by David Axe Follow @daxe on TwitterL
Key point: Without the resources to fund a global navy, Moscow is focusing on ships that are smaller but modernized.

The Russian navy on Aug. 14, 2019 completed a key test of an upgraded missile corvette. The trial underscores the evolution of the Russian fleet from a force dominated by a few large vessels to one with a larger number of smaller ships.

The upgraded missile corvette Smerch conducted a live-fire exercise in the Sea of Japan, Russia’s state-run news agency TASS reported, citing the press office of Russia’s Pacific fleet.

“Today, in accordance with the plan of shipbuilders’ trials, the modernized small missile ship Smerch has held a series of missile firings against a naval and an air target,” the press office told TASS.

Smerch, a Nanuchka III-class corvette, displaces around 500 tons of water. Smerch launched in 1984.

After recent upgrades, Smerch boasts 30-millimeter and 76-millimeter guns, a battery of small surface-to-air missiles and Uran anti-ship missiles, which are equivalent to the U.S. Navy’s own Harpoon anti-ship missile.

Smerch is one of around 150 corvettes, patrol boats and mine-warfare ships in the Russian fleet. Each displaces just a few thousand or few hundred tons of water. The Russian navy operates fewer than 30 large, oceangoing frigates, destroyers and cruisers.
The U.S. Navy by contrast operates just a couple dozen small surface combatants and more than 100 large ones. The American and Russian fleets are opposites, each reflecting their country’s strategy, history, industry and geography.

The U.S. fleet, backed by a powerful, high-tech industry, favors large ships for their ability to deploy long distances in support of an interventionist foreign policy.

The Russian fleet, on the other hand, relies on outdated shipyards that reliably can produce only small vessels. Fortunately for Moscow, smaller ships are appropriate for Russia’s strategic focus on destabilizing, and occasionally invading, rivals just a short distance away along its own periphery.

The Russian navy’s transformation into a small-ship fleet has been accelerating. More large ships are decommissioning and smaller vessels — both new and upgraded — are taking their place, reshaping what was once a major global force into a new kind of regional fleet.

In April 2019 the Kremlin decided to dismantle rather than revamp two Cold War-vintage Kirov-class battlecruisers. Moscow likewise considered scrapping its sole aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov rather than pay for maintenance and upgrades.

The accidental sinking of the PD-50 drydock in October 2018 weighed on the decision. PD-50 was the only drydock in northern Russia that could accommodate Kuznetsov. The Kremlin in mid-2019 signaled it will attempt to repair the aging carrier after combining two smaller drydocks to accommodate the vessel.
The new ships Russia is acquiring generally are missile corvettes displacing no more than 5,000 tons of water. An American destroyer, by contrast, displaces 9,000 tons.

The Kremlin bought just four new warships in 2018, all corvettes. While small, these vessels pack serious firepower. In recent years, corvettes from the Caspian Sea fleet have fired long-range Kalibr cruise missiles at targets in Syria — all without ever leaving Russian waters.
But the numbers are telling. As it transforms, the Russian navy by most metrics is falling behind the U.S. and Chinese navies. In 2019 the Russian fleet has 360 ships, according to U.S. Navy commander Keith Patton, writing for the Center for International Maritime Security. The Chinese fleet, by contrast, possesses 624 warships.

The American fleet at the same time has just 333 “battle force” ships. But the American ships on average are much bigger than Chinese and Russian ships are. The U.S. fleet in total displaces 4.6 million tons of water. The Chinese fleet displaces 1.8 million tons. The Russian fleet displaces just 1.2 million tons.

Perhaps most tellingly, the U.S. fleet can carry around 12,000 offensive missiles. Chinese ships in total can carry 5,200 missiles. Russia’s fleet, despite upgrades like those to Smerch, packs no more than 3,300. And that number could fall as more large, old warships decommission and smaller ships take their place.

David Axe serves as Defense Editor of the National Interest. He is the author of the graphic novels War Fix,War Is Boring and Machete Squad. This first appeared in August 2019.

