Monthly Archives: August 2018

Tribune News Service

Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi will be on a four-day official visit to Japan from July 30 to August 2. The visit is part of the ongoing efforts to consolidate bilateral defence relations between the two countries with a focus on enhancing maritime cooperation.

He is scheduled to hold bilateral discussions with senior Japanese government officials, including Minister of Defence, Nakatani Gen, and Vice-Minister of Defence, Masuda Kazuo. He will also meet Admiral Saito Akira, Chief of Staff, Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force (JMSDF).

They are likely to discuss a broad spectrum of cooperation areas, with emphasis on maritime security, technological collaboration and identifying avenues to strengthen naval synergy and interoperability.

The Navy Chief will also visit JMSDF units and interact with the Commander-in-Chief, Self Defence Fleet, at Funakoshi JMSDF Base.

#InsideTheCapital: The primary concern in India’s decision-making is the fact that China already has operational fifth-generation jets, the J-20 and J-35, and has promised to supply them to Pakistan

Ajay Banerjee Tribune News Service

India faces a conundrum. Its ongoing effort to develop an indigenous fifth-generation fighter jet will take 8-10 years to fructify. In the meantime, New Delhi can either opt to wait, or as an interim measure, accept an offer from either US or Russia. The US has offered India the F-35 and the Russians made their pitch with Sukhoi 57 – both fifth generation planes.

The primary concern in India’s decision-making is the fact that China already has operational fifth-generation jets, the J-20 and J-35, and has promised to supply them to Pakistan. This was, in fact, the first “sop” Beijing announced for Islamabad after the India-Pakistan skirmish in May 2024.

The US has offered the F-35 to India, while Russia is promoting the Sukhoi Su-57—both operational fifth-generation fighters. The F-35 is already used by the US and several NATO allies.

India’s plan

India is developing the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), a fifth-generation fighter jet. Last month, the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), under the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), invited expressions of interest (EoI) from Indian companies, setting a timeline of eight years to achieve a flying prototype, with full-scale production and induction expected another two years after that.Indian Air Force wants two variants: the AMCA Mark 1 is expected to use the General Electric F414 engine (98 kN thrust), and the Mark 2 will use a 110 kN thrust engine. Both versions will require foreign collaboration for engine development. Production of F414 engines is planned under a joint venture between GE and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). For the Mark 2, India is considering partnerships with either Safran or Rolls Royce.

India can pursue two parallel paths

Even if the India opts to accept the US or Russian offer as an interim measure, it needs to go full steam ahead with the indigenous development. The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has okayed a budget of Rs 15,000 crore budget for development and prototype making of the AMCA.

For the Ministry of Defence, there is an example to follow from what the Indian Navy did when it tested out the single-engined Light Combat Aircraft, called the LCA Navy, for an on deck landing on the aircraft carrier INS Vikrant. The Navy said it wanted a twin-engine jet for operations over sea.

The Navy fully backed development of the next generation ‘twin engine deck-based fighter (TEDBF) and till the time it matures, expected by 2030-2031, the Navy opted to import a small number of Rafale-Marine jets as an interim measure.

Why fifth-generation aircraft are needed

A fifth-generation aircraft is defined by its capabilities that allows the pilot to maintain decision superiority over an adversary. Onboard sensors and stealth technology make it touh for enemy radars to track a fifth-generation plane that is backed by millions of software codes.

The classification of a generational shift occurs when a technological innovation cannot be incorporated into an existing aircraft through upgrades and retrospective fit-outs.

The first generation subsonic jet fighters are from mid 1940s to mid 1950s; the second generation jets are from mid-1950s to early 1960s; Third generation jet are from early 1960s to 1970; Fourth generation jet fighters are from 1970 to late 1980s; Four and half generation jet fighters followed. And the fifth gen arrived in 2005 when the US unveiled the F-22 Raptor.

Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi visited a forward post in Siachen, the world’s highest battlefield, and interacted with the troops of 18 JAK RIF.

The visit was emotionally resonant as it brought the COAS back to the very battalion he was once commissioned into and had the honour to command,” an official said. He further said, “In a truly touching moment filled with nostalgia, the COAS reunited with seven Junior Commissioned Officers (JCOs) who had served under his leadership in the battalion as young soldiers.”

“Amidst the icy heights of Siachen, the COAS relived cherished memories, shared heartfelt moments and celebrated the unbreakable bond of camaraderie and timeless brotherhood with the soldiers,” the spokesperson added.

Despite being governed by a constitution and a formal penal code, Pakistan continues to bear witness to brutal incidents that starkly defy its legal framework.

