Creation of Theatre commands in India: The IAF Context Dr Rajneesh Kumar Background The idea of Theatre Commands in simple terminology means creating geographically defined areas of operations, each commanded by a single military commander who controls the entire war-fighting assets i.e. aircrafts, systems, guns, tanks, support equipment and the manpower operated by the armed forces. The idea has been in use in countries like the USA, China, UK, France and Russia. The Kargil Review Committee formed in the aftermath of the Kargil war had recommended the idea of jointmanship in the operations which till that time was missing with each of the armed forces i.e. Army, Navy and the Air Force fighting a battle guided by their own Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) in absence of a joint operating philosophy. It was the Shekatkar Committee, appointed by the Indian Ministry of Defence and chaired by Lt General DB Shekatkar (Retd), which was formed to enhance the combat p...
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Industry participation in Aviation Engineering Sector in Central Asia: Ordnance Factories and Start-Ups Dr Rajneesh Kumar Abstract India’s Ordnance Factories (OFs), traditionally tasked with supplying arms and equipment to the armed forces, have long struggled with inefficiency, limited innovation, and financial losses. Their corporatisation in 2021 into seven Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs) aimed to infuse competitiveness, yet their presence in aviation remains marginal, confined largely to parachutes and air armaments. This article examines the feasibility of OFs expanding into the aviation maintenance sector in Central Asia (CAR), a region of strategic importance to India. While their experience in precision engineering and defence manufacturing offers some promise, major challenges persist. These include inadequate exposure to aviation systems, dependence on Russian approvals for servicing Soviet-origin platforms, high costs of establishing Maintenanc...
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Shifting India–US Ties and Balancing with Russia: Prospects By Dr Rajneesh Kumar The current times are testimony to the fact that the relations between India and the United States are undergoing a dramatic transformation. The Indo-US ties that were once a relationship marked by mistrust, suspicion and a tacit hostility during the Cold War, subsequently evolved into a partnership often described as “strategic” and “indispensable.” Alongside, India has also been resolute about preserving its long-standing friendship with Russia, a country that has been its principal Defence partner and an ally in critical moments of history. The changing dynamics of India–US relations, set against the backdrop of the enduring India–Russia partnership, presents the opportunities as well as dilemmas for the framers as well as the practitioners of the Indian foreign policy. The Evolving dynamics of Indo–US Relations The story of India–US ties can at best be understood in phas...
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Need to Revisit DAP 2020: The Armed Forces context By Dr Rajneesh Kumar The Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP)-2020 is based on the concept of “Womb to “Tomb” in defence acquisitions and enshrines certain unique aspects related to structured guidelines and issues related to the supplier constraints, technological complexities, issues pertaining to foreign suppliers, high costs, foreign exchange implications and most important- the geo-political ramifications. India, since beginning, had been dependent upon import of defence hardware from the erstwhile USSR and the UK, USA, France and Israel. However, in course of time a realisation emerged regarding saving of precious foreign exchange by creation of indigenous manufacturing capability with a sense of national pride, which culminated into the initiatives of “ Make in India ” and now “ Atmanirbhar Bharat ” [1] . The ongoing creation of indigenous capability is ...