Islamabad, October 21

The Pakistan military has rejected as “false” the Indian Army’s assertion that it targeted at least three terror camps in the PoK and said India is welcome to take any foreign diplomat or media to the site to “prove” its claim on ground.

Indian Army chief General Bipin Rawat said on Sunday that six to 10 Pakistan Army personnel were killed and three terror camps destroyed in a retaliatory action by the Indian Army opposite the Tangdhar and Keran sectors in Jammu and Kashmir.

Responding to Rawat’s claim, Pakistan’s military spokesman Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor in a midnight tweet expressed disappointment at the assertions by the Indian Army chief. 

“There are no camps let alone targeting those. Indian Embassy in Pakistan is welcome to take any foreign diplomat/media to ‘prove’ it on ground,” Ghafoor said.

He said the “propensity of false claims by senior Indian military leadership especially since Pulwama incident is detrimental to peace in the region.”

“Such false claims by the Indian Army are being made to suit vested domestic interests. This is against professional military ethos,” Ghafoor said. PTI

Ravi Dhaliwal

Tribune News Service

Dera Baba Nanak, October 15

After weeks of confusion, clarity has finally emerged on the subject of passport and visa for pilgrims desirous of visiting Kartarpur through the corridor with government officials stating that a passport will definitely be needed, but it will not be stamped with Pakistani visas.

This decision was keenly awaited because it is common knowledge that if a person’s passport has a Pakistani visa, his or her visa application to the US, Australia and European countries is compromised.

Cabinet Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, who visited the site today, said the Pakistan government had recently conveyed this decision to Indian officials.

“This was confirmed by Ajay Bhalla, Union Home Secretary, after a meeting held with him and other Central officials at the zero-line yesterday. A passport will be needed just for identification purposes. There was a lot of uncertainty on this issue because under normal circumstances, a person travelling to Pakistan by air, sea or road needs to have a visa stamped from the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi. However, if anybody wants to use the corridor, he will not be requiring a visa,” said Randhawa.

CM Capt Amarinder Singh has been a strong votary of the corridor being both passport and visa-free. He had also taken up the issue with the ministers concerned in Delhi, but met with partial success because the government still insists upon having a passport.

Randhawa said to ensure a level-playing field, the Centre was mulling over a proposal to allow a pilgrim to cross over not more than one time a year.

“Repeated visits by those who can financially afford to go will mar the chances of other devotees. Such a rule should be put in place at least for the first year of the corridor’s inception,” he said.

Meanwhile, the CM dispatched PWD Minister Vijay Inder Singla to the corridor site today. “All four roads leading to the ICP are being recarpeted and widened. The government has already sanctioned grants. The passages which are being strengthened are the ones leading to Dera Baba Nanak from Fatehgarh Churian, Ramdas, Batala and Gurdaspur,” said Singla

Rajesh Ramachandran

No visit is ever pleasant when Srinagar is under the shadow of the gun. This time around, after two months of the lockdown, there was an eerie normalcy in the Valley. It was indeed ‘abnormally normal’, as a senior officer put it while talking about the bustling Sunday market last week. J&K as a whole and the Valley in particular are in the throes of transformation. But unlike in the past, there are only a few visible signs of this transition. There are no protests, no restrictions on movement, at least in Srinagar city, and life appears to run its calm, serene course. But the glowing autumn sun doesn’t deceive the sense of defeat in the air.

Most Kashmiris are yet to give expression to their response to the abrogation of Article 370 and the decision to turn the state into a UT. Ordinary folks say they are still in shock, separatists want weapons to fight the Indian State, even more radical ones are looking at the possibility of an Indo-Pak war — but they all believe that there is no point in pelting stones to invite bullets. This, in a way, is a turning point in the lives of the Kashmiris. There is, probably for the first time, a feeling of futility in inviting repression and a great fear of the unknown, which has triggered the technique of protest by shopkeepers to open their shops early, shut them during the official working hours, and open them, if needed, again in the evening. A lot of shopkeepers have taken their wares to the pavements to the Sunday market, which is now almost a week-long affair in the capital city.