While conventional murders and crimes are generally handled within the bounds of the justice system, a more insidious trend threatens the very soul of the nation: extrajudicial killings sanctioned by tribal councils or jirgas.

These informal gatherings of local elders, often seen as custodians of tradition and community honour, operate beyond the reach of the law and moral justification. Their rulings, delivered in the name of custom, frequently endorse violence and injustice. In a civilised society, such shadow institutions should have no legitimacy.

The problem is neither new nor uniquely Pakistani. Many countries struggle to balance formal law enforcement with local traditions and informal justice systems.

However, in Pakistan, the challenge is compounded by deep-rooted patriarchy, tribal loyalties, and a fragile security landscape—particularly in provinces like Balochistan, which are plagued by separatist movements and sporadic terrorism.

These complex dynamics not only enable but also embolden extrajudicial actors who believe they are above the law. The case of a recent honour killing in Balochistan, where the perpetrators filmed and disseminated their violence on social media, is both tragic and terrifying.

The mere fact that such acts are recorded and shared publicly reveals a disturbing shift in attitude: these individuals feel no fear, no shame and certainly no accountability.

There is a perverse pride in flouting the law, and it reflects how diminished the state’s authority has become in these areas. Even when arrests are made, justice is often elusive, and convictions rare.

The main accused is brought to court without handcuffs and appears to be given a protocol, despite being in police remand. In contrast, when ordinary people are brought to court in police custody, their condition is usually dire, if not entirely dilapidated.

What’s distressing is the silence that surrounds these crimes. Many never make it to the media. They remain hidden for ‘misplaced loyalty’ deter one from seeking justice.

Says handling of logistics decides a country’s fate on the battlefield

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday credited the success of Operation Sindoor to seamless logistics management, calling it a decisive factor that enabled swift mobilisation and operational efficiency.

“Wars today are not won just with guns and bullets, but with their timely delivery,” Singh said, addressing the convocation ceremony of Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya (GSV) in Vadodara via video. “Operation Sindoor was a vivid example of what excellent logistics can achieve,” he added.

The Defence Minister stressed that logistics must be viewed through the lens of strategic importance, rather than merely as a support function. “Whether it’s soldiers at the frontlines or disaster relief teams, without proper coordination and resource management, even the strongest of intentions can falter. Logistics is the power that transforms chaos into control,” he said.

Singh also spoke about the upcoming National Logistics Policy, aimed at building an integrated, efficient and cost-effective logistics ecosystem. “Our goal is to reduce logistics costs from the current 13-14 per cent to levels seen in developed countries. This will enhance the global competitiveness of Indian products and drive growth across sectors,” he said, noting the importance of data-driven decision-making in the new framework.

The Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya, established in 2022 under the Ministry of Railways, is India’s first university dedicated to creating skilled talent in the logistics and transportation sectors.

The aircraft is now ready for a ‘roll out,’ indicating that manufacturer Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has completed testing on a number of planes for all required parameters

The Tejas Mark 1A fighter jet is advancing to its next phase, with testing of its onboard missiles set to begin shortly. If all goes as planned, the first batch of these jets will be handed over to the Indian Air Force (IAF) in the coming months.

The aircraft is now ready for a ‘roll out,’ indicating that manufacturer Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has completed testing on a number of planes for all required parameters. The next step involves validating the jet’s combat capabilities, with a crucial live firing test of the Astra Mk1 Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile (BVRAAM) scheduled for early August 2025.

This test marks a critical phase in integrating the advanced indigenous missile system with the upgraded Tejas Mark 1A. While the older version of the Tejas, around 40 of which are already in service with the IAF, has been successfully integrated with the Astra missile, the Mark 1A requires fresh validation due to its new Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar.

The Astra Mk1, developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), is a formidable all-weather, day-and-night capable air-to-air missile. Once integrated, it will enable the Tejas to engage and destroy hostile aircraft from a standoff distance, a critical capability in modern aerial warfare.

The upcoming test is part of the final stages of validating the Tejas Mark 1A’s enhanced weapons package. Initial deliveries were originally slated to begin in March 2024, but the programme faced delays, primarily due to supply of General Electric F404 engines.

HAL currently holds an order for 83 Tejas Mk1A jets under a 2021 contract, with deliveries expected to be completed by 2028. An additional order for 97 aircraft is anticipated to be finalized by the end of 2025, with deliveries starting in 2028 and concluding by 2031.

This four-pronged initiative will integrate fighting components like infantry, mechanised infantry, armoured units, artillery, special forces and unmanned aerial systems (UAS) within each brigade

Ajay Banerjee Tribune News Service

In a major restructuring move, the Army is set to transform its war-fighting structure, empowering Brigades with greater firepower and operational autonomy under a new plan called ‘Rudra’.

