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A fair number of our articles are devoted to analysing India’s Air Power.  Air Marshal Dhiraj Kukreja has comprehensively dwelt on India’s present and future combat fleet. Drones as game changers are presented lucidly by S Gopal. Space is considered an adjunct to air power; Gp Capt AK Sachdev has analysed this aspect in relation to India’s space endeavours.  IAF phased out its fleet of Canberra medium bombers in 1990. Was that a well considered decision taking into account India’s future growth as a regional and global power? The role of bombers in the air force is pithily argued by Sqn Ldr Vijainder Thakur. As aircraft exploit the air medium, air defence weapons aim to deny this freedom to aircraft and missiles. Air Marshal Anil Chopra brings forth the success of the ‘Iron Dome’ deployed by the Israelis and its role in protecting surface targets.

This issue also covers India’s ‘sub-conventional deficit’ by our special correspondent and the present state of insurgency in India’s North East region by Brig R Borthakur. Gen Vijay Oberoi has highlighted the need for a structural change in India’s higher defence management. Brig Deepak Sinha has raised the issue of India’s security strategy and doctrine being on divergent paths. Maj Gen AK Chadha has emphatically put forth the need for the military in the digitalised battle field to carve out its own ‘slice of space’ for operating successfully in such a future war scenario. Air Marshal Anil Chopra and Dr SN Misra have presented the efficacy of TOT and off sets and challenges before the defence industry. Mr Kanwal Sibal has critically assessed the evolving dynamics of Indo-US relations. Gen JS Lidder with his UN experience has looked at the need for enhancing the role of women in conflict zones. Claude Arpi has been a keen China watcher. He presents the current situation in the PLA consequent to the crackdown by the Chinese President Xi Jinping on the wide spread corruption in the Chinese PLA.

The Defence Budget is looked at intently to get the general emphasis of the government on security. Brig Gurmeet Kanwal has debated this lucidly. Maintaining a large standing armed force requires more than mere day-to-day support. An ill-equipped large force mired with equipment hollowness is not a guarantee for security but in a future war will be cannon fodder for the adversary. Someone will have to be held accountable to the nation for this debilitating lapse. Or take a conscious decision to reduce its size if this country cannot afford a well equipped large armed force!!! Preparing an armed force on a long-term basis requires a deeply considered perspective of its future role in the national security scheme and the road map for its implementation. The absence of a doctrine and the hesitation of establishing a single point of contact on all matters military have been well debated in this issue. Generals Harwant and Banerjee and Colonel Achutan look at the aspects of doctrine.

‘Make in India’ has been the didactic theme of this Government. It needs to be spelt out in clear terms and not left to the (mis-)interpretation of the bureaucracy. Make in India will be feasible only when the basic industrial manufacturing has notched up a number of counts and the manpower skills to go with it are matching. Currently it is more theoretical than implementable. The articles Dr Misra, Air Marshal Kukreja and Group Captain Noronha address these issues with particular reference to the aero-space industry.

Two articles relate to the major current event on PM Modi’s visit to China; the first is on Tibet and the second on the boundary issue. Cyber space is emerging the next frontier; Gen Davinder Kumar has generated an excellent discussion on the issue. Col Harjeet has looked at the implications of social media on security. As a first Claude Arpi has documented a diary highlighting prominent issues relating to China’s PLA in this first quarter. This will now be a regular feature in the print edition.

Indo-Pak War 1965: Are Commemorations Due? – Lt Gen JS Bajwa (Editor)

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INDIAN DEFENCE REVIEW COMMENT

Indian Army’s Multi-Calibre Individual Weapon System – Danvir Singh

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Getting More from Less: Force Multipliers for the IAF – Gp Capt Joseph Noronha

Quietly Effective, Vigilant Airborne ISR – John Kiehle

Look Beyond FDI: Laying the Right Foundation for Defence Manufacturing – Dr JP Dash

Making “Make in India” Succeed – Lt Gen Anjan Mukherjee

Restructuring Defence Procurement Procedure – Ashish Puntambekar

Airborne and Special Forces: Reassessing Role, Tasks and Organisations – Brig Deepak Sinha

The IAF and its Need for Close Air Support – Sqn Ldr Vijainder K Thakur

India: An Aerospace Power? – Gp Capt TP Srivastava

Computer Network Operations and Electronic Warfare Complementary or Competitive? – Lt Gen Davinder Kumar

Spectre of China’s Artificial Islands – Prof Swaran Singh & Dr Lilian Yamamoto

China’s Game of Territorial Claims – Lt Gen Gautam Banerjee

Aerospace and Defence News – Priya Tyagi

The Dragon’s Adventures in the Indian Ocean – Vice Admiral Anup Singh

Influence of Aerial Combat on the Development of Armoured Fighting Vehicles – Artsrun Hovhannisyan

Fifty Years Since Haji Pir – Special Correspondent

The Middle East: An Assessment – Air Marshal Dhiraj Kukreja

Climate Change in the Himalayas: A Ticking Time-Bomb? – Col CP Muthanna

Restructuring Defence Reforms for National Security – Brig Gurmeet Kanwal

Wanted A Full Spectrum Military Doctrine – Brig Amar Cheema

Reviewing India’s Foreign Policy: From Regional Power to Potential Super Power – Anant Mishra

The PLA Digest – Claude Arpi

Book Review

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INDIAN DEFENCE REVIEW COMMENT

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PLAAF: Rising Challenge for the IAF – Gp Capt B Menon

Pakistan Air Force Today: Implications for India – Gp Capt B Menon

LCA Tejas: The never ending wait! – Air Marshal Anil Chopra

The IAF and its need for close Air Support – Sqn Ldr Vijainder K Thakur

Need for an Indian Marine Force – Col JK Achuthan

Taiwan – Why Shy Full Relations? – Lt Gen Prakash Katoch

India - Taiwan Relations: A Comprehensive Security Perspective – Tien-Sze Fang

BRICS: A Strategic Self Appraisal – S Rajasimman

India’s Military Might: The Real Truth – Lt Gen Amarjeet S Chabbewal

Flexible Reach: Balancing the IAF’s Air Transport Fleet – Gp Capt Joseph Noronha

Future of Rotary Wing Craft – Gp Capt AK Sachdev

Aerospace and Defence News – Priya Tyagi

No place to Hide: Latest Developments in Air Defence Missiles – Gp Capt Joseph Noronha

Will advances in UAVs Edge out Manned Aircraft? – Gp Capt AK Sachdev

What Ails India’s Defence Industrial Complex? – Lt Gen Prakash Katoch

MSMES in Defence Production: A Neglected Sector – Air Marshal Dhiraj Kukreja

Russian Domination of the Syrian Battleground – Danvir Singh

Petro-Jihadism: The Conspiracy within the Imperishable War in the Arab World – Maj Lal Ananth

Splintering Naxalism in India: Maoism or Money? – V Balasubramaniyan