ARMS, DI PLOMACY AND BUSI NESS

Vol III, Issue XII, May 2013 n `100

There have been many Generals,
but history remembers only a few
being
and
becoming
WHY INDIA NEEDS MORE
MILITARY CHOPPERS
NO PROBLEM WITH HAL
Exclusive interview with Eric Trappier,
Chairman and CEO, Dassault Aviation
TIME FOR COMPREHENSIVE
INTELLIGENCE REFORMS
Indias first Field Marshal,
General S H F J Manekshaw
Geopolitics_IMDEX_274mmx210mm_FAP.pdf 1 4/21/2013 5:19:36 PM
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Threat of a two-front war has forced the MoD and Indian
Armed Forces to adopt a new concept on reconnaissance
and digital communications technology capability.
PERSPECTIVE (P10)
Strengthening Connectivity
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India and Mikoyan-Gurevich celebrated 50 years of part-
nership, we provide a glimpse of the MiG aircraft that
served and are still serving India.
Trusted Partner
PANORAMA (P8)
As Sikorsky is too anxious to get
started in Indian Market, the
company speaks about the new
products and the experimental
projects such as X2 and the future
prospects for the Indian Market.
Rockwell Collins is very keen
on constituting defence
programme in India because
there are huge opportunities
and great potentials in Indian
defence market.
As DRDO emphasises on buy
Indian, its Director General Vijay
Kumar Saraswat says that Indig-
enous components in our defence
items have gone up from 30 per
cent to 55 per cent in recent years.
DEFBIZ (P28) DEFBIZ (P37) DEFBIZ (P20)
ANXIOUS START EXPECTINGPARTNERSHIP STRETCHING ARMS
LEADING GENERALS
Defence not being a priority in Gov-
ernance becomes an issue only when
sovereignty is threatened. This policy is
adversely affecting Indian Generals and
Generalship.
Cover Story (P46)
CONTENTS
May 2013
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Editor-in-Chief
K SRINIVASAN
Editor
PRAKASH NANDA
Managing Editor
TIRTHANKAR GHOSH
Consulting Editor
SAURAV JHA
Correspondents
TRISHIT RAI, RIJUL S UPPAL,
NAVEED ANJUM
Chief Visualiser
AJAY NEGI
Designers
MOHIT KANSAL, NAGENDER DUBEY
Director (Corporate Affairs)
RAJIV SINGH
Director (Marketing)
RAKESH GERA
Staff Photographer
HEMANT RAWAT
Design Consultant
ARTWORKS
Photo Editor
H C TIWARI
PULLING THE TRIGGER
(P77)
With North Korea threaten-
ing of nuclear confronta-
tion, can North Korean
Dictator Kim Jong-Un be
viewed as simply erratic?
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ATTACK HELICOPTERS
(P14)
Keeping in view the future
military requirements, the
military helicopter acquisi-
tion programme is pro-
gressing on the right path.
CYBER SECURITY
(P58)
As the denition of battle
changes and Chinese hard-
ware spreads around the
world. India must gear up to
ght the cyber war.
NEW MINDSET
(P62)
Indian intelligence agencies
need to create a new setup
that will imbibe ideas to
tackle non-state actors. and
terror outts.
ARMS CONTROL OR DISARMAMENT
Far from being guided by national interest, is Indias opposition to the Arms
Trade Treaty guided by entrenched interests?
BRICS SUMMIT
The fth BRICS
Summit has just con-
cluded in South Africa but
it has already given rise to
many speculations whether
the member countries will
be able to set up a global
nancial institution.
DIPLOMACY (P68)
Cover Design:
Artworks
The total number of pages
in this issue is 80+4
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FOCUS (P72)
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May 2013
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LETTERS TO EDITOR

LETTERS
The cover story, Indias Indigenous War-
ship Building (GEOPOLITICS, April 2013),
about the indigenous programme to build
warships for the Indian Navy and the
Coast Guard was a well researched sto-
ry and reected all the aspects of the pro-
gramme. The introduction said it all: In
order to develop a truly world-class edi-
ce in India, the country must match re-
sources to its overall naval strategy and
grant autonomy to the yards.
In order to project itself as a blue wa-
ter navy, the Indian Navy has to take a few
more steps for the naval shipbuilding pro-
gramme, although it has covered some
distance in contributing much to the plat-
form requirements for maritime forces.
India is one of the few countries in the
world that has the capability to construct
all types of warships ranging from aircraft
carriers to nuclear and conventional sub-
marines along with destroyers, frigates
and corvettes. Over 90 warships have so
far been indigenously constructed, with
30 more in the pipeline.
As we all know India being a region-
al power has to showcase its strength in
maritime security and would need sev-
eral warships in the near future for this
purpose. The demand can only be met
through an indigenous shipbuilding pro-
gramme. We can see that Indias overall
shipbuilding industry comprises 27 ship-
yards, of which six are under Central Gov-
ernment control, two under state govern-
ment and 19 in the private sector domain
together, they can boost the indigenous
efforts to build warships for the navy and
the Coast Guard. As the story points out,
both design expertise and consultancy
must reside in the shipyards and if this has
been achieved in India.
Ram Kumar, Vishakhapatnam