This four-pronged initiative will integrate fighting components like infantry, mechanised infantry, armoured units, artillery, special forces and unmanned aerial systems (UAS) within each brigade. Unlike before — when, for example, an Infantry Brigade lacked armoured or drone elements — these integrated formations will now be self-contained and combat-ready.

The second component is the creation of ‘Bhairav’ units —lethal light commando battalions evolved from the existing ‘ghatak’ platoons. These specialised forces will be tasked with rapid response and border operations, especially along the LoC and in counter-insurgency zones.

The third pillar is ‘Shaktibaan’ artillery regiments, which will focus on drone warfare and loitering munitions — advanced weapons that can hover mid-air and strike precise targets on command.

The final element, ‘Divyastra’ batteries, will comprise infantry battalions equipped with drones and indigenous air defence systems. These units will strengthen the Army’s multi-layered air defence shield, successfully demonstrated during Operation Sindoor.

Importantly, this transformation won’t require fresh inductions. Instead, existing units — across infantry, armoured corps, artillery, engineers, UAVs and signals — will be reconfigured into integrated Brigades with dedicated logistics and combat support.

In 2023, the Army’s top commanders decided to restructure the force in phases, with the goal of transforming it into a lean, agile and tech-enabled 21st-century military. Key operational concepts — such as the creation of Integrated Battle Groups — had already been validated during field exercises in Punjab in 2013.

This decision was informed by a comprehensive 2022 study on “Re-organisation and Rightsizing of the Indian Army”, which examined existing operational structures with the aim of making them more efficient, adaptable and future-ready, especially in the context of evolving challenges along India’s western and northern borders.

Jordan, UAE carry out airdrops | Hamas says Israel finally acknowledges it is starving people

The Israeli military on Sunday began a limited pause in fighting in three populated areas of Gaza for 10 hours a day, part of a series of steps that included multiple airdrops as concerns over surging hunger in the territory mount and Israel faces a wave of international criticism over its conduct in the 21-month war.

he military said it would begin a daily “tactical pause” in Gaza City, Deir al-Balah and Muwasi, three areas of the territory with large populations, to “increase the scale of humanitarian aid” entering the territory. The pause was running from 10.00 am to 8.00 pm local time and was to be repeated each day until further notice.

In a sign of how precarious the situation remained for people in Gaza, shortly after the pause began, Gaza health officials said an Israeli airstrike on an apartment in Gaza City killed a woman and her four children. A second strike killed four people, including a young boy, his mother and his grandfather, in the eastern Zaytoun neighbourhood, health officials said.

The Israeli military had no immediate comment on either strike. Food experts have warned for months of the risk of famine in Gaza, where Israel has restricted aid because it says Hamas siphons off goods to help bolster its rule, without providing evidence for that claim.

Images emerging from Gaza in recent days of emaciated children have fanned global criticism of Israel, including by close allies, who have called for an end to the war and the humanitarian catastrophe it has spawned.

Israel said the new measures were taking place while it continued its offensive against Hamas in other areas. Health officials in Gaza said at least 38 Palestinians were killed in separate strikes from late Saturday into Sunday, including 23 people seeking aid.

As part of the eased restrictions, the military also said that it would put in place secure routes for aid delivery. It also said it carried out aid airdrops into Gaza, which included packages of aid with flour, sugar and canned food.

Jordan announced it had carried out three airdrops over the skies of Gaza, including one in cooperation with the United Arab Emirates. It said the cargo planes had dropped 25 tons of food and supplies on several locations in Gaza.

Senior Hamas official Mahmoud Merdawi said that Israel’s change of tack on the humanitarian crisis amounted to an acknowledgement that they were starving Palestinians in Gaza, adding that Israel would not escape punishment for its crimes.

The United Nations’ food agency welcomed the steps to ease aid restrictions, but said a broader ceasefire was needed to ensure goods reached everyone in need in Gaza. UNICEF called it “an opportunity to save lives.”

Dr Muneer al-Boursh, director general of Gaza’s Health Ministry, called for a flood of medical supplies and other goods to help treat child malnutrition. “This (humanitarian) truce will mean nothing if it doesn’t turn into a real opportunity to save lives,” he said. “Every delay is measured by another funeral.”

Later in the day, US President Donald Trump said Israel would have to make a decision on the next steps in Gaza, adding that he did not know what would happen after moves by Israel to pull out of ceasefire and hostage-release negotiations with Hamas.

