechnology in a short time and wereable to proceed on their own when postPokhran 1998 technology sanctionswere imposed. It is worth rememberingthat technology sanctions with zeroavailability of foreign consultancy werein place for 31 months before first flighton 04 Jan 2001.The mission computer and glass

cockpit software is entirely indigenous.It is worth stating that although theTejas is powered by US engines and theback end of the airborne radar is Israeli

and some other sub systems are alsoimported, the design of the aircraft isIndian overall and at the systems level.The million lines of code have beenwritten in India by Indians and givesthe country the ability to do upgradesof the aircraft at a later date.

The Naval LCAThe Indian Navy(IN) has stronglysupported the naval LCA programme. Itis far easier to design an airframestressed for carrier deck operations andthen adapt it for land use than the otherway around. Unfortunately, we in Indiaadopted the 'other way' and designedthe land version first. In spite of thismore difficult approach, the navalversion first flew in 2013 and completed


THE PRIME MINISTER’S THRUST ON “MAKE IN INDIA”HAS ADDED A FURTHER FILLIP AND FOREIGN OEMS ANDOTHER MANUFACTURERS ARE LOOKING FOR JVS ANDOFFSET PARTNERS, BUOYED BY THE ECONOMICSTABILITY PREVAILING AT THE MOMENT. INDIA MUST BEREADY TO CREATE THE CONFIDENCE, WITHOUT ANYSCAMS DISCOLOURING THE WATERS AND BE READY TOABSORB THE HUGE AMOUNTS OF TECHNOLOGY BEINGOFFERED FOR TRANSFER.

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the first ski jump take off from the ShoreBased Test Facility (SBTF) at Dabolimairfield in Goa in 2014. Arrested landingson the deck require a tail hook and workis in progress to install the hook on thefirst two naval prototypes. Though thenaval version under test is unlikely tomeet IN operational requirements (ORs)the learning curve in the naval LCAprogramme has been very steep and is anecessary step to achieve fullindigenous capability to manufacturestate of the art fixed wing naval fighters.A twin engined heavier fighter can beplanned a decade from now to fullycomply with naval ORs.

ConclusionAll major players in the Tejas

programme like the IAF, IN, DRDO, HALand CSIR have realised that managing acomplex aeronautical project is noteasily done. It is time consuming andrequires a long term commitment ofhuman and financialresources.Continuity of personnelworking in the programme has to beensured. Specifications should not bechanged unless absolutely necessary.Early intervention is better then lateintervention. The service entry of theTejas in the IAF will be a definingmoment for the Indian aeronauticalindustry which is poised to scale greatheights in the coming three decades.The Tejas programme will always beremembered as the catalyst that made itall possible.

Commissioned in the flying branchof the Indian Air Force in 1962, AirMarshal Philip Rajkumar, PVSM,AVSM, VM, is an alumnus of theDefence Services Staff College,

Wellington and the Royal College ofDefence Studies, UK. A veteran of

the1965 Indo Pak war, he underwentthe Experimental Test Pilots course at

the Ecole du Personnel Navigantd'essais et de Reception (EPNER) inFrance in 1971, and thereafter, spent

the next three decades participating innumerous indigenous aeronautical

development programmes both as atest pilot and programme manager. He

retired in 2003 as the Director,Aeronautical Development Agency.


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14

IntroductionThe Sino-Indian border issue is one ofthe biggest hindrances to normalisationof ties between the two Asian giants.While many wonder whether Asia islargeenough for them,and their growingambitions, India’s strategiccommunityfocuses on more immediateand pressing questions. Without losingsight of theoverall trajectory of Sino-

Indian relations, they also have toconsider, asmilitary planners do, thepossibility of China initiating a freshmilitary conflictin the near or mid-termin support of its territorial claims. Thisbrief analysis

looks at the role of air power in apotential conflict between India andChinawith a comparative qualitativeand quantitative study of both air forces

and their relative capabilities in theTibetan region.

The Lessons of 1962 Sino-IndianConflictThe 1962 India-China war hasunderstandably left a lasting bitternesson the bilateral relations between thetwo countries. On the Indian side, one ofthe enduring controversies of this war

PEOPLE’S LIBERATION ARMY AIR FORCE(PLAAF) VS. INDIAN AIR FORCE (IAF)

CAPABILITY ANALYSIS OVER THETIBETAN PLATEAU

Air Marshal V.K. Jimmy Bhatia


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has been the non-use of the combat armof theIAF, which is commonly believedto be a major cause for the debacle. Inthe 1962 war, China was hardly in aposition to use its air power to influencethe ground battle. It is well known thatin 1962, China’s offensive air capabilitiesin the Tibetan region were practicallynon-existent because of thedesign/operational limitations of itsfighter fleets, which consisted mainly ofMiG-15s, MiG-17s and a few MiG-19sand because China possessed hardlyany worthwhile high-altitude airstripsin Tibet for these aircraft to operatefrom. Similarly, China’s capability tostrike Indian cities with its bomberaircraft such as the IL-28s was alsolimited owing to constraints of rangewhen operating from its mainlandairfields. The Chinese bombers wouldhave also been highly vulnerable tointerception by the IAF air defencefighters once over Indian Territory.

The IAF, on the other hand, couldoperate its combat aircraft with easefrom its many airfields located in theplains in both the western and easterntheatres without compromising on theirpayload capabilities and these could beemployed in traditional interdiction andclose air support roles. Properly used,Indian jet fighters would have causedhavoc to the (deprived of air cover)Chinese ground forces. In the endhowever, neither China (because itcould not) nor India (because it wouldnot, largely due to unfounded fears ofthe Chinese Air Force) used theircombat aircraft, resulting in the Indianarmy succumbing to the much superiorChinese ground forces. But that wasmore than half a century ago. In thepresent scenario, it can be said withoutany ambiguity that in the event of Chinainitiating another round of conflict inthe form of a limited war to militarilysettle the border dispute with India, itcan and would make full use of its airpower in a bid to force the outcome inits favour once again.

The question that looms large then isin the current scenario, how doesPLAAF match up against the IAF? And

what are their respective capabilitiesand constraints in case of anotherconflict erupting in the Himalayas?

PLAAF: Modernised andTransformedA well-planned, long-term and time-bound approach to militarymodernisation – conceived as part ofDeng Xiaoping’s ‘Four Modernisations’ –was instrumental to start the process oftransforming the PLAAF from anantiquated, derelict, poorly trained andover-sized force of the 1960/70s to amodern ‘lean and mean’ aerospacepower with increasing proficiency toundertake its stated mission in the 21stcentury. It was not an easy task to startthe process of the PLAAF’smodernisation, which was so heavilyshackled to the archaic system of thePeople’s Liberation Army (PLA). It issometimes said that one of the reasonsChina went to war with Vietnam wasChairman Deng Xiaoping’s desire for hisarmy brass to understand theimportance of air power even at theexpense of Chinese forces getting abloodied nose in Vietnam. However, thereal eye-opener for the Chineseleadership was the US ‘shock and awe’aerial assault against Iraq during the1991 Gulf war, which establishedbeyond doubt the predominant roleplayed by air power in the conduct ofmodern warfare. American mastery overthe air and its technological superiorityspurred transformation efforts in thePLAAF.

Adopting the philosophy of‘buy/steal and make/reverse-engineer,’China’s military modernisation(especially of the PLAAF) has beenprogressing purposefully over the lasttwo and a half decades. China made fulluse of Russia’s post-cold war economichardships by buying its militaryequipment and aerospace technologieson favourable terms. It bought the Su-27aircraft from Russia and copied it toproduce its indigenous version, J-11, inlarge quantities. It also equipped thePLAAF through outright purchase fromRussia, the Su-30 MKK (an advanced

version of Su-30) and the Su-30 MK2 airdominance fighters. The Israelis, on theother hand, passed on the technologyconnected with their stalled ‘Lavi’programme for China to successfullydevelop and produce its 4th generationand 4th generation+ J-10 and J-10B jetfighters, respectively. But it is not onlythe Soviet/Russian designs or the Israeliaerospace technologies which providedthe leap forward; the Chinese aerospacescientists themselves have been carvingout big successes in indigenous designand development. On January 11, 2011,China stunned the global aviationcommunity by test-flying the ChengduJ-20 – its first 5th generation stealth jetfighter. Not to be undone, Shenyang,China’s second manufacturer of jetfighters made it a double on October 31,2012 by launching the J-31, another 5thgeneration jet fighter on its maidenflight. Both these prototype designs arereportedly under different stages ofdevelopment and are likely to becomeoperational around 2020.

Having discarded the so-called ‘dead-wood’ from its inventory, the PLAAFcurrently has around 1,700 combat jetfighter aircraft comprising of a judiciousmix of 4th/4th+ and 3rd generationaircraft

In addition, the PLAAF has a largeinventory of transport aircraft: IL-76strategic airlifters (20-30), multi-purpose Y-8 transporters derived fromthe Russian four-engined An-12 design(100-120), Y-7 based on An-26 twinturbo-props and 300+ Y-5 single-engined light utility aircraft. The PLAAFalso boasts of a sizeable number of VIPtransport aircraft which include Tu-154M and the smaller BombardierChallenger 600, etc. In addition, it fields500+ helicopters comprising of attackand utility versions of indigenous andSoviet designs. It has also acquiredabout two dozen Sikorsky S-70 BlackHawk utility helicopters from the US.

The PLAAF’s ‘force-multiplier’ fleet ofAirborne Warning and Control System(AWACS), Airborne Early Warning andControl (AEW&C) and Flight RefuellingAircraft (FRA), though small, is likely to


grow with time. However, where Chinareally scores is on its holdings of a verylarge variety and numbers ofUnmanned Aerial Vehicle(UAV)/Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle(UCAV) and target drones which couldbe used for multifarious missions. Also,China possesses large quantities ofshort/medium range ballistic and cruisemissiles which could be used to strike alltypes of targets inside enemy territorywith conventional warheads.

IAF (Indian Air Force): Still inthe Pits – Present and FutureIronically, in the 1990s, when China hitthe ‘fast forward’ for the PLAAF’smodernisation, the IAF was confrontedwith a void due to India’s thenprecarious financial position andbreakup of the Soviet Union - till then,the major provider of defenceequipment to India. This had a rippleeffect on the IAF, which began toexperience crippling draw down interms of the strength of its combat jetfighter squadrons and other combatequipment. The IAF, which hadlaboriously built up its combat forcelevels to 39 ½ fighter squadrons by late1980s, lost almost a quarter of itsstrength and was teetering at a recordlow of around 29 squadrons by themiddle of the last decade. Thishappened despite the induction of Su-30 (later Su-30 MKI) into the IAF whichhad commenced around the turn of thelast century. The extraordinary delay inthe indigenous LCA (Tejas) programmedid little to help matters. In anendeavour to stem the downslide, theIAF ordered more Su-30 MKIs—with theorder swelling up to 272 aircraft - andvigorously pursued the 126-aircraftMedium Multi-Role CombatAircraft(MMRCA) programme. However,while IAF has successfully inductedclose to 200 Su-30 MKIs into service itsMMRCA programme ran into all kindsof troubles after Dassault won thecompetition with its Rafale offer onJanuary 31, 2013. The impasse wasfinally broken by some out-of-the-boxthinking on the part of the PMO with

Prime Minister Narendra Modi decidingto go in for outright purchase of 36Rafale jet fighters from France in anunprecedented Government-to-Government (G2G) deal. While thismove may hasten induction of theaircraft into service, the drasticreduction in numbers, unless remedied,is bound to create an adverse impact onthe operational preparedness of the IAF.It may also be remembered that purelyin numerical terms, the IAF has sliddown to just about 700 aircraft, from itsearlier holdings of more than 900 jetfighters.

In the coming years, the biggestworry for the IAF would be to somehowhold on to its present strength bymatching phased retirement of theolder MiG-21/MiG-27 variants with newinductions arising out of the ongoingprogrammes. These would include 70more Su-30 MKIs by 2017-18, license-produced by HAL at the rate of 20 perannum.

The first couple of indigenous LCA(Tejas) aircraft have been delivered tothe IAF for operational evaluation withthe FOC (Full Operational Clearance)slated for end 2015. It is hoped that HALwill set up full-scale production of theTejas MK I and later MK II version andstart delivering these aircraft to the IAFin real earnest. In addition, it is hopedthat the Rafale (winner of the MMRCAcompetition) contract for outrightpurchase of 36 aircraft will be inkedsoon and additional Rafales acquired ata later date to equip at least three Rafalesquadrons to ensure operationalviability. However, it is obvious thatthese measures alone would not besufficient to keep the IAF on track to getto a figure of 42 jet fighter squadrons, bythe end of India’s 13th Plan Period i.e. by2022, as envisaged by Mr AK Antony, –defence minister during the previousUPA government. The new defenceminister, Mr Manohar Parrikar of NDAgovernment has hinted on more thanone occasion for some out-of-the-boxthinking for acquiring the necessarynumbers such as making in Indiaanother single-engine fighter which

would be more capable than theindigenous LCA by shifting the foreignvendor’s entire assembly line to India. Itis now known that Saab from Swedenhas offered to make its Gripen NGadvanced fighters in India which wouldnot only equip the IAF but could also beexported to friendly countries by India.Eventually, India would need about1,000 jet fighters to be able to effectivelymeet the future challenges to itssecurity.