Is it a spontaneous shutdown by shopkeepers or are they being threatened by overground workers of militant groups? Well, the truth in the Valley is always somewhere in between. There are reports of overground militants identifying certain shops by putting a mark on them, and also a whisper campaign about the ‘advisory’ of timings to open and shut the shops. But the people are also willing to sacrifice a portion of their income to make a statement. There are orchard owners and apple farmers, even among cops, who are willing to let their apples rot to register their passive protest. There is unreserved, popular anger over the communications clampdown. When the most basic need to remain connected with the rest of the world is hit so completely, that too in the era of OTPs (one-time passwords) and mobile authentication for any kind of transaction, there is no debate on Article 370; there is only angst and anxiety over getting punished by New Delhi. That to a large extent explains the queer quietude.

The worst aspect of the lockdown is that this fear has gripped everyone, including the huge pro-India constituency. The detention of former chief ministers Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah, the greatest champions of the Indian State, has deepened the despair among those who have fought the separatists all through — serving and retired officials and political activists. The Abdullahs’ detention has made their position untenable and uncertain. And some of the so-called grassroots workers who are now being projected as the next line of political leadership — after being picked up from the panchayats — are allegedly holed up in hotels in Srinagar, scared of returning to their villages. These panchayat-level, hand-picked novices cannot fill the political vacuum. And every passing day of detention of the top political leaders of the state is a day lost in repairing the umbilical cord and assuaging the hurt of the Kashmiris.

Thus, the greatest threat to the Indian State now is the possibility of losing its most important constituency in the Valley and it seems counterproductive to create new leaders, marginalising or attacking the legitimate ones. The very approach of slamming this leadership as corrupt or status-quoist, which has to be wholly uprooted, appears terribly misconceived. They have been the elected representatives of the Kashmiris for a very long time and their detention only discredits mainstream politics and Indian democracy.

From the security point of view, the detentions, transfer of inmates to jails outside the state, massive deployment of forces and the proactive approach on the LoC to neutralise infiltrators pushed across by Pakistan have yielded spectacular results, with this summer being one of the calmest in recent times. The security forces have done their best to ensure that violence doesn’t erupt, but this calm could be deceptive as there is widespread apprehension of escalation of violence amongst Srinagar’s residents. This thinking is partly promoted by the separatists and their handlers across the borders, but is also the result of a vacuum in political activism.

A two-year-long delimitation process without an elected government — if it happens, as people fear —will be a godsend for the Pakistan deep state and the Islamist secessionists. Every day without a legitimate, elected government is an open invitation to the militants to dominate the mindscape of the people. It further gives the Islamists an opportunity to convince the people that the entire exercise of scrapping Article 370 was to do away with Article 35-A and thereby turn Kashmir into a Muslim-minority region. The retelling of these fears will assume proportions of a new sub-national narrative, which will eat into the innards of sanity, leaving society crippled against the criminals within. Competitive, mainstream politics is the only antidote to extremist violence and the sooner it is rung in, the better for all stakeholders. Till then, the Kashmiris should not be blamed if they don’t feel they too are Indian citizens.

With Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announcing the Fit India campaign, former Special Forces officer, doctor and renowned international athlete, Major Surendra Poonia, VSM, moved by the prime minister’s initiative has decided to use his decade’s worth of combined military, sporting and medical experience to promote a spirit of fitness throughout the country, launching his flagship initiative, FitBharat. Speaking exclusively to SSBCrack, the renowned Para Special Forces Officer, who has served in the famed President’s Bodyguard proudly says, “Being a Special Forces veteran and a medical professional, I believe it is my soldierly duty to continue to serve the country by promoting an environment of health and fitness.” Major Poonia like a dutiful soldier, is on a mission to counter the country’s most significant national threat, the silent killer known as lifestyle diseases.

