India thought it had twenty years or more to match the Chinese challenge and its arms acquisitions and weapons production reflected this premise. Acquisitions were conducted in a leisurely manner and production was allowed to deliver new weapons at a glacial pace. Things have changed now. India faces a true two-front threat and events are threatening to boil over into a full-blown war along the IndiaChina border. In such a situation, the role of the Indian Air Force (IAF) will be crucial since, of the three armed services, it is the only one that can move rapidly from the Chinese to the Pakistani border and, if India achieves air superiority over Pakistan, it would remove the pressure from the Indian Army, allowing the largest service to concentrate more fully on the challenge from China. The need for 42-45 squadrons is paramount as is the acquisition of equipment that would increase the lethality and capabilities of the IAF.
Pathologies
There have been discernible patterns when one comes across the pathologies that beset weapons acquisition and arms production in India. The late Stephen Cohen used to say that the Indians believe that if they hold out long enough on a weapons deal, they will get an attractive price. Instead, as we saw in the case of the Rafale, the cost of the plane tends to go up. Similarly, it took the IAF 20 years to finally acquire the Hawk trainer and by then the price of the programme had more than doubled. If India is to position itself to respond to the China challenge, buying quickly and efficiently are imperatives. The Israelis have made this clear to the India, encouraging the political leadership to sign a deal for the Phalcon AWACS system before the price goes up.
This story is from the October 2020 edition of Geopolitics.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the October 2020 edition of Geopolitics.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
India's space economy set to soar
India's burgeoning space economy could see a substantial increase in its global share by 2040. At present, India's space sector contributes a modest $8 billion to the overall cake. However, the government has set its sights on an ambitious target, aiming for a five-fold surge in India's share of the global space economy.
CRITICAL NEED TO BOOST CONVENTIONAL SUBMARINE FLEET
VENUGOPAL MENON explains why India cannot afford to view the critical deficiency in Submarine force levels lightly
BEEFING UP OUR SUBMARINE FLEET
In the last week of March, the Indian Navy displayed its submarine prowess. Eight of its submarines operated together in the Western Indian Ocean Region, a first in three decades, and one of its Scorpene submarines sailed to the Andaman Nicobar Islands, overlooking the Malacca Strait, a critical choke point for China. But how is the comparison with China? RITU SHARMA reports
ENHANCING CRUISE MISSILE CAPABILITY
India’s cruise missile capability has largely evolved as a credible conventional level deterrence since the turn of the new millennium. But much more needs to be done, writes AMARTYA SINHA
BOOSTING DEFENCE EXPORTS
Earlier, India was known to be an arms importer. But today, the country has come out of its comfort zone and found a place in the list of top-25 arms exporter nations argues AMARTYA SINHA
ENHANCING INDIA'S AIRBORNE SURVEILLANCE CAPABILITIES
Project NETRA represents a proactive initiative by ISRO to safeguard India's interests in space by mitigating the risks posed by space debris and other hazards, says GIRISH LINGANNA
THE HIMALAYAN TRIANGLE: WHY INDIA KEEPS BHUTAN SAFE FROM CHINA
India, given its special relationship with Bhutan, has been very wary about the possibility of the establishment of diplomatic relations and the signing of a boundary agreement between Bhutan and China, writes SIMRAN SODHI
TROOST, DESAI AND SANCTIONS
The Western sanctions against companies and individuals doing business with Russia have produced a complex set of reactions with lobbyists and shell companies working overtime to beat the rap. A GEOPOLITICS Bureau report
THE KOREA-GATE
India attaches great importance to “three principles of inclusiveness, trust and reciprocity’” for creating the basis for working more closely with like-minded partners in the Indo-Pacific such as the Republic of Korea (ROK), better known as South Korea for “a free, peaceful and prosperous region”. Prakash Nanda dissects the relationship and the way ahead
Pushpak RLV-TD successfully lands autonomously
ISRO achieved another significant milestone in reusable launch vehicle (RLV) technology with the successful landing of Pushpak (RLV-TD), the winged vehicle, autonomously on the runway.