PLAAF vs. IAF: Commonaltiesand DifferencesBoth the PLAAF and the IAF haveundergone substantial changes in theirdoctrinal concepts in the last couple ofdecades. The defining moment for theChinese armed forces (includingPLAAF) came with the articulation in2004 by President Hu Jintao of“historical missions of the armed forcesfor the new stage in the new century,”which was codified in the ChineseCommunist Party Constitution in 2007.The new guidelines require the Chinesearmed forces to secure China’s strategicinterests even outside its nationalterritorial boundaries. ‘Active defence’ isthe operational concept of China’snational strategic guidelines for the newperiod. The PLAAF would have a leadingrole in China’s active defence strategy.China’s operational strategy is based onlong-range strike and anti-access andarea denial (A2AD) capabilities which isnot specific to its maritime domain andcould be brought to bear over its landborders as well, with obviousimplications for India.

The IAF has also gone throughmetamorphic changes in its doctrinalconcepts in conformity with theincreasing requirements of a resurgentIndia. It is not coincidental that both thePLAAF and the IAF are converging ontheir respective goals of transformingthemselves into modern strategic airforces with continental reach and all-weather precision strike capabilities andthe ability to conduct air operations inhighly information-intensive andnetwork-centric scenarios.


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While the doctrinal concepts of thetwo air forces may be on convergingtrajectories, where the PLAAF scoresover the IAF is in terms of quantitativesuperiority. As brought out earlier, thePLAAF already has modern fighter fleetswith close to 1,700 such aircraft on itsstrength. They are already twice asmuch as what the IAF hopes to achievein the next 10 years. In addition, China isdeveloping J-20 and J-31, twodistinctively designed 5th generationaircraft. Fortunately, India has joined upwith Russia to co-develop the PAK-FA5th generation fighter aircraft whichmay become available to the IAF at atime, coinciding with the indigenousChinese 5th generation fighterinductions into the PLAAF. However,due to great disparity between the‘defence budgets’ of the two countries(in 2012: China’s $106 billion - whichcould exceed $200 billion with hiddendefence expenditure – vs. India’s $40billion), quantitative differences wouldcontinue to remain in China’s favour.

The second aspect of the PLAAF’ssuperiority over the IAF lies in itsground-based air defence systems.China’s sizeable holdings of SAMsystems such as the Russian-supplied S-

300 PMU series and indigenous HQ-9/HQ-12 with engagement rangesvarying from 50-150 km clearlyovershadow the IAF’s presentcapabilities even while the latter istrying to catch up with its newlyinducted indigenous Akash and theIsraeli Spyder SAMs and jointdevelopment with Israel of a 70kmrangeMR-SAM system.

The third area of PLAAF’s superiorityover the IAF lies in the realm of‘unmanned’ UAV/UCAV and dronesystems. China has been innovative inconverting more than 200 of its J-6(MiG-19) aircraft into unmanned dronesystems with a variety of roles rangingfrom ISR to bombing of enemy groundtargets. In addition, China also has alarge arsenal of short/medium-rangeballistic and cruise missiles which couldbe used against enemy targets in varyingdepths in enemy territory.

Despite these advantages the largerquestions are: In case of a Sino-Indianconflict, how would the IAF fare againstthe PLAAF? And will China be able toattain air superiority over the Tibetanplateau?

PLAAF in Tibet: Limited CapabilitiesNo one can deny the tremendous

efforts made by China to createunprecedented infrastructuralcapabilities in the Tibet AutonomousRegion (TAR). An almost trillion dollar-endeavour has not only resulted in thebuilding of more than 58,000 km ofworld-class roads and highways, butalso in creating the world’s highest raillink connecting Tibet’s Capital Lhasa toGolmud and through it, to the rest ofChina. In the aviation sector too, Chinaappears to have made great strides bydeveloping a number of airfieldsthrough the length and breadth of Tibet,the latest at Nyingchi, merely 30 kmaway from the Arunachal Pradeshborder. China can boast of a full-fledgedinternational airport at Lhasa, completewith what may be termed as the highestaerobridge in the world. Xigatse, in thesouthern portion of Central Tibet isanother well-developed airfield.However, a Google-eye scrutiny of theairfields in the TAR would reveal thatwhile adequate runway lengths havebeen provided to compensate for the‘altitude factor’, most airfields have onlyrudimentary support infrastructurewhich would make it difficult for thePLAAF to carry out large-scale airoperations in a sustained manner inTibet. The PLAAF aircraft would also behandicapped in terms of payloadcapabilities while operating from high-altitude airfields in Tibet. Also, PLAAFdoes not have adequate flight-refuellingcapabilities, allowing only limitednumber of aircraft to get airborne withfull payload but partial fuel and thenrefuel in the air to reach distant assignedtargets.

On the other hand, the IAF wouldhave access to a greater number ofairfields, with much better supportfacilities which it could use for airoperations with full payloads againsttargets in the TAR. In other words, eventhough the PLAAF may be more thandouble the size of the IAF in terms of itsoverall combat aircraft strength, in aborder war with India, it may find itselfat a disadvantage vis-à-vis the numbers(and reduced payloads), it can fieldagainst the IAF. Also, without adequate


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Figure 1: IAF/PLAAF Airfields in the Indo-Tibetan Region


number of ‘blast pens’ (protectiveaircraft shelters) the PLAAF aircraftwould be vulnerable to counter-airstrikes by the IAF.

IAF has the EdgeIf China does decide to teach Indiaanother ‘lesson’ in Tibet, it would bankheavily on its tremendous infrastructureto mobilise massive ground forces(between 30 to 40 divisions) andsupport elements to overwhelm Indiandefences. Due to inadequate groundinfrastructure on its side, the Indianarmy would also have to bank heavily onthe ‘air’ for maintenance and logisticsupport. Both the PLAAF and the IAF,having already achieved a certain levelof modernisation (although in differingdegrees) would try to achieve airdominance/air superiority byconducting DEAD/SEAD (Destruction/Suppression of Enemy Air Defences)and counter-air operations against eachother. The PLA could resort to the use of

its superior tactical ballistic/cruisemissiles and unmanned drones withconventional warheads in thesemissions to offset the shortcomings ofits air force. However, missiles arehandicapped because of their havingonly a single-shot capability. Therefore,if the IAF improves on its alreadyexisting facilities to ensure properactive/passive AD and rehabilitationcapabilities at its airfields and radarsites, it could well weather the Chineseonslaught. On the other hand, it coulduse this very shortcoming of the PLAAFto its advantage to achieve airsuperiority/favourable air situation inthe battle zone. Once this is achieved,the IAF could not only remove thedanger of PLAAF interfering withground operations, but also providemuch needed close air support to theIndian army to help it ward offnumerically much stronger Chineseground forces. In this scenario, even astalemate without loss of territory on

either side would be tantamount to astrategic victory for India.

In his IAF career spanning morethan 40 years, Air Marshal VK ‘Jimmy’

Bhatia had the rare distinction of beingthe AOC-in-C of three operational

commands, i.e. Central, South-Westernand Western Air Command in

succession. He was awarded Vir Chakragallantry awards in both Indo-Pak wars

of 1965 and 1971. He is also therecipient of the PVSM and AVSMPresidential awards. Apart from

pursuing professional interests in thefield of non-conventional energy

sources since his superannuation, he isalso engaged actively as a writer andanalyst on matters connected with

military and civil aviation andinternational relations. He has been a

member of the Executive Council of theUSI for six years and presently is the

Managing Editor of the India StrategicGroup.


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“Printing was invented in China in theeighth century AD and movable type inthe eleventh century, but thistechnology only reached Europe in thefifteenth century. Paper was intro-duced into China in the second centuryAD, came to Japan in the seventhcentury, and was diffused westward toCentral Asia in the eighth century,North Africa in the tenth and Spain inthe twelfth and northern Europe in thethirteenth. Another Chinese invention,gunpowder, made in the ninth century,disseminated to the Arabs a fewhundred years later and reachedEurope in the fourteenth century.”—Samuel P. Huntington

“The 21st Century will be the century ofchange. More things will change inmore places in the next 10 years than inthe previous 100. Most countries aren’tready for this dizzying ride – certainlynot the United States of America”.

—Fareed Zakaria

“Our duty is to put ideas into theirheads, they will do the rest. This is whatis to be done in India”.

—Swami Vivekananda

Everyone is aware of theunprecedented rate of new technologiesbursting on the scene at global scalenearly every day. In fact most arebewildered and are clueless about this.Yet this explosion of new technology willcontinue unabated and will continue totransform the world. That is the media,the social reach, the business practices,the service industry, the economy, theorganisational structures etc. It will beextremely disruptive for the unpreparedwho refuse to align with emergingtrends. It will be equally true for themilitary. We, therefore, need to take anurgent review of the new technologiesand its impact. Hopefully this shall

prepare us to mould the military waysand become far more effective ratherthan face the disruption and witheraway in times of crisis. The adjustmentwith the emerging technologies willneed the militaries to align theirdoctrine, training and HR issues apartfrom some other organisationalchanges. Thereafter, put the changedideas to vigorous trials and training,because seldom, if ever, one will get thechanges right the first time. It is becauseof this that companies like Facebook,Yahoo, Microsoft launch the betaversion of new software in New Zealandfirst. Only after needed refinements theproducts are launched world-wide.Rather, now we need to look at evolutionin most practices in similar way asvarious soft-wares evolve and bestowcontinued improvements. Microsoft’sWindows multiple versions similar tomobile phones newer versions beartestimony to this fact. Updating ofMicrosoft Windows every secondTuesday every month again reinforcesthe same. Failure to update is bound tolead to failures. As our history showsthat in each and every battle foughtbetween the British and Indian statesduring 18th and 19th century, it was theIndian side which had more and betterweapons and larger armies, but oldthinking and poor training. The successbehind British victories were superiorgeneralship combined with rock likediscipline of the British infantry, basedon new doctrine, training andcombination of subterfuge to causedivisions of Indian forces.

Therefore, trying to induct andassimilate new technologies will only bethe first step. We will need to align ourdoctrine to technology. If the doctrine isparamount, then we will have to becareful in selecting technologies thatsupport the doctrine. For example,American defence starts in the faraway

lands of South Korea, Japan and Europe.Israel’s defence lies primarily in itsoffensive capability. On the eve of WorldWar II, France’s doctrine was defensiveat the Franco–German border. Ourdoctrine too, will need to suit ourrequirements at different fronts,comprising totally different terrain andgeography. The different spectrum ofwar faced by our military from anti-terrorism on one extreme to possiblenuclear war at another extremedemands this. Geographical realities ofthe huge Himalayan range pose anuphill adversity. Better prepared andnumerically superior adversary at thisborder will have to be factored. Theselection and adoption of newtechnology will not be an easy straightforward task but a phenomenallycomplex process if we want themaximum bang for the buck at variousfronts and spectrum of war.

Having decided doctrinal andtechnological issues, we will have totackle other important issues which forwant of a better term I call “culturalissues”. It is well understood thatmodern warfare is an extremelycomplex undertaking. It involves systemof systems, all intricately linked. Butlinking properly each system itself, andthereafter with other systems is the mostchallenging part for traditionally drivenarmies, air forces and navies, not tomention other agencies involved in ISR.This is where the cultural mind setcomes in. Moreover, the result ofmodern technologies has already madethe world flat, as Thomas Friedmanpropounded. The organisationalstructures in most economic enterpriseshave become more horizontalcompared to earlier vertical form. Thefree market is an excellent barometer ofthe changes. This is because technologyhas enabled mass communication andparticipation. It implies more

NEW TECHNOLOGY AND MILITARYAVM A.K. Tiwari, VSM

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delegation, faster decision making anddissemination, far more receptiveorganisation at multiple hierarchiessimultaneously. Another importantfactor is that it is the younger lot who aremuch more at ease with newtechnologies. They can innovate andadapt it for organisational needs farmore quickly than the seniors. Today, itis imperative that their voices be heardmuch more than in the past.

The basis for integrated warfare is aflexible mind set, willing to first look atthe overall big-ger picture before its ownlimited picture defined by its role andpart in a war/ battle. That this is againstnatural human inclination is proved byGoldwater Nichols Act of 1986 in USAwhich mandated the Services to follow acertain path for integration. Creation ofmore joint unified commands,culminating in Joint Forces Command inUSA bears testimony. How then can onebring about the cultural change in thestereotype mind set? The easy answer isto use all possible means. First, it needsto be mandated at the highest level. Thevarious reorganisations in the USmilitary are more the result of lawmakers than the Services themselves.Reorganisation in Russian military postthe Cold War and in the Chinese military,post economic reforms, was againmostly State directed. The next step isproper professional education of theofficers starting as early as possible.Sitting together and studying is lesseffective for jointness, then studyingpurposely for joint operation eventhough not co-located. This is whereservice prejudices seem to cloud theissue on what to study and for how long.One way to approach the issue is to putjoint exercises as the primary means oflearning rather than year long course atvarious stages. Let practical be theteacher. What works in the field – that’swhat we need to study. What fails, needsto be discarded or minimised. Needlessto say, the exercises need to be asrealistic as possible.

