Volume 3  Number 3 ● Monsoon 2008 (Jul-Sep 2008)

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AERIAL WARFARE: THE INDIAN WAY  

While the attributes and capabilities are common to them, all air forces have their unique way of conducting wars, with obviously different results which also depend greatly on how the adversary conducts its side of the war. In the context, Air Marshal V.K. Verma briefly explores the circumstances and the way India used its air force in the wars it had to fight.

USE OF AIR POWER IN SRI LANKA: OPERATION PAWAN AND BEYOND

Over two decades ago, India sent its armed forces into Sri Lanka on the invitation of the democratic government of that country to help maintain the peace. But the peace-keeping mission rapidly deteriorated into a peace-enforcement task against the separatist violent movement, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which proved to be an elusive and ruthless enemy which had mastered the art of guerrilla warfare in a forested terrain. Air Commodore Arjun Subramaniam revisits the role played by air power from a holistic approach to look at the war fought by the Indian Peace-Keeping Force (IPKF) against severe odds.

ARMY AVIATION IN INDIA

Lieutenant Colonel Rajeev Ghose of the Indian Army takes a broad sweep on the origins of flying connected with ground wars to set the stage for writing about how the army aviation evolved in India. As was to be expected, army aviation capabilities and organisation in India during the colonial period were primarily provided by the British forces and it was with the onset of World War II that increasing numbers of Indians started to be incorporated into the Royal Air Force (RAF) units. This in turn provided the template and nucleus for the army aviation organisations originally as part of the Indian Air Force (IAF) and progressively with greater integration into the army organisation.

Space has acquired a special role in the military capabilities of nations that can acquire them and China is no exception. Its rapid techno-economic growth has given the wherewithal to build its space capabilities and use them in what it terms as “informationalisation” of modern war. China’s space programmes and capabilities have received increasing attention across the world, especially after its anti-satellite test in January 2007. Wing Commander Kaza Lalitendra looks at these space capabilities and future plans to assess their implications for India’s security in the future.

NUCLEAR DETERRENCE AND CONVENTIONAL WAR: A TEST OF INDIA’S NUCLEAR STRATEGY

Nuclear deterrence has been one of the esoteric subjects that have received enormous attention over the decades. However, its deep linkages with conventional wars have not received adequate attention in comparative terms. Dr. (Mrs) Manpreet Sethi sets out to remedy this gap and examines the further linkages with the sub-conventional war being waged by Pakistan through religious terrorism under the nuclear umbrella since the time it acquired nuclear deterrence capabilities two decades ago.

Military procurement has been a challenging task at the best of times for developing countries like India, dependent as they are on substantive imports of weapons and equipment for their defence. The reasons for the peculiar characteristics of procurement emanate from the fact that they are capital intensive, have long gestation periods, involve detailed and meticulous planning, and are prone to public scrutiny, hence, transparency is desirable in today’s scenario. Group Captain J.V. Singh has elaborated on the defence procurement challenges and the responses to them in India in recent times.

Offsets have assumed an increasing role and importance in the sale of military weapons and equipment in recent years. However, it remains a complex area in international cooperation in the defence industrial arena. This essay by Wing Commander V.N. Srinivas looks closely at the complexities of challenges that offsets procedures and practice pose to the suppliers as well as the recipients. It is against these challenges that he examines the options for Indian policy to enable it to energise its defence and aerospace industry in the future.