All stories by Ajai Shukla
India can destroy enemy targets from 100s of km away
Rediff.com23 Nov 2017The IAF can fire Brahmos missiles from several hundred kilometres away. The BrahMos flies supersonic, at speeds up to Mach 2.5, giving the enemy little time to react
Modi vs Manmohan: What's the Rafale cost difference?
Rediff.com18 Nov 2017The Raksha Mantri was unable to address media queries about how much the Modi government was paying for 36 Rafales compared to what the UPA government had negotiated.
Boeing to build Super Hornets in India
Rediff.com17 Nov 2017Along with HAL, Boeing intends to involve the Mahindra Group in building Super Hornets in India.
Is India's Nirbhay a match for Pakistan's Babur?
Rediff.com17 Nov 2017'So far, Pakistan leads India in subsonic cruise missile development, having tested and operationally deployed the Babur cruise missile that has a range of 700 km, significantly less than the Nirbhay's.'
Why Pakistan is feeling threatened
Rediff.com16 Nov 2017India's plan to buy futuristic tanks and infantry combat vehicles -- estimated to be worth Rs 80,000 crore to Rs 100,000 crore each -- will certainly intimidate Pakistan which already feels threatened by our vast tank strength.
Can the navy buy Rs 45,000 crore warships in time?
Rediff.com15 Nov 2017The Indian Navy is constrained by its lowest budgetary allocation since 2011-2012, reveals Ajai Shukla.
India's enemies be warned: New guns for Indian troops
Rediff.com12 Nov 2017Soldiers fighting the enemy will receive state-of-the-art assault rifles, other soldiers will get 'Make in India' rifles.
Crisis in India-Russia ties: The French Connection
Rediff.com11 Nov 2017Russia is reportedly angry that India allowed US officers on board the INS Chakra. But are French lobbyists trying to muddy India-Russia waters?
'Given the tragedy, could the army refuse to assist?'
Rediff.com9 Nov 2017'These combat engineer units are used in war for building bridges for advancing troops.' 'Instead of training by building bridges over the Mula and Mutha rivers in Pune, they will practice by building bridges in Mumbai,' Indian Army chief General Bipin Rawat tells Ajai Shukla.
5 ways the IAF can be battle ready
Rediff.com18 Oct 2017'While fighter pilots must not be sent into combat in inferior aircraft, an obsessive quest for outright combat superiority will leave an air force short of numbers,' says Ajai Shukla.
Why did Kiltan join navy without sonar, copter?
Rediff.com17 Oct 2017'An ASW corvette without towed array sonar and an ASW helicopter is nothing more than a feeble joke,' says a retired navy commodore.
Army readying for next Chinese intrusion in Uttarakhand
Rediff.com14 Oct 2017So far, the Central Sector has never seen active hostilities, remaining peaceful even through the 1962 war. A reason for the Central Sector having remained peaceful is the towering Himalayan watershed that defines the border.
Surface-to-air missile: India's 1st tri-service weapon
Rediff.com26 Sep 2017DRDO to develop an army version of the medium range surface-to-air missile.
Don't expect much from Mattis-Sitharaman meeting
Rediff.com25 Sep 2017Sitharaman has completed just 19 days as defence minister and is also pre-occupied with the Gujarat assembly election, notes Ajai Shukla.
Why India's Astra air-to-air missile is special
Rediff.com25 Sep 2017India joins exclusive club of US, Europe, Russia and China.
India needs a 2nd aircraft carrier quickly
Rediff.com21 Sep 2017The Indian Navy has just one aircraft carrier. The INS Vikramaditya carries just 26 unreliable MiG-29 fighters and 10 helicopters -- an insufficient capability to battle a serious foe.
Can Sitharaman get the defence dinosaur moving?
Rediff.com13 Sep 2017The defence minister has 20 months to learn the military's ethos, culture and to publicly bat for an organisation that feels increasingly marginalised and underappreciated.
Why India needs the Akash missile
Rediff.com8 Sep 2017Ordering more Akash systems is essential for the Indian defence industry.
Army's 'big bang' welcome for Nirmala
Rediff.com6 Sep 2017The 155-millimetre, 52-calibre Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System, which was successfully tested in Pokhran, demonstrated its potential to be a world-beating system.
Madam Raksha Mantri: Where's the money for guns, submarines, warships?
Rediff.com3 Sep 2017'An expanding army, rising salaries due to the 7th pay commission, and raised pensions due to OROP are consuming money at the cost of badly needed bulletproof jackets, rifles, artillery, submarines, warships and fighter aircraft,' notes Ajai Shukla.