Another cultural change required isin decision making. The well connectednetworked system throws up too much

information at each level. The verysenior levels which normally deal atstrategic level now have access to toomany details. It can be an ongoingaction at a platoon level or a UAVlocking on to a suspected terrorist. Thisprofusion of information creates adecision dilemma for senior leadershipin the media sensitive world. What if thesuspected terrorist is an innocentcivilian – a woman or child in disguise?How to further confirm the identity? Orto let the juniors go on with the mission,hopefully with pre-decided rules ofengagement? Well, war is always aboutblood and gore; death and destruction.While collateral damage has beenreduced well out of proportioncompared to few decades past, it cannotbe eliminated totally. The temptation toover control will have to be controlled.Therefore, we need to relook atfollowing issues. Our prognosis revealsthat war on terror and insurgency will

occupy our major attention in comingdecades. If this be so, then we need toexpand upon the current limitedthoughts on restricted militaryapplication for counter insurgency. Withphenomenal technological advances,immense new possibilities have openedup for utilising air power in counterinsurgency role. We need to try out thesenew possibilities in realistic test likesituations. Testing and trials will lead tothe best practices and procedures.Doctrinally we must shift towardsincreasing role of air power in CI.

Let us look at anti-terroristoperations in some detail to understandgood use of technology. Use oftechnology in countering terrorists byIsrael is an example worth examination.Of the entire lot of terrorists killed in2002, air strikes accounted for only 15percent. By 2005, Israeli air power wasresponsible for 50 percent terroristskilled. Regarding collateral damage, in

THEME ARTICLE



2002 one civilian was killed for eachmilitant. By 2005 one civilian was killedfor 12 militants killed. The abovesuccess resulted from a cumulativeeffort of Intelligences agencies both civiland military; special command andcontrol cell for decision making; newtechnology in precision weapons andfusing policy and lastly the completenetworked system supported byextensive automation in data miningtools, data structuring tools, cyberspace, intelligence processing leading tointegrated use of airborne sensors.

Innovations do not happen bythemselves. They result from efforts tofulfil various requirements after creativethinking and resort to the untried. Let ussee how this took place in the past.When a problem was detected, itsoccurrence was reported to the nextsenior. He in turn would inform hissuperior if he could not find a solution.Often, he would also hide the problem

from his superiors without solving it inthe first place,because the solution wasnot in his grasp. Or an observant seniorcould detect the problem during hisvisits/inspections. This was anextremely slow and tedious process withmore opportunities to hide rather thansolve the problem. But smart phonetechnology has brought in a sea change.Now everyone is connected and cancommunicate with anyone/everyoneinstantly. The loop of detection,informing, seeking solution has shrunkphenomenally. The fact that everyonecan be involved also provides so manymore solution providers. We need tocapitalise on this. The new requirementsemerge only when one exercises allavailable systems and discovers theneed for something new or different.Then bright minds, dealing with theproblem create solutions withinnovation. Air Power has to be usedfirst to seek improvements – especiallyin unusual roles. If one does not use airpower, one can never improve. For theinnovative culture to develop, theorganisation must have openness,participatory approach and design itsrules for the majority’s benefit. JimCollins describing how companiesreach greatness from the pedestal ofbeing good stated, “Most companiesbuild their bureaucratic rules to managethe small percentage of wrong peopleon the bus, which increases the need formore bureaucracy to compensate forincompetence and lack of discipline,which then further drives the rightpeople away, and so forth.” We need tolearn from this traditional approach. Aprimary task is to create a culturewherein people have tremendousopportunity to be heard and, ultimately,for the truth to be heard. This requiresfour basic practices:• Lead with questions, not answers.• Engage in dialogue and debate, notcoercion.

• Conduct autopsies, without blame.• Build red flag mechanisms that turninformation in to information thatcannot be ignored.Cyber war and digitisation dictates

the need to bring in distinct changes inour HR policies. These fields requireyounger personnel, who are allowedmore freedom and are unconstrained bytypical conservative military discipline.Cyber is a field needing combination ofhighly educated computer experts alongwith less educated but gifted individualswho have a fascination for gadgetry. Tounderstand and accept that it is theyoung persons who are creating all theinnovations in digital world one needsto only look at the commercial world.There, all new start-ups are by theyoung. These start-ups are changing theface of business. Same will also apply tomilitary and the faster we realise andimplement this, the better. UAVoperations are another new domain. Itdemands a fresh approach rather thanmodifications to the earlier way of work.In USA, there is now a raging debateabout UAV operators role and status visa vis the combat role of pilots. Wecannot ignore this. So one standard fitall policy in HR will not work. The needfor flexible and evolving HR policy isinevitable. In conclusion, to maximisethe benefits of new technologies, mereinduction of technology will not do. Theissues dealing with doctrine, training,HR policies and even organisationalchanges will also have to be tackled in awholesome manner. Failure to do so isbound to lead to experience of Indianrulers in 18th and 19th century, whereindespite new and better and morenumerous technology and forces, theylost each and every battle.

Commissioned in the Indian AirForce as a fighter pilot, Air Vice Marshal

AK Tiwary, VSM, served as a groundbased Forward Air Controller during

the 1971 Indo-Pak conflict. He has over4100 flying hours experience, mostly on

Russian fighters. He commanded aMiG-29 Squadron in late 80s and

superannuated as Senior Directing Staff(Air) at National De-fence College, New

Delhi. Very active in the strategiccircles, he has published many articles

in professional military journals inIndia and has also authored five books.


THEME ARTICLE


Looking across the span of generations ofaircraft developed, the twentieth century,particularly the latter fifty years has seena jump across four generations. The turnof the century saw aircraft types that havebeen best described as Gen 4 to 4.5 withthe former of the likes of F-16, F-15 andMirage-2000 while the latterencompassing aircraft like the SU-30, F-117 and the F-22. F-35 is perhaps the onlyone presently to be called a fifthgeneration fighter. Concurrently, withthis development, targeting mind-setmoved from mass production anddestruction, to niche warfare with a focuson precision targeting. To keep pace withchanged mind-set, the sensors andweapons, both airborne and groundbased also benefited from advancementin technology making the battle spacevery lethal.

During this period, the cyber, spaceand electronic warfare dimensions haveadded value, transparency and lethalityto both friend and foe. Further, theelements of Counter Insurgency (CI)operations have created a dilemmawhere there are precision guidedmunitions (PGMs) that can literallythread a needle day and night. However,the target or the enemy too, has becomeinvisible. To add to all this is the new andexpanding role of the media, both socialand the conventional in the nationalsecurity construct. This then, is the fifthgeneration operational scenario forwhich we need to train our soldier pilots.

Enabled by phenomenal processingpower of the computers and nano-technology, the new capability in thehands of the operational and thescientific community is the ability toharness the improved capability of themodern sensors and the ability of rapid

and secure data exchange. Harnessing allthis together into a fused picture givesthe pilot, as well as the decision makerson the ground, a new leverage for muchimproved situational awareness (SA). Allthis then brought forth the three keyelements of Advanced Stealth withfighter performance, Integrated SensorFusion and Net Enabled Operations forthe fifth generation platforms. Along withall this is the ever competing desire ofqualitatively good and fast decision-to-execution process or in other wordsreduction in the sensor to shooter timegiving value to the four elements ofSpeed, Access, Reach and Accuracy.

Air Warriors of the futureAppreciating the operationalenvironment of the future, where theplatforms out-perform the operators, thesoldier pilots would certainly needspecial skills. One thing for sure, theywould have to be team-men who arementally agile, flexible and above allcommitted and decisive. Fence-sittingwould have to be forgotten as a virtue ofthe past if the force is to be kept viable. Itmay be desirable to find technologicaltools not only to assess their motor skillsbefore induction, but also their aptitudefor excelling in the increasinglydemanding operational environment.

While the fifth generationenvironment has benefitted immenselyby integrated sensor fusion for bettersituational awareness and effect; in spirit,we have unfortunately not fullyappreciated the potential of similarintegration across the various disciplinesthat constitute our joint combat power.Similarly, we cannot afford to isolate andinsulate the pilot any more. There iscertainly a case for lean and mean force;

but finally each air warrior will need tounderstand his or her unique position inthe team and fuse their capability for thefinal combat objective. Technologywould have taught us a lesson then.

Training ChallengesThe Air Force aims to train across theenvisaged spectrum of capabilities up tothe limits inclusive of surprise elementsthat may be faced by the engaged forces.Such readiness and training in the form ofjoint exercises will add to the criticalleverage and agility. These joint exerciseswill also underscore the importance ofoptimising available resources and fill infor capability gap of each service. Often,realism in this training suffers due tovarious reasons like operationaldiscretion, logistics of scale andconstraints of flexibility. In addition thereare limitations in creating a dynamicallyresponsive enemy and means of derivingtangible analysis for debrief. Here again,modern technology can assist inproviding teeth to training with systemslike the ACMI (Air Combat ManoeuvringInstrumentation).Similarly, solutions likethe EVA (Embedded Virtual Avionics) foradvanced trainer aircraft helps toeffectively download operational trainingto less expensive trainer aircraft anddelivering a more capable pilot at the endof pilot training pipeline. It is perhapsideally suited for today’s advancedtraining aircraft like the M-346 and theHawk-132. In fact, EVA may find its placein the TX programme of the USAF. Theultimate training solution that can helpcombat elements to train for a widespectrum of operational missions is theground-based multi-dome missiontraining centre (MTC) like Elbit System’sSkyBreaker. It is a complete squadron

THEME ARTICLE


TRAINING A SOLDIER PILOT:5th GENERATION

AVM Amit Aneja, AVSM, VM, VSM

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mission training solution which providesfull flexibility of variation in the friendlyand enemy computer generated forces(CGF), ensuring a seamless real-timeinterface between men-in–the-loop andthe CGF. These virtual entities are capableof both simulation as well as stimulationof virtual sensors like weapons andelectronic warfare (EW) that operate in adynamically interactive scenario. Whiledoing so, they are enveloped in a fullyimmersed and integrated near realisticcomputer generated imagery (CGI) ofchoice. Most importantly, at the end, itprovides mission repeatability andtangible results for debrief at a fraction ofthe cost of live exercises that are so hard toexecute. As an added thought, in themodern day, it is rarity to witness a “man-to-man” conflict. The focus has shifted to“many-to-many” emphasising theimportance of teamwork, ideally withleverage from numerous availablesystems and support platforms.

ConclusionA better part of the twentieth century hasbeen spent in identifying and developingthe lead technologies of Advanced

Stealth in fighters, Integrated SensorFusion and Net Enabled Operations.These have been embedded into the fifthgeneration of fighters. Anyone having theability of deploying such assets wouldhave unthinkable advantage. They wouldbe able to shape the so called combatcloud as a key element of the battle spacewithin which the various deployedaircraft interact to craft air dominance inpursuit of Joint force objectives.

It is widely believed that you cannotdo today’s job with yesterday’s methodsand be in business tomorrow. With theshrinking budgets and increasing cost ofmodern platforms, innovative ways willneed to be considered to keep theoperational teeth sharp within theconstraints of available assets. Live,virtual and constructive simulation toolslike ACMI, EVA and MTC mentionedearlier will ensure that realisticoperational capability is never diluted inthe emerging battle spaces of tomorrow.

Ever improving technology will alwayshave its push factor to improve theaircraft, weapons and sensorstechnology, data integration and fusionand consequently the tactics that ensure

survival in the unforgivingly lethal battlespace. What will tilt the scales in asymmetric engagement are the quality oftraining and the ability of theleadershipto harness a well-integratedteam. General Curtis Lemay said “man isyet to make a computer that is dedicatedto God or country”. Technology isimportant, but it’s the man behind themachine that will finally matter. He hasto be trained well.

An alumnus of the NDA, The HCCourse, and The NDC, New Delhi, AVM

Amit Aneja, AVSM, VM, VSM wascommissioned in the Indian Air Force as

a fighter pilot in December 1976. Agraduate of Air Command and Staff

College in USA and National Institute ofDefence Studies in Japan, he also

attended the Air Battle Managementand Planning Course at CASPOA in

France. A Qualified Flying Instructor, hehas over 3000 hours of flying experiencein various frontline fighter squadrons toinclude Kiran, Hunter, Gnat, MIG 21 andMirage 2000 fighter aircraft. He was theCommandant of the Air Force Academyat Dundigal, before retiring from the IAF.


THEME ARTICLE

22-23-Amit Aneja_14_19_ BEING A FLY GIRL.qxd 12/10/2015 9:29 AM Page 2

TECHNOLOGY


The Department of Prison (DOP)Administration and Reforms is tasked tomaintain the security of the prisoners,provide education/training forrehabilitation, secure their human rights,and generally improve infrastructure andfacilities within jails. Technology can helpfacilitate efficient daily operations and atthe same time expedite strategicmanagement decisions of the DOPthrough establishment of data bases thatare integrated with the judicial system.This could be done throughindependently operated systems at everyprison facility. Each such system isdesigned to work seamlessly with theothers, providing the administration withadditional efficiencies. Having acommon central database supportinginstitutions, community basedcorrections and field offices, allows theexecutive management to make moreinformed decisions on how to improveoffender re-entry initiatives, reducerecidivism and improve operationalefficiencies. Furthermore, the system canbe designed to support sharing ofinformation between agencies such asPublic Safety and Court InformationSystems.

