Archive for July, 2009

Israel's concern is that UNIFIL's (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) operational coordination with the LAF (Lebanese Armed Forces) results in the covering-up of evidence of Hizbullah rearmament and would like UNIFIL forces to have a more robust mandate and exercise operational independence. »

The Indian contingent, collectively known as INDBATT, diffused the situation through mediation and got the demonstrators to withdraw. The Indian Army asserts that the actions of the Indian peacekeepers was in conformity with UNIFIL Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). »

StratPost has been reliably informed that the trials for the 126 Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) are slated to begin in the last week of July or the first week of August. Boeing's F/A-18 Super Hornet is to be the first aircraft that will be tried out for the estimated $ 10 billion... »

While the Indian government may have agreed to an umbrella End Use Monitoring Agreement, there are many in the Ministry of Defense and the armed forces who are not happy with the pact. StratPost finds out why. »

Former External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha asked in Parliament whether the pact would allow US inspection even for military purchases from third countries if they had used American technology and whether inspectors would be able to make on-site visits to sensitive installations to inspect fixed, immovable assets. »

'Why did they have to open that door? This will simply give encouragement to the Pakistanis to try and drag us down on one more issue at every forum. Our behavior might be an open book, but that doesn't mean we allow them an opportunity to twist it into something else'. »

The INS Godavari and the French warship Aconit have rescued an Indian dhow with a crew of 14 Indians after it was hijacked by pirates off Boosaaso in Somali last Friday. Pirates had attempted to use the dhow, the MV Nafeya, crewed by 14 Indians, as a mother-ship for hijacking the VLCC size Liberian... »

General Deepak Kapoor will visit the US on Monday. The current agenda in increasing Indo-US military cooperation includes the Logistics Support Agreement (LSA), the End User Monitoring Agreement (EUMA) and the Communications Interoperability and Security Agreement (CISA). Interestingly, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will be India at the same time. »

The Indian Defense Minister AK Antony has confirmed the presence of structural problems in the MiG-29 to the Rajya Sabha, something StratPost had first reported in February after confirming the grounding of the aircraft by the Russian Air Force. »

The Indian Army has catered for the contingency by earmarking the 18 Infantry Division (RAPID) of the X Corps for deployment if the need arises. But there are problems with geopolitics, logistics, finance and Indian Army strength levels. »

‘Merely promising prosecution of some of those involved in 26/11 is not going to get us all holding hands and singing Kumbaya in a church choir.’ »

This presentation was made last year by the Indian Navy and the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) to the National Security Advisory Board and the Ministry of Defense, and is published on StratPost courtesy of Shiv Aroor of Headlines Today. »

The Jerusalem Post has reported that under US pressure the Israeli Defense Ministry has ordered the Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) to withdraw from a project to jointly develop the Gripen IN with Gripen's parent company Saab. The Gripen IN is the aircraft Saab has been proposing to offer the Indian Air Force. »

The issue of the creation of a Chief of Defense Staff (CDS) for the Indian armed forces is one who’s fate has been the hostage of usually reluctant government discussions and opposition from various quarters. StratPost analyzes this opposition to a CDS that has so far precluded jointsmanship and strategic planning. »

While the Delhi High Court’s unprecedented judgment, striking down the applicability of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in the case of consenting adults, essentially decriminalizes homosexuality, the Indian armed forces will still consider it a punishable offense. »