World War I (28 July, 1914 – 11 Nov, 1918)

he First World War, or the “Great War”, marked a seismic shift in international relations, paving the way for the rise of the United States as a global superpower, the founding of the League of Nations, and eventually, the United Nations. Yet, its aftermath also left a humiliated Germany burdened by crippling reparations, 20 billion gold marks, imposed by the Treaty of Versailles. This overwhelming debt, coupled with the “War Guilt Clause,” created a “metaphorical chariot of loss” for Germany. A young Adolf Hitler, deeply embittered by Germany’s defeat and cast down by this humiliation, pledged revenge and a ruthless vision of racial supremacy that would sow the seeds of the Second World War. Romanticised by some zealous historians, the story of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary and his wife Sophie, assassinated by a Serbian nationalist, Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo, is often portrayed as a romantic tragedy that triggered the war. Indeed, Austria-Hungary’s declaration of war on Serbia on July 28, 1914, escalated through entangled alliances into a global conflict that claimed over 16 million lives and reshaped the 20th century. The Central Powers, including Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire, faced off against the Allied Powers —- Britain, France, Russia and later the United States. However, when we clear the Western imperial lens, a sharper truth emerges: World War I was fundamentally a war of race and domination. European powers competed fiercely over colonies, exploiting racial hierarchies to control vast territories and subjugate peoples of Asia, Africa and beyond. India, then a British colony, contributed over 1.4 million soldiers, half of whom were from Punjab, the “martial races” heartland, to this imperial war machine. The war’s devastating social and economic impact and the unfulfilled promises of political reform ignited the flames of Indian nationalism. When veteran soldiers returned, they helped galvanise resistance that culminated in tragic events like the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, marking a turning point in India’s struggle for independence. Today, as one witnesses ongoing atrocities, whether in Gaza, Yemen, or elsewhere, the same dark legacies of colonialism, racism and imperial power struggles persist. These are not distant conflicts but continuations of historic patterns of oppression, racism and the denial of human dignity. For Indians and all people conscious of this legacy, the legacy of the First World War compels one to reject Eurocentric narratives. It instigates one to call the war for what it was, a brutal contest for dominion underpinned by racism and anti-democratic violence.

The ‘Great War to Race Riots’ Project centres on an archive of original, significant documents covering the period 1919 to 1921. It relates to the position of black ex-servicemen, seamen and factory workers stranded or left destitute in Liverpool after the First World War. It includes letters and testimony from soldiers and merchant seamen from Africa, India and the Caribbean, who had fought for England on land and at sea during the Great War, or had worked in factories to support the war effort. The documents reveal a plight of daily racism and loss of jobs because of the boycott by white workers, a boycott often supported by the trades unions. This tension led to the race riots of 1919, which resulted in many serious assaults and attacks on the black community and the murder of a black seaman, Charles Wotten, by a white mob. The unique nature of this material is that it contains the written word of those ex-servicemen, sailors and workers who were being confronted with verbal, physical and racial abuse on the streets of Liverpool, abuse which was compounded by institutional indifference and racism. The first phase of the project, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, involved cataloguing of the material, bringing it to public access in Liverpool’s Records Office. Writing on the Wall commissioned Levi Tafari to produce new poetic works in response to the archive. Levi then led workshops which invited the public to also respond creatively to the material. The work was celebrated at public events during Writing on the Wall’s annual writing festival; WoWFest. A publication was produced and a plague was erected, in partnership with David Olusoga’s ‘Black and British’ TV series, in memory of Charles Wotten. An art installation of Black Poppies was created involving over 60 members of the public. The second phase of the project was delivered in partnership with the Department of Geography and Planning at the University of Liverpool and was funded by AHRC, via the ‘Centre for Hidden Histories’ (University of Nottingham). This phase mapped the residences of the men named in the archive and the events of the race riots. A walking tour was devised and a short film was produced. With additional funding from the Department of Geography and Planning, a national conference was held during the centenary of the 1919 Race Riots which brought together representatives from other port cities that had experienced race riots in 1919. With the support of Liverpool’s Mayors office and Arts Council England, the race riots became the focus of Black History Month in Liverpool in 2019. The walking tours were animated by performance from Tmesis Theatre and events were brought to life with an augmented reality trail produced in partnership with First Take. Since its onset the project has worked with twenty two regular volunteers, providing training in archiving and experience of film making, public speaking and in leading guided tours. There have been a number of exhibitions of the archive material curated in partnership with the Liverpool Records Office and The National Archives. The project continues to offer guided walking tours, exhibitions, illustrated talks and rticipation in seminars and conferences.