All systems would be ideally deliveredfrom a cloud with the client workstationusing a standard browser to access thesystem. The correctional operations andsystems’ infrastructure can be built orcommonly shared thus leveraging DOP’sexisting infrastructure, or utilising asecure cloud or a combination of both.There are standard monitoring and dataauditing guidelines such as SSAE-16 SOCI Type II that can be applied.

Data can be accessed throughhandheld devices (PDAs andsmartphones) allowing officers to accesslatest information directly from thecloud. This improves officer’s decision

making while away from their desk aswell as safety for community correctionsstaff.Some of the key features that can bebuilt into the system are given below:

Offender Funds Administration.Automated transactions reduce time andenforce consistent accounting processes.Many non-productive tasks such asprinting and filing daily transactionjournals are eliminated.

Kitchen Operations. The systemreduces personnel time needed forpurchasing, inventory management andsales processes.

Inmate Enablement. This systemprovides inmates with tools that willprove vital to their transition back intosociety. They not only expose inmates toliving and work skills utilised in today’sworld, but also facilitate self-management skills that will proveimportant as they reintegrate intosociety.

Electronic Health Records. To assistthe medical staff to make more informedassessments and diagnoses.

Case Management. A centralinformation system designed to supportsuch analytics enables the DOP to makemore informed decisions and be moreresponsive to the legislature and otheragencies. Case Management enablesagencies to have a centralised systemthat provides a comprehensive view ofoffenders and dramatically improvesemployee effectiveness to increasepersonnel safety and reduce offenderrecidivism.

Investigation System. Security andefficiency at correctional institutionsrequire advanced methods of organisingand communicating all types ofinformation. It is important to providecorrectional agencies with the means tostore, analyse and disseminate themassive amounts of data collected ininstitutions every day. An Investigationsystem replaces outdated methods of

record keeping with a streamlined, highlyautomated system that manages data inall of the following areas:• Security threat group membership androles.

• Managing and protecting confidentialinformants.

• Incidents reporting and tracking.• Prevention of prison rape &use of forcedocumentation.

• Evidence items and subpoenas forthese items.

• Mechanism to collect generalintelligence.

• Cases (investigative and non-investigative).

• Referrals of cases and incidents toother agencies.

• Breathalyser and urinalysismanagement.These elements facilitate better

information sharing across the entireagency and all authorised staff.

Intelligence System. Detecting andpreventing unlawful inmate activity isone of the most important functions ofany prison administration. Crimescommitted within jail premises haveoften proved to be the bane of our jailsthus rendering all their efforts ineffective.

While the possibilities are infinite asare the benefits, it is important to buildthe right perspective and take concretesteps in that direction, even if they arebaby steps one at a time. The first stephowever would be central level decisionmaking for uniformity and consistency inimplementation across all facilities at thesame time.

An entrepreneur with rich globalexposure and distinct understanding of

cutting edge technologies, Mr ParagAgarwal is a leading expert on ‘smart

cities, urban planning, emergencyresponse and disaster management’. He

is an acknowledged thought leader,speaker and author.

SMART PRISONS – AN ESSENTIAL NEED INCHANGING TIMES

Parag Agarwal

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POINT - COUNTERPOINT


(From the Tribune dated 23September 2015)By Gen Ved Malik

It is rare to see two adversariescelebrating the same war as theirrespective victory! On September 6, 2015,Pakistan celebrated the 50th anniversaryof Youm-e-Difa, or Pakistan Defence Day,with a 21-gun salute and a victory paradeto commemorate its successful defenceof Lahore against the Indian Army. TheYoum-e-Difa,however, distorts its history

to the extent that this war was initiated byPakistan, not India. Also, it glosses overPakistan’s failure to annex J&K, and itsmost successful operation of the war,wherein Pakistan army almost reachedAkhnoor to sever India’s Jammu-Akhnoor-Naushehra-Rajauri-Poonchroad.

India, too, is commemorating the 50thanniversary of this war: a war that manyIndians thought had been forgotten andassessed as a stalemate by many. The factthat the Indian Government has wokenup this year to celebrate the victory, forwhich 2,862 soldiers laid down their lives,is a reflection of its lack of strategicculture, apathy towards the profession ofsoldiering and the partisan politics thatdominates our country.

Geopolitically, 1965 was the mostappropriate time (and the lastopportunity) for Pakistanto annex J&K byforce. Politically, India was shaken afterthe demise of its first Prime MinisterNehru in May 1964. In comparison,Pakistan was politically stable with ahigher percentage of economic growth. Itwas a strategic ally of the US and hadbeen receiving the latest weapons andequipment, like Patton tanks, F-86 Sabreand F-104 Starfighter combat aircraft andthe sidewinder air-to-air missile — theonly usable air-to-air missile in thatconflict. By ceding Shaksgam Valley toChina in 1963, it had established a long-

term strategic partnership with China. Itsonly problem was of a false sense ofoptimism and strategic superiority; acommon factor in all wars between Indiaand Pakistan.

India was yet to recover from theignominy of its horrible military defeat inthe China-India war of 1962 and in themidst of making up strength of thearmed forces which had been mindlesslyreduced in the years before. Theemphasis in the military facelift was onmountain warfare.The war plan to ‘finishthe unfinished agenda of J&K’ wasapproved by Pakistan military dictatorField Marshal Ayub Khan on May 13,1965. Pakistan launched OperationGibraltar by infiltration of nearly 10,000armed soldiers and mujahideen into J&Kon the night of 5/6 August to cause arevolt against India. When this failed andIndia succeeded in capturing strategicheights in Kargil and Hajipir Pass,Pakistan launched Operation GrandSlam on September 1 to capture Akhnoorwith its strategic bridge over the Chenab.This led to India’s counteroffensives inthe Sialkot and Lahore sectors and thedecimation of Pakistan’s armouredoffensive in Khem Karan and Asal Uttar.Pakistan celebrates defence of Lahorewhich was never a military objective ofthe Indian forces. It was not a short 22-day war, as mentioned by somehistorians, but one which began with

An appraisal of Civil Military Relationsin the backdrop of the ’65 War

In an editorial in the Tribune, dated 23 September, 2015, former COAS, Gen. Ved Malik wrote a veryperceptive article on the 1965 Indo-Pak War (reproduced below). His articledrew an interesting

response from a renowned scholar, Prof Gautam Sen. This form of intellectual debate needs to beencouraged amongst both the serving community as well as the veterans in the armed forces, forthe quality of the discourse and the depth of analysis. The views of the readers, too will find space

on such discourses. —Editor

Who won the ‘65 war?

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Pakistani infiltration on August 5 andended on September 22, when both sidesagreed to a ceasefire.

So, who won that war?In the classic military treatise ‘On War’,Carl von Clausewitz states that the“political objective is the goal, war is themeans of reaching it, and means cannever be considered in isolation fromtheir purposes”. Pakistan, who initiatedthe war, failed in its political objective. Itlost more territory (lost 1800 sq. km ofterritory and captured 540 sq. km),suffered more casualties, lost more tanksand guns and more importantly, faceddomestic and internationalhumiliation.In a recent lecture in Lahore,Pakistan's historian and politicaleconomist Akbar Zaidi dispelled thePakistani victory myth, saying that “therecan be no bigger lie as Pakistan had lostterribly”.

With major advances in warfaretechnologies and their huge impact onoperational art and tactics, our interest inthe 1965 war should now be more todraw strategic lessons from thanoperational art and tactics. The first thingthat strikes me is the near similarity withwhich Pakistan took the war initiative,under cover of its non-state actors. Theywere led by Pakistani regular armyofficers in 1947-48 and in the 1965 war. InKargil war, they were replaced by someregular army personnel wearingmujahideen clothing. The mujahideenfaçade continued, although none hadparticipated in that war. In all these wars,there was distorted and disjointedversion of Pakistani capabilities andintentions by our intelligence whichenabled Pakistan to achieve strategicsurprise. We reacted to adversecircumstances — always a biggerchallenge — and yet kept the war scopelimited. There was no political objectiveexcept to force Pakistan to vacate ourterritory. Such a strategy violates SunTzu’s dictum: “Security against defeatimplies defensive tactics; ability to defeatthe enemy means taking the offensive.”

What’s the relevance of a formaldeclaration of war which activates

directions contained in the inter-ministerial War Book? And what aboutthe ‘rules of engagement’ which aredifferent for the usual terrorists and thosewho cross over to wage a 1965 or 1999-type war? Shouldn’t that discretion be leftto the Chiefs of Staff Committee?

India’s defence and security reportcard has, by and large, been morepositive than negative. Despite reactivestrategic policies, ad hoc defenceplanning and decision-making,intelligence failures and surprises, thearmed forces have maintained thecountry’s security and territorial integritybetter than any other democratic,developing nation. And yet, many a time,we have failed to convert sacrifices andhard-won operational achievements intolong-term strategic successes. That isbecause there is inadequate politico-military dialogue or political guidance inpeacetime. Like, approaching the UNwhen we were doing well in 1947-48 or

finishing the J&K issue in 1971, giving upHajipir Pass was a strategic error in the1965 war. Unfortunately, despite theimportant national security rolesenvisaged and expected of them, thearmed forces are not adequately involvedin strategic policy making and planninglevel.

No two wars are fought in an identicalstrategic environment. To quote Sun Tzuagain: “Just as water retains no constantshape, so in warfare, there are noconstant conditions.” At the strategiclevel, one requires a long memory but alonger vision. The next war, if there isone, will be different. The nuclearthreshold, cyber capabilities and real-time information, assessments andactions will dictate political and militarystrategy, operational art and tactics. Theuncertainty of peace with Pakistanrequires continued vigilance and beingready for the next generation armedconflict.




It is rare to see two adversariescelebrating the same war as theirrespective victory! On September 6,2015, Pakistan celebrated the 50thanniversary of Youm-e-Difa, or PakistanDefence Day, with a 21-gun salute and avictory parade to commemorate itssuccessful defence of Lahore againstthe Indian Army. The Youm-e-Difa,however, distorts its history to theextent that this war was initiated byPakistan, not India. Also, it glosses overPakistan’s failure to annex J&K, and itsmost successful operation of the war,wherein Pakistan army almost reachedAkhnoor to sever India’s Jammu-Akhnoor-Naushehra-Rajauri-Poonchroad.

India, too, is commemorating the50th anniversary of this war: a war thatmany Indians thought had beenforgotten and assessed as a stalemateby many. The fact that the IndianGovernment has woken up this year tocelebrate the victory, for which 2,862soldiers laid down their lives, is areflection of its lack of strategic culture,apathy towards the profession ofsoldiering and the partisan politics that

dominates our country.Geopolitically, 1965 was the most

appropriate time (and the lastopportunity) for Pakistanto annex J&Kby force. Politically, India was shakenafter the demise of its first PrimeMinister Nehru in May 1964. Incomparison, Pakistan was politicallystable with a higher percentage ofeconomic growth. It was a strategic allyof the US and had been receiving thelatest weapons and equipment, likePatton tanks, F-86 Sabre and F-104Starfighter combat aircraft and thesidewinder air-to-air missile — the onlyusable air-to-air missile in that conflict.By ceding Shaksgam Valley to China in1963, it had established a long-termstrategic partnership with China. Itsonly problem was of a false sense ofoptimism and strategic superiority; acommon factor in all wars betweenIndia and Pakistan.

India was yet to recover from theignominy of its horrible military defeatin the China-India war of 1962 and inthe midst of making up strength of thearmed forces which had beenmindlessly reduced in the years before.

The emphasis in the military faceliftwas on mountain warfare.The war planto ‘finish the unfinished agenda of J&K’was approved by Pakistan militarydictator Field Marshal Ayub Khan onMay 13, 1965. Pakistan launchedOperation Gibraltar by infiltration ofnearly 10,000 armed soldiers andmujahideen into J&K on the night of 5/6 August to cause a revolt againstIndia. When this failed and Indiasucceeded in capturing strategicheights in Kargil and Hajipir Pass,Pakistan launched Operation GrandSlam on September 1 to captureAkhnoor with its strategic bridge overthe Chenab. This led to India’scounteroffensives in the Sialkot andLahore sectors and the decimation ofPakistan’s armoured offensive in KhemKaran and Asal Uttar. Pakistancelebrates defence of Lahore which wasnever a military objective of the Indianforces. It was not a short 22-day war, asmentioned by some historians, but onewhich began with Pakistani infiltrationon August 5 and ended on September22, when both sides agreed to aceasefire.