The root causes of these disorders have been linked with a lack of regular exercise and today’s sleep-deprived corporate culture. Being a former military man, the Ex-Special Forces Major came to the conversation armed to the teeth, this time with facts! The officer explains that “Lifestyle diseases such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, poor nutrition and improper sleep cycles are some of the leading causes of health-related ailments in India.” Elaborating on this, he says “7.1 per cent of the adult population in India are suffering from diabetes. There were an estimated 69.1 million cases of diabetes in India in the year 2015, and it has exceeded to around 70 million as of 2019! By 2030, almost 100 million of my fellow countrymen will suffer from diabetes.” The former Special Forces Commando says this with fiery conviction!

Speaking about widespread obesity, Major Poonia says, “Obesity has become one of the leading health epidemics in the 21st century, with morbid obesity affecting approximately five per cent of the national population! This means over 6.8 million Indians suffer from morbid obesity. Being a sportsman it truly pains me to have to acknowledge that over 13.5 crore Indians are morbidly obese!” According to several research papers shared by Major Poonia to SSBCrack, it has been ascertained that obesity in the country has doubled in the past ten years. Going by the research presented by the retired officer, it has been found that the urban population and states with higher income groups have a higher rate of obesity.

While conversing with SSBCrack, Major Poonia shared his observations, splitting the anatomy of the leading causes of obesity and its implications on productivity, self-esteem, mental health and youth development. The former military medical professional spoke extensively, about the surge of junk food, appealing advertisements promoting unhealthy food choices, mobile games such as PUBG and Fortnite and their effects on the youth. “These mobile games have confined the youth in their rooms and have trapped them in a vicious cycle of unhealthy life choices”, he declares enraged! “A lack of importance given to sports and fitness in educational institutions is disheartening and a cause of grave concern,” says Major Poonia with a sense of genuine concern.

During one of SSBCrack’s in-depth conversations with the former Special Forces doctor, he stressed on the vital role educational institutions have to play in promoting a spirit of fitness, among young school-going students. Major Poonia cited his discontent towards the syllabus of physical education in Indian schools. He says “Even physical education is taught through textbooks, and is evaluated through written exams! How is this physical fitness?”, the commando asks rhetorically. “This neglect,” he says “results in a generation of academically burdened youth with no outlet to vent their burdens.” Furthermore, they “lose out on so many benefits of taking part in sporting endeavours such as problem solving, teamwork, purpose, camaraderie, overcoming obstacles. This criminal neglect at an early stage follows them throughout their lives!” says the commando with great passion.

Touching more on this, he says, “The lack of fitness being imbibed in young children at an early age haunts them when they become working professionals. The increasingly exploitative corporate work environment has resulted in significant health problems.” Putting out another chilling statistic, the former president’s bodyguard says, “63 per cent corporate professionals are overweight. This leads to heart conditions leading to death as aforementioned. It results in “lowered productivity, leading to stalled career progression, ultimately making an employee feel dejected and stressed.” This “stress,” the officer says, “results in poor sleep patterns, improper nutrition and host of mood swings affecting one’s mental and spiritual well being. It is an interconnected vicious cycle.”

Major Poonia keeps on reinforcing passionately, the need for regular, sustained exercise and healthy eating. “Being an athlete and a soldier serving in the elite special forces, I was fortunate to be in an environment where fitness was prioritised…Soldiering is a high stress a high-risk job, however, what I experienced was that the rigorous fitness regimen we were subjected to, significantly alleviated the stress which came from such a hazardous profession!” Drawing from his personal observations, the Special Forces doctor empathises the plight of corporate professionals, saying, “Corporate professionals play a crucial part in our nation-building process. They are the ones who provide us with essential services, design the softwares and infrastructure required to make our lives easier, and put our country on the world stage. They work tirelessly in the pursuit of nation-building, yet do not get the time or encouragement to give time to their own health!”

Answering SSBCrack’s questions on what FitBharat hopes to achieve, the ex-commando says, “FitBharat, aims to imbibe a sense of physical fitness not only to our youth who are our future but even working professionals who are building our nation’s present.” Major Poonia stresses on the benefits of exercise on increased productivity at the workplace. “Focusing on personal health will undoubtedly help in enhanced mood and energy levels, resulting in better workplace productivity.” Efficient productivity, he says, “leads to superior output resulting in higher national growth!” The former army man says, “I believe that if we are physically fit as individuals, we can grow as a community, for me, fitness itself is a major national service!”

