General Bakshi is understood to have been assured by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar that the process was under way to appoint him as India's first tri-service commander, a post that would, at least nominally, place him senior to General Rawat.

Even without a sanctioned government project for the Agni-6, it seems inevitable that the Agni-5, over the next few years, will organically evolve into an ICBM with improved technologies and capabilities.

With ambitious generals knowing that political patronage might be rewarded, a worrying era of politicisation of the military looms ahead, observes retired Colonel Ajai Shukla who has known Generals Rawat, Bakshi and Hariz for a long time.

China's and India's nuclear doctrines mandate 'No First Use' of nuclear weapons, so use against each other seems unlikely.

Powering the Agni-1P will be the cutting-edge technologies developed for the Agni-4 and Agni-5 missiles.

Over the past two decades, six of the eight army chiefs have been from the infantry and the other two from the artillery division. The appointment of either General Bakshi or General Hariz would interrupt the infantry's prolonged domination of the army command, says Ajai Shukla, a retired army officer himself.

In a major milestone, India successfully tests new advanced towed artillery gun system.

When Obama signs the NDAA 2017 into law this week, the US-India partnership will be enshrined in US legislation, binding every succeeding administration, whatever its inclinations, to treat India as a 'major defence partner,' says Ajai Shukla.

According to convention, Lieutenant General Praveen Bakshi should be named as General Dalbir Singh Suhag's successor as army chief

The ministry of defence has bought two regiments of the indigenous Pinaka multi-barrelled rocket launcher for Rs 3,230 crore.

The DARIN-III navigation attack system allows a Jaguar pilot to feed in the coordinates of targets deep inside enemy territory.

Boeing's plan involves setting up an Indian factory and the aerospace ecosystem to build the Block II Super Hornet.

Boeing expects the IAF to soon place an inquiry for twin-engine fighter jets to bridge a 200-aircraft gap in its armoury. And the Super Hornet is ready to fly in.

New Delhi has repeatedly missed opportunities for political engagement in Kashmir in the past. It must seize the next one, says Ajai Shukla.

'With Pakistan's 'first use doctrine' threatening the use of nuclear weapons early in a war with India, the S-400 will shield vulnerable targets like Delhi and Mumbai, complicating Pakistan's targeting calculations.'

The second SSN that India is negotiating to lease from Russia will only replace the Chakra, when its 10-year lease expires, reports Ajai Shukla.

Lockheed Martin's offer involves transferring the world's only F-16 production line from Fort Worth, Texas, to India. Thereafter, every F-16 built, and a large share of the spare parts and sub-systems for every F-16 flying across the globe would come from India.

With the PMO itself spearheading a re-evaluation, the Director General of Defence Accounts has been asked to justify its earlier contention that the 'slab based' system would benefit a larger number of disabled veterans -- something the army flatly denies, reports Ajai Shukla.

'Instead of joining us in celebrating the strikes, the MoD has stabbed us in the back,' says a top general.

There is considerable discomfort within the defence ministry about the Rafale deal.