Response by Professor Gautam Sen, (Retd. Army), Emeritus Professor, VisitingProfessor & Adjunct Faculty at MILE, Gorakhpur University & NIAS Respectively


So, who won that war?In the classic military treatise ‘On War’,Carl von Clausewitz states that the“political objective is the goal, war is themeans of reaching it, and means cannever be considered in isolation fromtheir purposes”. Pakistan, who initiatedthe war, failed in its political objective. Itlost more territory (lost 1800 sq. km ofterritory and captured 540 sq. km),suffered more casualties, lost more tanksand guns and more importantly, faceddomestic and internationalhumiliation.In a recent lecture inLahore, Pakistan's historian and politicaleconomist Akbar Zaidi dispelled thePakistani victory myth, saying that “therecan be no bigger lie as Pakistan had lostterribly”.

With major advances in warfaretechnologies and their huge impact onoperational art and tactics, our interestin the 1965 war should now be more todraw strategic lessons from thanoperational art and tactics. The firstthing that strikes me is the nearsimilarity with which Pakistan took thewar initiative, under cover of its non-state actors. They were led by Pakistaniregular army officers in 1947-48 and inthe 1965 war. In Kargil war, they werereplaced by some regular armypersonnel wearing mujahideen clothing.

The mujahideen façade continued,although none had participated in thatwar. In all these wars, there was distortedand disjointed version of Pakistanicapabilities and intentions by ourintelligence which enabled Pakistan toachieve strategic surprise. We reacted toadverse circumstances — always abigger challenge — and yet kept the warscope limited. There was no politicalobjective except to force Pakistan tovacate our territory. Such a strategyviolates Sun Tzu’s dictum: “Securityagainst defeat implies defensive tactics;ability to defeat the enemy means takingthe offensive.”

What’s the relevance of a formaldeclaration of war which activatesdirections contained in the inter-ministerial War Book? And what aboutthe ‘rules of engagement’ which aredifferent for the usual terrorists andthose who cross over to wage a 1965 or1999-type war? Shouldn’t that discretionbe left to the Chiefs of Staff Committee?

India’s defence and security reportcard has, by and large, been morepositive than negative. Despite reactivestrategic policies, ad hoc defenceplanning and decision-making,intelligence failures and surprises, thearmed forces have maintained thecountry’s security and territorial

integrity better than any otherdemocratic, developing nation. And yet,many a time, we have failed to convertsacrifices and hard-won operationalachievements into long-term strategicsuccesses. That is because there isinadequate politico-military dialogue orpolitical guidance in peacetime. Like,approaching the UN when we weredoing well in 1947-48 or finishing theJ&K issue in 1971, giving up Hajipir Passwas a strategic error in the 1965 war.Unfortunately, despite the importantnational security roles envisaged andexpected of them, the armed forces arenot adequately involved in strategicpolicy making and planning level.

No two wars are fought in an identicalstrategic environment. To quote Sun Tzuagain: “Just as water retains no constantshape, so in warfare, there are noconstant conditions.” At the strategiclevel, one requires a long memory but alonger vision. The next war, if there isone, will be different. The nuclearthreshold, cyber capabilities and real-time information, assessments andactions will dictate political and militarystrategy, operational art and tactics. Theuncertainty of peace with Pakistanrequires continued vigilance and beingready for the next generation armedconflict.




MOTIVATION


Beneath Saragarhi's ruined walls,They found a fitting grave;For Saragarhi bears the fame,They gave their lives to save.

What does ‘Honour, Courage andSacrifice’ mean to a soldier. Perhapsthere is no better way of explainingthese words than in the telling of theepic battle of Saragarhi, which wasfought on 12 September, 1897 duringthe Tirah campaign of 1897-1898.Tirah is a mountainous tract of

country, inhabited mainly by the Afridiand Orakzai tribesman. A harsh place, itis embroiled even today in bloodyconflict, though now it forms part ofKhyber Pakhtunkhwa province ofPakistan. At that time, this region was apart of British India and was home to amultitude of battle-hardened tribes forcenturies. This was the period when theRussians were trying to make inroadsinto the continent via Afghanistan andthe British, in response, made severalincursions into Afghanistan to stop thisadventurism by the tribes allied toRussia. The rivalry between Russia andBritain, played out over Afghanistanwas popularly called the ‘Great Game’.To contain and keep the tribes in checkthe British manned a series of postsalong the Hindu Kush ranges. Theseposts had in earlier times beenconstructed by Maharaja Ranjit Singhduring the hey days of the Sikh empireand after its decline, these were takenover by the British for the samepurpose.To enable the smooth flow of trade

via the Khyber Pass and prevent tribalraids, the British Indian Governmentpaid a subsidy to the Afridi tribesman.In addition, they also maintained aregiment, composed entirely of Afridis,at the Khyber pass. Thatnotwithstanding, the troopshad to be

ever vigilant against constant raids andskirmishes by the local tribesman. Thearrangement put up by the Britishremained reasonably successful for the16 years it was in operation. However, in1897, the tribes rose in revolt againstthe British. To suppress the revolt, TheBritish Indian Government launchedthe Tirah expedition under thecommand of General Sir WilliamLockhart in the latter part of 1897. Fivecompanies of 36 Sikh, which had beenraised on 20 April 1894 under thecommand of Col J. Cook, were sent inAugust 1897, under Lt Col JohnHaughton, to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.These troops were stationed at SamanaHills, Kurag, Sangar, Sahtop Dhar andSaragarhi. In the tribal uprising, the tribals

captured all the posts in the Khyberheld by their own countrymen, andattacked the forts on the Samana Rangenear the city of Peshawar. During thefirst week of September, the Afridi andOrakzai tribesmen also launchedanumber of attacks on Fort Gulistanand Fort Lockhart, which too hadearlier been constructed by MaharajaRanjit Singh. Elements of 36 Sikh, underthe command of Lieutenant ColonelJohn Haughton, which had been movedto the area, had been successfullyrepelling these attacks from the tough,hardy Pashtuns.Fort Lockhart waslocated on the Samana Range of theHindu Kush mountains. Situated a fewmiles away from Fort Lockhart, was FortGulistan, on the Sulaiman Range. Dueto the forts not being visible to eachother, Saragarhi was created midway, asa heliographic communicationpost.Saragarhi Postwas thus nothingmore than a small signalling stationsituated on a barren, wind-blown hill-slope between Fort Lockhart and FortGulistan.

Despite repeated attempts, thetribesman could not breach either FortLockhart or Fort Gulistan. So, onSeptember 12, 1897, they changed theirstrategy and attacked Saragarhi instead,aiming to cut off the vitalcommunication link between the twoforts. The Pathan attack plan wassimple. The tribesman would block theentry of reinforcements, which couldcome to the aid of Saragarhi andthereafter attack the post with fullstrength. By the morning of 12September, the tribesman were inposition, and were simply raring to go.At this time, Saragarhi was beingguarded by a detachment of Sikhs. Itwas providential that the post had beenreinforced just a day earlier, and nowcomprised of Havildar Ishar Singh, and20 other ranks.On the morning of 12 September,

when Havildar Ishar Singh peeredthrough the binocular from the watchtower of his post, he was rudelyawakened by the sight that met his eyes.Far in the distance, columns uponcolumns and row upon rows of Pathanswere advancing to his post, waving theirswords and guns menacingly. The dustcloud kicked up by the thousands ofhorses was of such intensity that itpartially blocked the rays of the sun.With a grim determination, HavildarIshar Singh, readied his men for thebattle - a battle that was to resound inthe annals of military history as a feat ofcollective heroism, unparalleled in thehistory of the fighting arms.Sepoy Gurmukh Singh, the

detachment signaller, then went up anelevated mound to set up hisheliograph and sent the first of manysignals to Fort Lockhart.“Enemy Approaching the Main Gate.

Need Reinforcements.”But there were no reinforcements

THE BATTLE OF SARAGARHIMaj Gen Dhruv C Katoch, SM, VSM

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forthcoming, for as Lt Col Haughtonsoon found out, the enemy hadeffectively blocked all routes fromwhere aid could come.“Unable to break through. Hold

Position” was the terse message thatwas flashed from Fort Lockhart to thebeleaguered troops at Saragarhi.“Understood”, was the response

flashed back by Gurmukh Singh. Thefate of the post at Saragarhi was thussealed. Haughton could do nothing butwatch from Fort Lockhart, the eventsunfolding before his eyes. He countedat least 10 enemy standards (eachrepresenting 1,000 tribesmen) facingthe 21 soldiers from 36 Sikh.In the Saragarhi post the bugle was

sounded and in a flash the troopsformed up two line abreast, one row ina squatting firing position and the otherstanding as per the bugle’s tone.Thetroops were equipped with the MartiniHenry breech loading rifle, which atthat time was the standard Britishinfantry rifle. They had first enteredservice with the British Army in 1871and quickly became their mainstay. TheSikhs had only recently received theserifles, after all the British units wereequipped, replacing the venerableEnfield. Capable of firing ten .303calibre rounds a minute, it proved to bemore than a match to the antiquatedmuzzle loading rifles possessed by thetribesmen. Bur mere superiority of therifle was no match for the hordes thatconfronted Ishar Singh.The defenders now stood ready to

face the advancing enemy. Tenthousand soldiers of the enemy againstjust 21 of the defenders. Though therifle had an effective range of 600 yards,Havildar Ishar Singh held his fire,allowing the enemy to come closer, thebetter to deal with them.“Fire”, he yelled, when the enemy

was just 250 yards from the post. Themassed fire effect was deadly and theleading lot of the enemy crumpled tothe dust. “Reload”, ordered Ishar and then the

next volley was fired. But the enemywas not to be halted and the following

lots of the enemy continued to advancetowards the post. “Reload and Fire at Will”, ordered

Ishar Singh and a hail of bullets soonfollowed the command. The ding dongbattle continued till the first wave ofattacks was beaten back and the enemyforced to regroup. However, the manualbreech loading rifle had to be cockedevery time to shoot, which was timeconsuming. The first wave of the enemyhad fallen, but there were countlesswaves behind them. It would be but amatter of time before the hordes were atthe gate.The Pathans now changed their

strategy, and approached the post fromtwo directions., one towards the maingate and the other towards the gap atthe fort. To counter the charging enemy,Havildar Ishar Singh gave his next set ofcommands.“Squatting Soldiers to the Left,

Standing Soldiers to theRight…QUICKLY…QUICKLY.The highly disciplined soldiers

followed the orders like clock work andonce again the enemy attack wasrepulsed. This level of resistance wasnot expected by the tribesman and sothey tried a different tack. Withcasualties on their side mounting, theyoffered the defenders favourable termsto surrender. This off course wasrejected with contempt by the Sikhs.They were well aware of the atrocitiescommitted against captured soldiers bythe Pashtun or Afghani tribesmen.Castration, mutilation and skinningcaptured soldiers alive was one of themany ways tribal leaders instilled fearand control. The Pasthun were fiercewarriors just like the Indian soldiers ofthe British Indian Army but lacked thechivalry aspect of the warrior ethos. In apoem titled “The Young British Soldier”,Rudyard Kipling had written theseimmortal lines:“When you're wounded and lefton Afghanistan's plains,And the women come outto cut up what remains,Jest roll to your rifleand blow out your brains.”

The enemy now reformed andresumed his attack on the haplessSikhs, watched all along by theircommanding officer from FortLockhart. All the while, Sepoy GurmukhSingh continued flashing messages tothe Fort, apprising them of the latestsituation. Wave after wave came uponthe defenders, who however, stoutlyrefused to either budge or flinch. Thedeath toll on the enemy kept mounting,but their supply of manpower wasendless. The defenders, however couldnot replace their losses and by noonwere down to just ten men. After manyunsuccessful attempts, the tribesmanfinally managed to breach one of thewalls. By this time the battle, observedfrom the fort, had raged for the betterpart of the sunlit hours. With the enemynow in the inner perimeter, adetermined Ishar Singh ordered histroops to fall back into the inner layer ofSaragarhi, while he distracted and heldthe attackers at bay — another classicdelaying tactic. After fierce and brutalhand-to-hand combat, Ishar Singh waskilled, and the enemy now came intothe inner perimeter, where the lastphase of fighting took place. Each manstood up to be counted, and fought ontill there was no breath left in him tofight. Finally, only one man, SepoyGurmukh Singh remained. At 1530hours, Gurmukh passed his lastmessage to Fort Lockhart.“Closing down the wireless.” Request

Permission to fix bayonet and fight theenemy. Permission was accorded andGurmukh packed his equipment into aleather bag, fixed his bayonet andprepared to take on the enemy from thestrong room. One soldier, alone againstthousands. With the Sikh battle cry, “JoBole So Nihal, Sat Sri Akal (Victorybelongs to those who recite the name ofGod with a true heart)” on his lips, hetook on the enemy, and reportedlykilled about 20 Pashtuns, before he waskilled, the Pashtuns having to set fire tothe post to eliminate him. And then adeep quiet descended on the post, eventhe gods acknowledging the feat ofheroism, rarely witnessed in the annals

MOTIVATION



of military history.Having destroyed Saragarhi, the

Afghans turned their attention to FortGulistan, but they had been delayed toolong, and reinforcements arrived therein the night of 13-14 September, beforethe fort could be conquered. Thusended this epic saga - a feat ofresistance, unparalleled in history.When the relief party finally arrived atSaragarhi, there were over 600 deadAfghans and 21 soldiers of the 36thSikhs. Of the six hundred enemy dead,some would have been the result ofartillery fire in the retaking of the post.The Afghans themselves stated thatthey had lost about 180 killed and manymore wounded during the engagementagainst the 21 Sikh soldiers. But for just21 men, to have held off thousands ofthe enemy tribesman for over sevenhours, was in itself a remarkable feat ofgallantry, achieved earlier only in theclassic battle of Thermopylae, fought

between a Greek alliance and thePersian Empire in 480 BCE.When informed of this feat, Britain’s

Parliament interrupted proceedingsand rose to give a standing ovation tothese 21 valorous soldiers — all of themIndians, all of them Sikhs — for whatwas undoubtedly a tremendous act ofcollective bravery, and one of thegreatest ‘last-stands’ in military history.The collective courage of the 21 Sikhsoldiers moved Queen Victoria so muchthat her majesty decreed that due toconspicuous gallantry and intrepiditybeyond and above the call of dutydisplayed by the 21 soldiers, all of themshall be awarded the Indian Order Merit(IOM) posthumously. IOM is thehighest award for bravery given tocolonial troops and it was equivalent tothe British Victoria Cross. This was theonly time in history of warfare whereeach soldier who took part in the samebattle was given the highest award.


