the defence ministry told Parliament on Monday that foreign procurement in defence has risen to Rs 50,061 crore (Rs 500.61 billion) in 2021-2022 from Rs 37,030 crore (Rs 370.30 billion) in 2017-2018.

The coming together of the Quad and the Australia-UK-US grouping would be a formidable adversary, moving toward the creation of a 'thousand ship navy' that reins in the PLA navy in the Indo-Pacific.

While Pakistan enjoys rough parity with India in legacy weapon systems, it is beginning to enjoy superiority in drone warfare, thanks to the RPVs supplied by China, explains Ajai Shukla.

In the confrontation in Doklam, where Indian and Chinese soldiers were lined up eyeball-to-eyeball, senior Indian commanders recount they could sense the uncertainty in the Chinese. While Indian soldiers had to be restrained from pushing the Chinese troops back, our chief interpreter heard the Chinese officers threatening to open fire on PLA soldiers who wavered or withdrew, reveals Ajai Shukla.

'The future is about autonomy and tanking.'

Prominent in the DRDO's display are several artillery guns, armoured vehicles and tanks that underline a measure of success in developing these key weapons platforms for the army. Here are three systems that are headed for success.

In an army that favours officers who have spent the bulk of their service years doing counter-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir, General Anil Chauhan is that rarity: A China specialist who has logged plenty of service years along the Line of Actual Control and the McMahon Line with China.

The MoD did not reveal the number of missiles procured through the latest contract.
However, this information was inadvertently revealed through an official MoD photograph that accompanied the announcement.

The new BrahMos missiles will be 'dual-role capable', which means warships can fire them at targets on land as well as at enemy warships.

New Delhi's regional partners in restraining a belligerent China -- primarily the US, Japan, Australia and Singapore -- would like the Indian Navy to lock down the Indian Ocean Region, while the other partners can focus on deterring the PLA (navy) in the South China Sea, explains Ajai Shukla.

The QRSAM system is unique in its ability to operate on the move, searching for and tracking enemy targets; and then fire on a short halt.

The navy is pushing hard for IAC-2 to be a 65,000-tonne, flat deck carrier that is designed and built in India, with technical and tactical consultation from the US navy -- the global masters in aircraft carrier operations.

New Delhi had proposed during the 2+2 dialogue in April that the US navy could avail of the services and expertise of Indian shipyards.

Banning the import of platforms that are already being built in India serves little purpose.

With inadequacies in the Russian MiG-29Ks that India bought to operate off the INS Vikramaditya and INS Vikrant, the acquisition of a capable, long-range multi-role carrier-based fighters will be critical for India's naval power.

With the Indian Navy's requirement of conventional submarines standing at 24, there is critical need to expedite the planned acquisition of six more conventional submarines.

The greatest unknown in this risky initiative lies in the way human relationships will play out -- not just between the Agniveers, who will be competing with their fellows for permanent jobs beyond their four-year tenures -- but also between the Agniveers and existing full-time soldiers, warns Ajai Shukla.

The VL-SRSAM, which DRDO developed for the Indian Navy, was fired from a warship at a high-speed aerial target mimicking incoming enemy aircraft.

There is increasing friction between the IAF's military requirements, and the AAI's need to provide infrastructure to many more airlines.

The army has long been deficient in artillery, the modern battlefield's most lethal killer, says Ajai Shukla.