All stories by Ajai Shukla
Questions that linger over CDS Rawat
Rediff.com2 Jan 2020'Is the appointment of a CDS likely to achieve the creation of battle-ready, tri-service military commands, from the current 17 single-service commands?', asks Ajai Shukla.
What will CDS Rawat do?
Rediff.com31 Dec 2019The CDS will have a significant role in higher defence planning and operational aspects of India's nuclear arsenal.
Coming soon! AMCA, India's Gen-5 fighter
Rediff.com28 Dec 2019While its operating radius remains secret, a back-of-the-envelope calculation indicates it can easily strike targets 1,000 kilometres away and return to base.
How Tejas Mark 1A won a Rs 26,000 crore order
Rediff.com24 Dec 2019The IAF has demanded five new capabilities in the Mark 1A that would give it a clear combat edge over Pakistan's entire fighter fleet, and most of China's as well.
Declining budget makes navy rethink 200 warship plan
Rediff.com4 Dec 2019'We will prioritise our requirements so that the country's maritime interests are not compromised.'
How US drones could help save billions for India
Rediff.com3 Dec 2019The Global Hawk can carry out surveillance of a stretch of land or ocean for over 30 hours continuously, physically scanning up to 100,000 sq km each day.
Is India ready to meet Chinese air force threat?
Rediff.com21 Nov 2019The Chinese air force is now a 400,000-person force that flies some 2,000 combat aircraft -- more than thrice the size of the Indian Air Force.
With 748 incidents, India is 7th-most affected by terror
Rediff.com21 Nov 2019Jammu and Kashmir is most impacted by terrorism in 2018, with 321 attacks, resulting in 123 deaths while Chhattisgarh suffered 138 attacks in 2018, resulting in 123 deaths, reports Ajai Shukla.
What India hopes to learn from Tiger Triumph
Rediff.com18 Nov 2019Exercise Tiger Triumph -- a full-scale, tri-service beach landing operation -- is a capability India is seeking to build.
Will Rajnath's Russia visit help India get defence deals?
Rediff.com7 Nov 2019But private Indian defence firms prefer to do business with the West. Indian CEOs say they encounter difficulties in obtaining full and timely payment from Russian partners.
Seahawks for Navy: India, US to seal deal
Rediff.com1 Nov 2019Given the urgency, the Indian Navy is buying 24 MH-60R Seahawks in flyaway condition, and plans to build another 99 in India through the strategic partnership route.
India plans to be among top 5 defence producers by 2025
Rediff.com31 Oct 2019The defence ministry is shooting to achieve an annual export target of $5 billion by 2025.
Delayed, over-budget anti-sub vessel Kavaratti ready to roar
Rediff.com11 Oct 2019Kavaratti will be commissioned before end-2019 -- three years later than contracted.
How IAF chief plans to solve fighter jet shortage
Rediff.com9 Oct 2019Air Chief Marshal R K S Bhadauria's plan includes building 83 Tejas Light Combat Aircraft in quick time to fill the light fighter vacancies left by the retirement of MiG-21 and MiG-27 fighters.
Has navy inducted INS Khanderi with several defects?
Rediff.com1 Oct 2019There were 35 defects that still remained to be resolved. Of these, 29 could not have been resolved during the monsoon since they required testing in absolutely calm seas. Nor is the Khanderi being commissioned with a full complement of its primary weapon, the torpedo.
Limited choices in strategic partners in defence
Rediff.com25 Sep 2019The defence ministry has lost sight of what it intended to achieve -- which was to nurture private defence firms that would compete on equal terms with the 9 defence PSUs and the 41 Ordnance Factory Board factories.
Small Indian company makes waves among navies
Rediff.com19 Sep 2019C2C DB Systems is tightly integrated into India's warship production eco-system.
Rajnath to fly in Tejas, spend night on Vikramaditya
Rediff.com18 Sep 2019'The Raksha Mantri's day at sea'/
Look at the weapons Russia wants to sell us!
Rediff.com6 Sep 2019Russia -- already India's biggest arms supplier from 2014-18, accounting for 58 per cent of India's defence imports -- eyes more, reports Ajai Shukla.
Chief of Defence Staff will need to show tough love
Rediff.com30 Aug 2019'Since each chief single-mindedly pursues his service's interests in the competition for turf and in core matters such as budget share. The CDS, therefore, must act as an "honest broker" whose decisions serve the broader national purpose, rather than narrow service interests,' says Ajai Shukla.