MOTIVATION

ROLL OF HONOUR1. Havildar Ishar Singh (165)2. Naik Lal Singh (332)3. Lance Naik Chanda Singh (546)4. Sepoy Sundar Singh (1321)5. Sepoy Ram Singh (287)6. Sepoy Uttar Singh (492)7. Sepoy Sahib Singh (182)8. Sepoy Hira Singh (359)9. Sepoy Daya Singh (687)10. Sepoy Jivan Singh (760)11. Sepoy Bhola Singh (791)12. Sepoy Narayan Singh (834)13. Sepoy Gurmukh Singh (814)14. Sepoy Jivan Singh (871)15. Sepoy Gurmukh Singh (1733)16. Sepoy Ram Singh (163)17. Sepoy Bhagwan Singh (1257)18. Sepoy Bhagwan Singh (1265)19. Sepoy Buta Singh (1556)20. Sepoy Jivan Singh (1651)21. Sepoy Nand Singh (1221)


MALDIVESINDIA’S FOREIGN MINISTERVISITS MALDIVESDuring the recent visit of India’s ForeignMinister, Smt Sushma Swaraj to theMaldives on 10 and 11 October, 2015, thetwo countries decided to ramp upcooperation in various fields includingdefence, security, energy and health asthe two nations restarted the JointCommission talks after a hiatus of 15years. For the first time, defence andsecurity matters were also includedwithin the ambit of the India-MaldivesJoint Commission. Smt Swaraj alsoassured the Maldives that India willalways be the net security provider to theIndian Ocean archipelago, stating …"India has always been there forMaldives. I would like to assure you thatIndia will always be the net securityprovider for Maldives. This is a veryprivileged relationship," and adding thatsuch a relationship requires to be‘handled carefully’ on both sides. Shealso stressed the importance ofinsulating both countries from trendstowards radicalisation and terrorism andnoted that a framework agreement ofcooperation signed in November 2011,has empowered the joint commissionfurther and also mandated them todiscuss defence and security issues ofmutual concern.While the visit is seen by some as a

precursor to a visit by the Indian premier,the issue of the jailing of Maldives formerpresident Mohammad Nasheed who isnow Maldives' main opposition leader,remains contentious. Smt Swaraj statedthat India expected the situation to behandled in accordance with laws and

rules of Maldives and hoped that theoutcome would be seen by everybody asbeing fair and just.

AFGHANISTANUS TROOP WITHDRAWALHALTEDThe United States has halted its militarywithdrawal from Afghanistan. Makingthe announcement from the WhiteHouse on October 15, 2015, PresidentObama said that while he does notsupport ‘the idea of an endless war’, hewas dropping plans to withdraw nearlyall U.S. forces from Afghanistan by theend of 2016 and that 5,500 troops willremain on the ground to help protectgains made during 14 years of war. As aresult, the winner of the 2016 presidentialelection will become the third Americancommander in chief to oversee theAfghan war. The president had originallyplanned to withdraw all but a smallembassy-based force from Afghanistanin late 2016, shortly before leaving office.Under the new $15 billion-a-year plan,the U.S. will maintain its current force of9,800 through most of 2016, then begindrawing down to 5,500 late in the year orin early 2017.Some of the troops willcontinue to train and advise Afghanforces, while others will carry on the

search for militants of Al-Qaeda, IslamicState and other groups who have found ahaven in Afghanistan.The Presidents decision comes aftermonths of briefings by militarycommanders who stated that Afghansneeded additional assistance andsupport from the U.S. to beat back aresurgent Taliban and keep the IslamicState from using the country as a haven.This has paid put to the President’s aim ofending the wars he inherited, whileassuming the Presidency. This hadalready been tarnished by the return ofU.S. forces to Iraq in 2014, 2½ years afterthey left, to fight the Islamic State.Analysts believe that Obama’s decision towithdraw from Iraq created the vacuumthat allowed the Islamic State to thrive.Tp prevent a similar situation occurringin Afghanistan probably prompted thePresident to take this step.

IRAQ70 PRISONERS FREED INJOINT U.S.-KURDISH RAIDU.S. Special Operations Forces and IraqiKurdish Peshmerga conducted a jointraid on an Islamic State prison in Hawija,Iraq, on Thursday. Defense officials sayvaluable intelligence on Islamic Stateoperations was recovered and nearly 70

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prisoners were recovered, though not theindividuals U.S. and Kurdish forcesexpected to find. One U.S. soldier waskilled in the attack, the first U.S. combatdeath in Iraq since 2011. Three Kurdishfighters were wounded.

U.S. involvement in the operation wasauthorised by U.S. Secretary of DefenseAshton Carter and the White House wasinformed of the plan. The Baghdadgovernment was not notified in advanceof the operation. The Peshmerga “weregoing with or without us,” a U.S. defenseofficial told the New York Times. “Wewanted to stand behind an importantally.” U.S. Special Operations Forces haveconducted operations against the IslamicState in Syria, as when they capturedsenior Islamic State figure Abu Sayyaf inMay, but this is the first reported incidentof U.S. forces participating in combat inIraq. Pentagon Press Secretary PeterCook stressed that the raid does notprefigure a greater combat role for theUnited States. “This was a uniquecircumstance in which very closepartners of the United States made aspecific request for our assistance,” hesaid. “So I would not suggest that this issomething that’s going to now happen ona regular basis.”

PAKISTANSUICIDE ATTACK INJACOBABADIn a suicide attack on 23 October 2015, apowerful blast ripped through aMuharram procession in Jacobabad cityof Sindh, killing 24 people, mostlychildren, and injuring more than 40others. According to the Sindh Interior

Minister, Suhail Anwar Siyal, the bannedsectarian outfit Lashkar-i-Jhangvi (LeJ)has claimed responsibility for the attack.Despite the attack, Shah stated that theoverall security situation of the provincehas improved as only two terroristattacks occurred in the province duringthe year. The earlier attack had takenplace inside a central imambargah(mosque affiliated with Shia Muslims) inShikarpur on 30 January 2015, in whichover sixty people were killed and an equalnumber were injured. The presentJacobabad attack has been referred bythe Sindh government to military courts.A day earlier, in another suicide attackoutside an Imambargah in Bolan districtof Balochistan, at least ten people werekilled and over a dozen injured. Pakistanhas a history of attacks on religiousprocessions in the Islamic holy month ofMuharram, especially on 9th and 10th ofthe month, claimed by banned militantoutfits targeting people belonging to Shiasect of Islam.

SAUDI ARABIACHEAP OIL PUTS THEHOUSE OF SAUD AT RISKAn International Monetary Fund reportsuggests that without massive spendingcuts, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia willexhaust its monetary reserves in fiveyears at current oil prices. While SaudiArabia is a rich country, a Saudinewspaper using social service data,estimated that 6 million of SaudiArabia’s 20 million population is poor.The House of Saud has bought a lot oflegitimacy by subsidising itssubjects.After the 2011 "Arab Spring"

disturbances, Riyadh increased socialspending by $37 billion–or $6,000 forevery poor person in the kingdom–inorder to preempt the spread ofdiscontent to its own territory. Thedynasty however, might not survive thesort of austerity measures that the IMFinsists are necessary to keep theKingdom from running out of reservesby 2020, though it has managed to do sotill date, despite the many predictionsof its doom. It has a strong 100,000 manNational Guard, staffed by tribalpersonnel loyal to the royal family andspends USD 45 billion on defence, thisamount being set to increase to USD 63billion by 2020 to match Iraniancapability.A stabilising factor for the Kingdom

is its clerical establishment. SalafistWahhabi ideology requires obedienceto the confirmed ruler, which in SaudiArabia's case, is the king, but only solong as he enforces Islam.In order tokeep the favour of the Wahhabi clericalestablishment, the monarchy hasallowed wealthy Saudis to provide free-lance financing for Islamist causes thatRiyadh officially rejects. It has alsostyled itself as the Sunni championagainst Iran. To keep the clericalestablishment onside, the Saudi rulershave allowed the clergy to use highlycharged sectarian language targetingIran and the Shia, but the rulers arefacing a challenge from the Islamistsand ISIS. However, it is the economicproblems which present the gravestthreats to Saudi Arabia.


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Speaking in a press conference in New Delhion3 October 2015, the Chief of Air Staff, AirChief MarshalArup Raha, stated that thegovernment has approved the IACCCS(Integrated Air Command, Control andCommunications System). The systemenvisages the interlinking of all ground bases,radars, planes and sensors, through a satellite-based information gathering system, aided by“network centric” operations to enable pan-India real-time transmission of imagery andenemy targets. When fully operational, it wouldrepresent a significant technological leap forthe IAF. As of now, the IACCS (Integrated AirCommand and Control System)is functioningon thewestern front.

The CAS stated that the IAF would sooncover the air space over the entire country andisland territories by integrating all resources,adding that enough satellites forcommunication, navigation, targeting andimagery are available and that of the seven IRNSS (IndianRegional Navigation Satellite System) satellites, four have beenlaunched. The IRNSS is an independent regional navigationsatellite system run by the Indian Space Research Organisation(ISRO) and will provide encrypted service.The space-basedsystem will be implemented in phases and all are runningconcurrently. The CAS further added that, “In 2-3 years time, wewill be fully networked”. The system is a combination of

surveillance platforms that integrated the ability to use data andimages in real-time across many battlefields. This is an IAF-owned, operated, fully secure, reliable network that will use theAF-Net - an optic-fibre based network created in collaborationwith US-based Cisco Systems, HCL Infosystems Ltd and BharatSanchar Nigam Ltd.The IACCS, by using the AFNet, will receiveat a central place, direct real-time feeds from existing space-based overhead reconnaissance satellites.

Lt Gen. A Chakravarty, VSM, DGNCC flagged-in the NCC GirlsExpedition to Mt Trishul on 05 October, 2015 at New Delhi. Hecongratulated the girl cadets and the support staff for theirsplendid effort and demonstration of courage to overcome thechallenges of rugged terrain and hostile conditions in their bid to

summit the peak.This expedition, led by Col G. Karki, whichscaled Mount Trishul at an altitude above 7120m, gave the NCCcadets an excellent exposure to high altitude and extremeweather conditions that will assist them for their forthcomingMount Everest Expedition in May 2016.

NEWS


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NEWS


The contract to supply up to 100 self¬propelled howitzers(SPHs) worth approximately USD750 million to the Indian Army, hasbeen awarded to Larsen & Toubro (L&T), an Indian conglomerate,which is headquartered in Mumbai. As per media reports, thecompany will indigenously manufacture and deliver the tracked155/52¬calibre mm K9 Vajra¬T SPH system, which is based onthe South Korean K9 Thunder SPH system produced by SamsungTechwin for the Republic of Korea Army (RoKA). The K9 Thunderhas also been exported to Turkey as the Firtina self¬propelledgun.The K9 Vajra¬T SPH was chosen over its competitor, anupgraded version of the Russian 152 mm/39¬calibre MSTA¬S gunmodified to 155 mm/52¬calibre standard and mounted on a T¬72main battle tank chassis.

The artillery modernisation plan of 1999, envisages import andthe subsequent indigenous production of 155 mm artilleryweapons, of various calibre's and platform types (wheeled andtracked). The projected requirement is of 814 mounted guns, 1580towed guns, 100 tracked self propelled guns,180 wheeled selfpropelled guns and 145 ultra light howitzers, estimated to costabout Rs one lakh crore. The 155 mm/52¬calibre SPH programmeis part of the above rationalisation plan, which seeks to import andsubsequently indigenously produce the above weapons.

The K9 has a crew of five that includes the commander, driver,gunner, assistant gunner, and ammunition loader. The SPH has a

maximum speed of 67 km/h and range of 360 km, with internalstorage capacity for up to 48 155 mm projectiles. The main gun iscapable of sustained fire of up to 3 rds/min as well as rapid firecapability of up to 8 rds/min. The locally produced K9 Vajra¬Tsystem is expected to incorporate at least 50 percent indigenouscontent, including communications, fire control, and life supportsystems, the auxiliary power unit (APU), as well as parts of the hulland turret structure.L&T is likely to build the K9 Vajra¬T SPHs at itsTalegaon facility in Maharashtra, where it will also set up a newintegration and test facility specifically for the SPH.