Ending the conversation with SSBCrack on a positive note, Major Poonia maintains an optimistic mindset towards the success of FitBharat. He speaks about the gradual but increasing trend towards health and fitness in the country, and how more and more people are “indeed putting efforts towards their well being.” When asked on how he aims to promote the message of FitBharat to his target audience, he replied saying “We have already started with the Soldierathon, which is a marathon organised once a year, and it has received a nationwide response. Going on further we aim to tie up with several sporting brands to highlight youth inspiring messages, in order to promote our young guns to take the first step. We shall also partner with sports regulatory bodies and organise inter-college and university sporting events.” He stresses on the reach of social media platforms and portals like SSBCrack to further the message, saying, “In today’s day and age, social media and youth-based websites are a potent tool, through which we can advocate fitness, give health and nutrition advice to bridge the knowledge gap!” FitBharat intends to come out with hashtag based challenges, creating a supportive online community dedicated to one another’s growth!

Speaking about his roadmap for the long run, the fit commando says “Over time, we shall work with the Ministry of Human Resource Development, to develop state of the art sporting facilities in schools and educational institutions to inculcate sports and fitness at a much younger age.” Major Poonia being a battle-hardened commando is hopeful but remains a pragmatist, acknowledging the challenges for the road ahead. “See it will not happen overnight, it is not simple to change attitudes and I recognise it will take time and a lot of effort however I am satisfied beyond any doubt that we shall succeed, there is now a tremendous internal drive towards fitness, and this is something that will continue to increase and can be channelised for the betterment of society and the nation at large!”

Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman’s 51 Squadron is all set to receive a unit citation by Chief Air Marshal RKS Bhadauria for thwarting Pakistan aerial attack and shooting down a Pakistani F-16 jet on February 27, 2019, according to ANI. The number 9 squadron whose Mirage 2000 fighter aircraft carried out the Balakot aerial strikes on February 26 will also be conferred a unit citation, added ANI.

Along with the units which carried out Balakot strike, Squadron leader Minty Agarwal’s 601 Signal Unit will also be awarded unit citation for their role in the same.

The award ceremony is scheduled for October 8 and the citation will be received by commanding officer Group Captain Satish Pawar.

Also read: Shooting down chopper on Feb 27 was ‘big mistake’, says IAF chief

The Balakot air strike was carried out by India in retaliation to Pakistan’s Pulwama attack, which killed over 40 CRPF personnel on February 14 this year.

During Pakistan’s counter-attack, in response to the Balakot air strike, Abhinandan Varthaman flew a MiG-21 Bison fighter jet into Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), which was shot down by a Pakistan Air Force’s F-16. He too was caught but was released by the Pakistanis due to the pressure exerted on it by India and the international community.

He was also conferred with the third-highest wartime gallantry award, Vir Chakra on the 73rd Independence Day.

Bhuj, October 5

The Border Security Force (BSF) seized two Pakistani fishing boats abandoned in Sir Creek area near Kutch district in Gujarat on Saturday morning, an official said.

A team of BSF jawans, patrolling the area, found the boats at Lakshman Point in Sir Creek, an estuary along the Indo-Pak border, around 8.25 am, the official said.

The boats were carrying fishing equipment, but nobody was found on board, the official added.

Following the seizure, the BSF launched a search operation along the border area, he said, adding that nothing suspicious was found.

In a release, the BSF said, “A thorough search operation of the area has been launched. It is still under way, but so far nothing suspicious has been recovered from the area.”

Security agencies have reported several cases of Pakistani fishing boats lying abandoned in the area in the past couple of months. PTI

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Ajay Banerjee
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, October 4

Indian Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria on Thursday laid out a major indigenous plan to include quick induction of more versions of Tejas and backed a  fifth generation fighter jet of the DRDO, ruling out its import.

The new IAF Chief, who took over on September 30, said, “We are putting in all efforts on AMCA (Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft)”.

The AMCA is a fifth generation jet which the DRDO is making.

On whether the option of fifth generation jets like those with Russia or other countries was being explored, he said “no”.

He was addressing a media conference ahead of the Air Force Day on October 8.

The new IAF Chief, who was a Tejas test pilot during the days of sanctions imposed by the US in 1998, said the order for the 83 Tejas Mark 1A jets will be placed soon. These will carry a more powerful engine along with better weaponry than the Tejas Mark 1.

The cost negotiation committee will soon give its report, he said, adding that if the Tejas Mark 2, also known as the medium weight fighter, is ready in a few years, IAF will induct that.  The process for 114 fighter jets is on, he said while dismissing questions on 36 more Rafale being purchased.

“Indigenisation and modernisation will be the key pillars”, Air Chief Marshal Bhadauria said.

“We have to ensure that indigenous products remain the focus and we will work to reduce dependency on foreign equipment,” he said, adding the new air-to-air missile Astra and BrahMos on the list.

On the fighter fleet, he said steps have been initiated to add 21 more MiG 29.

The Sukhoi 30 will be upgraded as the IAF has initiated the process. The Mi17 and Mi17-IV class of helicopters is being upgraded.

On being asked about the Mi17 crash at Budgam on February 27, he said the court of inquiry has been completed.

Two officers will face disciplinary action. The victims will be treated as battle casualty. “It was big mistake. Necessary steps taken to ensure that it’s not repeated,” he said. The copter had been shot by own missile.

On the threat of drones dropping arms in Punjab, the IAF Chief said, “It’s a new threat and it’s serious. We have some procurement in pipeline to will deal with such drones”.

File photo of Imran Khan.

New Delhi, October 4

India on Friday condemned the “provocative and irresponsible” statements against it by Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan over abrogation of provisions of Article 370 and said he is unaware of how international relations are conducted.

Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said the comments made by Khan do not behove the post he holds.

Kumar was responding to a question on the call for a march from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir to the Line of Control, which has been backed by Pakistan’s military, to protest India’s move.

Also read: India criticises Malaysia, Turkey for statements on Kashmir

Entire neighbourhood, minus one, has been a good story: Jaishankar

At a rally held last month, Khan said he knew that majority of the youth in PoK wanted to stage the march to the LoC. However, he asked them to defer it until he fought the case at the UN General Assembly.

“This is not the first time that such statements have come from Pakistan. Pakistan’s Prime Minister holds a high constitutional office. He has given such statements even before. You have heard his statements even in the UNGA… such provocative and irresponsible language he has used. We condemn this,” Kumar said.

In his maiden speech at the UNGA last month, Khan raised the Kashmir issue and demanded that India must lift the “inhuman curfew” in Kashmir and release all “political prisoners”.

Khan devoted half of his address to the Kashmir issue, warning that if there’s face-off between two nuclear-armed neighbours, the consequences would be far beyond their borders.

“I think he is not unaware of how international relations are conducted. On that basis, he gives such statements. He had given an open call for jihad against India. This is not a normal behaviour,” Kumar said.

“We have been saying that Pakistan and its leaders should behave like a normal neighbouring country. They usually do not do that. We don’t expect that but sometimes we do that since we are neighbours. As far as their call of violating some other country’s territorial integrity is concerned, it does not behove the office he holds,” he said.

On Pakistan’s claim of 58 nations backing it on Kashmir, Kumar said it has not been able to produce the list of the nations.

“Sometimes, they kind of make up the number, which they did. When people are asking them to show the list, they do not have it,” the spokesperson said.

Ties between India and Pakistan came under severe strain after New Delhi abrogated provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution on August 5 to withdraw Jammu and Kashmir’s special status, and bifurcated it into two union territories.

Pakistan reacted angrily to the move and expelled the Indian envoy. Since then, Pakistan has been trying to rally international support against India on the issue.

India also launched a diplomatic outreach to apprise major countries about its decisions on Jammu and Kashmir. PTI