In mid-September 2015, Australia and Indiaheld their first-ever bilateral naval exercise,AUSINDEX-2015. The week-long exercisewas held in the Bay of Bengal, and involvedfive warships, an Australian submarine andtwo long-range anti-submarine aircraft(Australian P3C and Indian P8I). A“pronounced emphasis” of the exercisewas on anti-submarine warfare (ASW).Beyond merely being ‘just anothercombined exercise’, it bears a far-reachingimport, and highlights Australia’s national-strategic reorientation in recent years.

The exercise commenced with aharbour phase involving briefings andpractical demonstrations ashore, beforeprogressing to sea. Sea-phase serialsincluded a coordinated anti-submarineexercise, surface firing exercises, airdefence exercises, seamanship evolutions(including replenishment at sea serials) andaviation operations with embarkedhelicopter flights.

BOOST FOR ARTILLERY

AUSINDEX-2015


Exercise Malabar, which initially began as a bilateral navalexercise between the United States and India back in 1992, hasat times been expanded to include other partners as well. Now,in a major shift, New Delhi has indicated that this hithertobilateral event will be permanently designated a trilateral US-Japan-India exercise.

The trilateral naval exercises held over six days from 14October to 19 October 2015, featured advanced naval warfighting submarines, guided missile cruisers, destroyers andfrigates. The exercises conducted were all encompassing, toinclude the full spectrum of operations. These included scenariosfor destroying hostile submarines, surface warships and aircraft,and also included anti-piracy operations, board, search and seizeand humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. The UnitedStates deployed its aircraft carrier, USS Theodore Roosevelt,and a nuclear-powered submarine. The Indian navy deployed asubmarine along with surface ships and maritime surveillanceaircraft, but neither of its two aircraft carriers took part. Japanparticipated with a lone destroyer.The exercises followed thefirst-ever U.S.-Japan-India ministerial level trilateral, in New York inSeptember 2015, between India’s Foreign Minister, Smt SushmaSwaraj, Japans Foreign Minister, Mr Kishida and US Secretary ofState, Mr John Kerry. The first trilateral meeting was held at thethe level of joint secretary in 2011 an since then, officials of thethree countries have been meeting twice a year. Australia hasalso expressed its readiness to participate in quadrilateraldefence dialogue and naval drills with the three other countries,raising the possibility that the event may now become a quad.

In 2007, Beijing had objected to a five-nation ExerciseMalabar, with Japan, Australia and Singapore as invitees. NewDelhi thereafter soothed Chinese feelings by reverting to abilateral format. This years exercise is now another overt stepthat India has taken towards the western Pacific. It is alsonoteworthy that Malabar is held on alternate years in the westernPacific.

NEWS

36

EXERCISE MALABAR 2015

INDIA CHINA JOINT EXERCISE ‘HAND IN HAND’- 2015The fifth joint exercise between India and China, named ‘Hand-in-Hand 2015’, took place at Kunming Military Academy, YunnanProvince, China from 12 to 21 October. The twelve day exerciselaid emphasis on joint handling of counter terrorism and‘Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief’.

The opening ceremony commenced with an impressiveparade by both contingents, which was commanded by Lt ColRuchir Pant of Indian Army. A ‘Weapon and Equipment Display’was organised to familiarise with each others weapon systems atsub unit level. This was followed by a demonstration of skills bythe Indian contingent, which enthralled the audience with aspectacular display of Yoga training, energetic tribal dances ofNagaland and unarmed combat skills. The Chinese contingentdisplayed combat shooting and obstacle negotiation skills withinthe Military Academy premises.

Lt Gen. Zhou Xiaozhou, head of the Chinese ObserverDelegation stated that the joint exercise will play an importantrole in deepening mutual cooperation and forging a closerdevelopment partnership. Shri Ashok Kantha, the Indian

Ambassador to China emphasised the need to tackle terrorismjointly and stressed on expanding defence cooperation at alllevels.Lt Gen. Surinder Singh, head of the Indian ObserverDelegation expressed confidence that the exercise will become alandmark in the history of bilateral relations of both countries andstated that both countries shared common perspective regardingcountering terrorism in all its manifestations. He then declaredthe Exercise Hand in Hand open. Last year, the exercise washeld in Aundh in November.



RAISINA HILLS

[email protected] >> October-November 2015 >> SALUTE TO THE INDIAN SOLDIER

"Pakistan does not like to stay quiet evenon New Year’s day… They started cross-border firing at 12.30 in the night anddon't seem to learn any lessons. Thereare ceasefire violations… Whenever theywant infiltration to be done, many timesthey do the firings at night…I don't thinkthat we have allowed that to happen…Our response is more than double thecapacity." While what Mr. Parrikar statedis quite true about India’s responses onthe IB/LoC and is one of the mainreasons for Pakistan’s desperation, it ishigh time the BJP government forms aclear and constant policy on dealingwith Pakistan’s duplicity, lies and itsarmy’s/ISI’s intentions/plans for thefuture.

The deportment of Mumbaiunderworld honcho Chota Rajan,reportedly giving Pakistan enough jittersto highly tighten Dawood Ibrahim’ssecurity, is a definite indication thatRajan may know a lot about Dawood’santi-Indian activities. While on thediplomatic front there has been someassertiveness in the recent past,considering how well armed Pakistanhas become in conventional and nuclearweapons, major aspects of the firmpolicy should be expediting armsreplacements/acquisitions, which Mr.Parrikar is pursuing.

Prior to his departure for Russia andMalaysia, the Defence Minister, in aninterview to Russian news agency TASS,

expressed that the India-Russia relationshipshould be enhanced. "Ihave always seen Russiaas an all-weather friendfor India - the twocountries have always hada great relationship. Ibelieve that thisrelationship should beenhanced. My visit toMoscow will be anattempt to help therelationship blossomfurther… There are manyissues that can always be in suchrelationships, and I think the best way isto have them resolved. I see a certainenthusiasm to resolve them from bothsides as well as possibilities to involveRussia in the Make in India programme,"he reportedly said. Interacting withmedia, Mr. Parrikar said there will bediscussions to prepare ground for inkingsome deals when Prime MinisterNarendra Modi visits Russia inDecember 2015 for joint production ofKamov Ka-226 helicopters and thepurchase of S-400 missile systems,which he expects will be coordinated byNovember.

The minister added that there are alsoproposals for small private-sectorcompanies interested in tying up withRussian companies to manufacturespares for Su-30 jets. Purchase of48 moreMi-17V-5 helicopters is to be negotiatedand finalised Reportedly, anothernuclear powered submarine is to be

procured on lease for which a deal maybe signed during Mr. Modi's visit. BeforeMr. Parrikar’s visit, the DefenceAcquisition Council (DAC) cleared twoprojects for the upgradation of enginesand avionics of IL-76 and IL-78 aircraftfrom Russia for Rs 4,300 crore. Alsoclearing projects worth Rs 12,000 crore,the DAC passed a proposal worth Rs1,400 crore to procure multi-purposevessels required to carry out multipletasks such as recovery and placement oftargets. These will replace the existingtugboats. In a significant development,

DAC also cleared deep-sea submarine rescuevessels which arerequired for the recoveryof submarines orpersonnel on board asubmarine in case of anaccident. So far, Indiadoes not have asubmarine rescue vesseland has been dependingon the US for help.

In Moscow, theDefence Ministerdiscussed severalmilitary projects with his

Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu,ranging from the acquisition of S-400Triumf air defence missile systems to theleasing of a second nuclear-poweredsubmarine. Russia is still to addressIndia's technical and price concernsover the fifth-generation fighter project,which envisages IAF inducting theSukhoi T-50 (PAK-FA) jets. Under theoriginal plan, 127 of these fighters wereto be built in India for over $25 billion.But India is now also examining thepossibility of directly buying 60-65Sukhoi T-50s since the co-productionplan is much delayed. Mr. Parrikar is alsobelieved to have conveyed India'sconcern on the growing Russia-Pakistanmilitary relations, particularly the recentsale of four Russian Mi-35 attackhelicopters to Pakistan and reports ofPakistan negotiating to acquire Su-35fighters, considered more capable thanIndia's Su-30 MKI, although Moscow hasreportedly denied that.

NATIONAL SECURITY RELATEDRESPONSES AND REQUIREMENTS

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VETERANS ALERT


Simplification of Pension Procedurefor Permanently Disabled Children/Siblings and Dependent ParentsPension disbursing agencies will makepayment of ordinary family pension asprocedure laid down in GOI, MOD letterNo.1 (7)/2013-D(Pension/Policy) dated15.05.2015. In case the name(s) ofdependents of the deceased includingdependent disabled children have beenendorsed in the pension payment orders(PPOs), in such cases pension disbursingagencies should start payment to thedependents directly without referring itto pension sanctioning authorities. Inthose cases where the names ofdependents have not been foundendorsed in the pension payment order,the claim for endorsement of name fornotification of ordinary family pensionthrough corrigendum PPO will beprocessed and forwarded to pensionsanctioning authorities through ArmyHeadquarter/ Record Office concernedin the case of commissioned officer andJCOs/OR respectively.

PCDA, Pension Allahabad Circular No.550 dated 09.10.2015 refers.

Simplification of Pension PaymentProcedure: Submission of Certificatesby Retiring Armed Forces Personnelalong with Pension PapersAs per Government of India, Ministry ofDefence letter No. 3(01)/2015-D(Pen/Pol) dated 25 August 2015, it hasbeen found that the first payment ofpension after retirement gets delayedmainly due to two reasons i.e. (i) due todelay in receipt of intimation by thepensioner that pension papers havereached the PDAs and (ii) due to delay onthe part of the pensioner in approachingthe bank for submission ofundertaking/non-re-employment/re-employment certificate. In order tosimplify the pension paymentprocedure, it has been decided thatrequired undertaking/status of non-

reemployment/re-employment afterretirement may be obtained by theServices HQ/Record Offices from theretiring Armed Forces officer andpersonnel along with other documentsbefore his retirement. Aadhaar cardnumber based biometric verificationsystem for pensioners as an additionaloption for submission of life certificateby the pensioners has been introducedby the Government since November2014. All the pension disbursing agencieswill accept e-life certificate of thepensioners as annual life certificatewhich pensioner can submit online to hispension disbursing agency by registeringthemselves on www.jeevanpraman.gov.in

PCDA, Pension Allahabad circular No.546 dated 10.09.2015 refers.

Revision of Pension of pre-2006

Commissioned Officer Pensioners/Family PensionersAfter issue of GOI, Ministry of Personnel,PG & Pensioners, Department of Pension& Pension Welfare letter No. 38/37/08-P& PW (A) dated 30.07.2015, it has beendecided that the pension/family pensionof all pre-2006 pensioners/familypensioners may be revised in accordancewith Para 2 of GOI, MOD letter dt-17.01.2013 with effect from 01.01.2006instead of 24.09.2012. Pension disbursingauthorities are hereby authorised to stepup the pension/family pension of theaffected Pre-2006 pensioners with effectfrom 01.01.2006 instead of 24.09.2012and arrear of pension/ family pensionshall be paid, if any. This provision shalltake effect from 01.01.2006 and arrears, ifany, shall be allowed from 01.01.2006 to23.09.2012 and thereafter apply circular500 dated 17.01.2013.

PCDA, Pension Allahabad Circular No.548 dated 11.09.2015 refers.

Revision of Pension in r/o pre-2006JCOs/ORs Pensioners/ FamilyPensionersUnder the provision of Govt of India, Minof Defence letter No. 1(04)/2015/(1)-D(Pen/Pol) dated 3rd September, 2015and PCDA Pen Allahabad circular No 547dated 11.09.2015, revised tablesindicating minimum guaranteedpension/ ordinary family pension hasbeen annexed as Annexure-A for Armypensioners, Annexure-B for Air Forcepensioners and Annexure-C for Navypensioners from 01.01.2006 and arrears,if any, shall be allowed from 01.01.2006up to the date where revisedpension/family pension in terms of GOI,MOD letter No. PC 10(1)/2009-D(Pen/Pol) dated 08.03.2010 and No.1(13)/2012/D (Pen/Policy) dated17.01.2013 is lower. Pension disbursingauthorities are authorised to step up thepension/family pension of the affectedPre-2006 pensioners.

SIMPLIFICATION OF PENSION PROCEDURESHony Capt Baldev Singh

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BOOK REVIEW


50 years after the 1962 Sino-Indian war, in 2012, when much was written andcommented in Indian media and some Chinese declassified records became available,United Services Institution of India (USI) took on the task of researching this war,juxtaposing the Chinese and Indian records. A team of officers with a flair for militaryhistory headed by Lt Gen. Vinay Shankar (Retd) attempted to, as he states, “clinicallyand objectively chronicle the battles and encounters of the 1962 war, based on anofficial version of the Chinese government and the synthesis of all that has beenreported and written in India and abroad and also the leaked portions of the report of astudy by Lt Gen. T.B. Henderson Brooks and Brig. (later Lt Gen.) P.S. Bhagat, VC.

Set in eight chapters, the book covers the entire gamut of the war, starting with thepolitico-diplomatic prelude (1947-62), the military campaign, the Chinese air threat,and public opinion in the build-up to the war. The last four chapters deal with Indianmilitary thought and other issues.

Of the many battles fought between Indian Army and China’s People’s LiberationArmy (PLA), during the Sino-Indian war of 1962, two battles-of Walong and Rezang La,both fought by battalions of the Kumaon Regiment-merit mention here as in both theKumaonis fought to the last man, last bullet. While such great valour must behighlighted in motivational lectures, they also highlight the need for being betterprepared to go to war. This aspect needs to be taken care of by both the political andmilitary leadership of the country. For a country hopelessly unprepared to go war, itseems surprising that Mr Nehru,the then Prime Minister, could have made an off thecuff statement, on 12 October 1962, at Palam airport before departing on a visit toColombo, that he had ordered the Indian Army “to throw the Chinese out”. Thisunderlined the air of unrealism prevailing at that time in India’s highest decisionmaking structures.

The Henderson Brooks-Bhagat report, submitted to the government after the war isyet to be declassified. When portions of the report were leaked out in 2014 by Australianjournalist Neville Maxwell, Mr Arun Jaitley, then the leader of the opposition in theRajya Sabha made a strong pitch for the declassification of the entire report, makingspecial note of the fact that as per the media, pages 112 to 167 of the report weremissing in the leaked report, leading to speculation that those pages containedmaterial that could be embarrassing to those in power in 1962. The report remainsclassified, despite a change in government at the centre, which is a matter of concern.The unpreparedness of the Armed Forces is writ large in the contents of the report thathave been leaked and serve as a lesson for us to be constantly vigilant and prepared.

The book has interesting recollections by survivors of some of the 1962 battles,which simply make it an unputdownable book. It is imperative however, that we learnthe right lessons from this war, so that we are better prepared for any future conflictthat may be thrust upon us. The end of this war saw Nehru, who had for long deceivedthe Parliament and the nation, a “broken man”. Too little, too late, he had to sackKrishna Menon. Time magazine, reporting on that war wrote: “The Indian Army needsalmost everything except courage.” Chetan Anand was so moved that hemadeHaqeeqat(1964), a most authentic and first Indian war film. JP Dutta, whoproduced Border and LOC Kargil, is presently preparing to make a film on the samewar.

This book is an important trail-brazing reference base for further research by Chinawatchers and a must read for all government leaders and officials dealing with nationalsecurity.

A SAGA OF HEROISM AND INCOMPETENCELt Col. Anil Bhat

1962 ‘A View from the Other Side of the Hill’

A USI Study,

Edited by Maj. Gen. P.J.S. Sandhu

(Retd)Vij Books India Pvt Ltd Hard cover, 201 pages

Price: Rs. 1250/-

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LEISURE & LIFESTYLE


As winter approaches, so does theyearning for warm comfort food! As apalette change, I often try out Thaicurries, but it is Thai Red Curry that givesme the most delight. This fragrant warmdish is sure to bring festive cheer intoyour house.

First, let us make the red curry paste.The ingredients needed are:• A handful of dry red chillies (de-seeded,soaked in water for few hours.

• Lemon grass finely chopped (soften thelemongrass by beating it lightly withyour rolling pin. Remove outer layerand chop off the ends. Finely chop whatyou are left with)

• Galangal chopped into small pieces.• Shallots about 8 - 10 also chopped.• Garlic (I used one full pod but you canuse more or less as you prefer)

• Kaffir lime leaves (5 - 6) finely chopped.• Peppercorns 5 - 6• Coarse sea salt - to taste

Do make the paste manually as youget the rustic atmosphere and a betterfeel of the paste. I used my relatively tinymortar and pestle, but there is no harmin using a grinder. Drain the red chilliesand pound them along with the sea salt.Add the peppercorns. I used 5-6 redchillies but you could use more to spiceup the dish - the colour will be a morevibrant red too! Add the ingredients inorder of their toughness. Next goes thegalangal followed by lemongrass andkaffir lime leaves. Then add shallots andfinally garlic.

One final round of pounding and yourred curry paste is ready. Keep aside.

VegetablesI'm using broccoli; green, red and yellowcapsicum, beans and onion. Chop orslice your vegeta-bles, whichever youprefer. You could add some garlic too. Youwill need coconut milk. Try to get fresh,though tinned will do just fine. To make

the curry, heat oil in a wok. Throw in theonion and sauté for a bit. Next add thebeans followed by broccoli. And finallythe peppers. Do not overcook as thevegetables will cook further when youadd the coconut milk. Next add twoheaped tablespoons of the Thai RedCurry Paste you prepared earlier and mix.Finally add coconut milk. Stir well and letcook for a few minutes. Check forseasoning and add more salt if required.

Check if the vegetables are tender. Ifso, your dish is ready to serve!

The lemongrass aroma and thecreaminess of the coconut milk makethis dish such a delight. I have served thiswith white and red rice. Enjoy this dishwith the rice of your choice!

Ms Aditi Pathak Is based inSingapore. Widely travelled and from aServices background, cooking is one of

her many passions.

THAI RED CURRYAditi Pathak

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LEISURE & LIFESTYLE


During our first trip to Europe in May2013, our family commenced the visitfrom the Italian battlefields where my twocenturies old unit, 14 Punjab (NabhaAkal), the erstwhile Nabha Akal Infantrybefore independence, had fought withdistinction in the Italian campaign duringWorld War II. After a day’s stay in Rome,we travelled by train to Cassino, located139 km away, enjoying the scenic beautyof the countryside over the one hour 40minutes train journey. On our request,the defence attache in the Embassy ofIndia, Rome had tied up ourmeeting with the Mayor ofCassino, Mr Guiseppe GoliniPetrarcone for that afternoon,2 May. This was the day theGerman forces in Italy hadsurrendered to the Allies in1944.

We arrived at Cassinorailway station at 10.30 a.m.,and contacted the secretaryto the Mayor, but as she didnot speak English, theirtranslator Ms Ida Mignanellispoke to us. She wassurprised to learn that we hadarrived by train, werestrangers to the place andhad no knowledge of thelocation of places in Cassinowe intended to visit. She asked us to ringagain after 15 minutes, which we did. Wehad planned to hire a taxi for the day, butshe told us that a vehicle would pick usup in 20 minutes to take us around. Sureenough, a black polished car,chauffeured by a smart policemanarrived soon after. He did not speakEnglish either, but we managed tocommunicate through some commonlyused words and sentences in Italianwhich I had noted earlier! As we were tomeet the Mayor at 3 p.m., we had a fewhours to travel around.

We drove straight to the Cassino War

Cemetery, the largest WW II cemetery inItaly. During the early months of 1944,Cassino had witnessed some of thefiercest fighting of the Italian Campaign,the town itself and the dominatingMonastery Hill proving the moststubborn obstacle encountered in theAllied advance towards Rome. There are4,271 Commonwealth servicemenburied or commemorated here, out ofwhich 431 are Indian soldiers. TheCassino Memorial, which stands withinthe cemetery, commemorates over 4000men who died while fighting, of which1438 were Indians. We paid homage toour two unit martyrs and other Indian

soldiers who made the supreme sacrificeand signed the visitor’s book. It was atouching experience, walking throughthe cemetery. Some of the Indian martyrswere less than 20 years of age! It was niceto talk to some of the visitors fromdifferent countries who had come toremember their dear ones. We later droveup to the 1700 feet Monastery Hill whichoverlooks Cassino, with the beautiful StBenedict monastery on top. Indiantroops had fought valiantly during theBattles of Monte Cassino with otherAllied soldiers in attempts to capture theformidable German defences on the

impregnable Monte Cassino feature. Onour way up, we met a group of Polishtourists singing ‘carols’ and lightinglamps, while offering prayers for thedeparted souls in the Polish cemetery.

On our way back, we walked throughthe historic Cassino town that had bornethe brunt of the fighting during the war.The Mayor received us warmly in hisoffice in spite of his busy schedule. Wetalked about the Indian Army’scontribution during the war and theplaces along the eastern coast of Italywhere our unit had fought bravely, someof which we intended visiting later. Wethanked him for his very gracious

hospitality, and presentedhim with some Indiansweets, and a smallMadhubani painting ofLord Krishna made by mywife. Ms Ida latermentioned that they wereexpecting us to arrive by carfrom Rome that morning.Since we had come all theway from India to visitCassino and were new tothe place, the Mayordecided to send his own car.

Later, we visited Forli, avillage along the easterncoast, to pay homage to fiftymartyrs of 14 Punjab,commemorated in theIndian Army War Cemetery.

We were surprised to find nine moregraves of Nabha Akal Infantry, whosenames did not appear in the listmaintained by our unit! This was the firsttime that anyone from the unit hadcome here. On return to India, Ipromptly sent a letter to the Mayor ofCassino expressing our gratitude for hisexceptional kindness and courtesy,along with a few photographs I hadtaken in his office. Indeed, it was amemorable visit for me and my family.

Col Vijay Gidh is a veteran from 14Punjab and is settled in Pune.

THE ITALIAN CONNECTIONCol Vijay Gidh

The author with his wife at the Cassino War Cemetery.

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MAROOF’S MUSINGS

It is believed that most nations come together either for improving the life of theirpeople with economic growth or to counter an external enemy or an aggressor.Pakistan’s establishment has always diverted precious resources towards

increasing its military capabilities, citing the possibility of an Indian invasion andignoring the real challenges within the country. And, the most recent example of this‘Indian obsession’ was the confirmation by a recent report of the Bulletin of AtomicScientists, which says that Pakistan will have the fifth largest nuclear weapon stockpileby 2025—with 250 warheads, more than double its current stock.

The report came just a day after Pakistan’s foreign secretary acknowledged that ithad “low-yield, tactical nuclear weapons” to “deter” a possible attack from India. But,it was not accidentalthat the statement coincided with Pakistan Prime Minister NawazSharif's visit to the US. It was obviously meant to leverage Pakistan’s bid for nuclearparity with India, since the restrictions on nuclear trade for India were waived by theNuclear Suppliers Group with American support. But, unlike India, Pakistan is stillseen by the world as an irresponsible nation. And a major concern for the westerncountries is the periodic nuclear sabre-rattling by Pakistani ministers.

Pakistan’s policy of employing tactical nuclear weapons (for use in battlefields)came into being after the Indian armed forces adopted a new war-fighting doctrinedubbed 'Cold Start', after the many weeks it took for India to place its forces on theIndo-Pak border, following the attack on Parliament in December 2001. It was by thentoo late to punish Pakistan for the attack on Parliament, as the US moved quickly toprevent matters from escalating. India thus devised a new strategy to inflictpunishment on Pakistan, called 'Cold Start' in the event of a major terror attack, witha series of cross-border lightning strikes within 24 hours.

Currently, India and Pakistan have comparable nuclear weapon stockpiles of about100 to 120 bombs each. Pakistan’s desperation to increase its stock is based on twopremises. First, to be seen militarily superior to India (although more nuclearweapons do not guarantee a military victory since these weapons are for deterrence).Second, to have a larger stock to distribute to its units along the Indo-Pak border. Butthis could be more dangerous, as a hot-headed battlefield commander could trigger anuclear exchange that could quickly escalate beyond control.

India has made it clear that if nuclear weapons were ever used against India, it will“engage in nuclear retaliation which is massive and designed to inflict unacceptabledamage on its adversary.” For that, India has enough strategic delivery systems, withlong-range bombers and massive second strike capability (the key to an effectiveresponse) of ballistic and cruise missiles to be fired from hard-to-detect nuclearsubmarines and subsurface vessels. For this, Pakistan has no counter.

And, even though Pakistan has adopted a war-fighting doctrine that does notpreclude nuking its own territory in the event of an Indian incursion—a dubious firstin the annals of deterrence theory—it is an assumption that is contestable. As anIndian attack on Pakistan would only be in retaliation against another major terroristattack, and not as an act of aggression, Pakistan's stated goal is to protect its heartland,Punjab, which could be the target of a major Indian attack. It is the land from wherethe bulk of the Pakistan Army and its generals hail. However, if Pakistan uses nuclearweapons in the densely populated Punjab, it could leave millions of civilians dead. Butthose who know Pakistan’s pampered generals say that while the brass hats love toposture with bluff and bluster, they aren’t foolish enough to be suicidal.

Kind courtesy THE WEEK where this essay appeared in its issue dated 22 November 2015 by Maroof Raza.

Maroof Raza is a strategic affairs commentaror. Visit: www.maroofraza.com

PAKISTAN’SNUCLEARTHREATS

Maroof Raza


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“SALUTE” HAS PUBLISHED A NUMBER OFSPECIAL ISSUES, COMPLETELY FOCUSED ON A

THEME OR A REGIMENT

SALUTE welcomes queries for a Special Issue.For more details please email us at

[email protected] our website: https:// www.salute.co.in

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