Apropos the story, What Next in the Fin-
meccanica Case? The idea behind it is to-
tally convincing. What is worrisome for
the Indian armed forces and the public in
general and for foreign military vendors in
particular, is that this case has the poten-
tial to paralyse several projects involving
Finmeccanica, its subsidiaries and other
companies in which foreign investments
and interests are involved. That apart, it
can adversely impact government policy
to buy foreign military hardware leaving
the armed forces stranded.
In the case of the AgustaWestland deal
for the VVIP helicopters, the contract and
the integrity pact provides for a ve-year
ban if any wrongdoing is involved and can
affect the capability of our armed forces.
When the AgustaWestland deal is thrown
out of the window, it would take along
with it the MMRCA deal too which will af-
fect the MMRCA programme of the Indian
Air Force. Its not just one or two deals in-
volved but will impact several deals which
can leave our armed forces vulnerable to
In order to develop a truly world-class edifice in India, the country
must match resources to its overall naval strategy and grant au-
tonomy to the yards, writes VIJAY SHANKAR
INDIAS INDIGENOUS
WARSHIP BUILDING: A
CASE STRANGLED
BETWEEN MOD &
BUREAUCRATS
I
n November 1788, an intriguing or-
der was passed by the Select Com-
mittee of the House of Commons
on the Affairs of the East India Company.
On the one hand, it sounded the death
knell for private shipbuilding activities in
Bengal; while on the other, it underscored
the strategic linkage between economic
power as a function of British colonial
venture and the challenges that an op-
posing maritime capability may pose
to it. Specically, it prohibited ship con-
struction of any nature on pain of physi-
cal punishment and forfeit of properties;
but far more insidious was the systematic
obliteration of a vocation and the skills in-
trinsic to it by targeting blacksmiths, car-
penters and articers who were singled
out for special retribution. The shipbuild-
ing industry, through this instrument
passed into the hands of the colonists,
worked to its bidding and grew under its
decree. Whether it was the shipyard at
Bombay or Calcutta, their purpose was to
service the Companys enterprise, and in
time the Crowns imperial ambitions.
Ancient India was one of the leading
maritime nations, which at some point
of time possessed the tidal dock at Lothal
(located in the Bhal region of modern Gu-
jarat) which dates to 2300 BC and stands
testimony to the vibrancy of the tradition.
all carpenters; blacksmiths and other artificers are
prohibited being employed in the building of boats
--- The order fromthe Select Committee of the House of Commons on
the Affairs of the East India Company
COVERSTORY
It had colonies in Cambodia, Java, Suma-
tra, Borneo and Socotra. Indian traders
had established settlements in southern
China, in the Malayan Peninsula, in Ara-
bia and in Egypt. Through the Persians
and the Arabs, India had cultivated trade
relations with the Roman Empire.
There is also a treatise named Yukti
Kalpa Taru (an 11th century AD compila-
tion by Bhoja Narapati), offering a tech-
nocratic exposition on the art of ship-
building. It sets forth minute details about
the various types of ships, their sizes and
the materials fromwhich they were built.
Such a vast undertaking could never have
occurred without a close union between a
deliberate imperial policy and a nautical
strategy to realise it.
Signicant to early Indian maritime
endeavours was the mercantile pursuit
that drove shipbuilding. The nature of
hullsdeep and bulkhead freewas de-
signed for carriage of cargo rather thanfor
survival in action damage. Even the colo-
nisation of South East Asia was more on
account of a migratory stimulus than one
urged by conquest. This outlook changed
April 2013
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www.geopolitics.in
DIPLOMACY
gg
DEFBIZ
AGUSTAWESTLAND
Dassault Aviations Rafale combat
aircraft. But how is Finmeccanica in-
volved in the Rafale deal?
European company MBDA manu-
factures the missiles that the French
combat planes are armed with. Fin-
meccanica has a 25 per cent stake
in MBDA. In its January 2013 bro-
chure for India, the Italian group has
claimed that MBDA is part of its group
companies.
The MMRCA contract is yet to be
awarded and cost negotiations are in
progress, though Dassault has already
indicated that it will have only Euro-
pean missiles on Rafale. The weapons
package comprises a mix of MICA
and Meteor air-to-air missiles manu-
factured and supplied by MBDA. So
are the air-to-ground Storm Shadow/
SCALP and the maritime superiority
missiles such as the Exocet.
Another Indian project in which
MBDA is participating is the Mi-
rage-2000 upgrade programme that
too has been won by the French. In
January 2012, India decided to buy
490 MICA missiles worth $1.4 billion
(Aprrox. `7,700 crore) for its 50 French
Mirage-2000 combat planes in the IAF
eet. This project too may suffer.
Indias prestigious 45,000-tonne In-
digenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC) too
will face a major setback, as Finmec-
canicas subsidiary Selex ES has been
awarded the contract to supply the
Indian Navy with its RAN-40L 3D Air
Surveillance Radar that is to be in-
stalled on-board the IAC, under con-
struction at the Cochin Shipyard.
Finmeccanicas subsidiary WASS is
the winner of the Indian Navy project
to upgrade its 128 A244 lightweight
torpedoes on all its 13 operational
conventional underwater combat-
ants. The contract was awarded to
WASS in 2010.
The above projects apart, Finmecca-
nicas NH Industries is competing in
the $1 billion (Aprrox. `5,500 crore)
AgustaWestland
AW 101 VVIP
Chopper, and
(Below) Luxuri-
ous Interiors of
the Chopper
and other companies in which the Italian
group has capital investment and inter-
ests. That apart, it can adversely impact
government policy vis--vis foreign mili-
tary hardware buys.
This can be gauged from Defence
Minister A K Antonys statement at a press
conference during the 2012 DefExpo in
Delhi, within days of his ministry black-
India and its armed forces, but also for
AgustaWestland, its parent rm Fin-
meccanica and all its subsidiaries and
ancillaries:
As and when the AgustaWestland
deal goes down, it would take along
with it, the MMRCA deal too. For,
the plane selected by India under
the 2007 tender is the French rm
WHAT NEXT IN THE
FINMECCANICA CASE?
Continued from Page 17
listing six companies including four for-
eign companies, for their involvement in
the corruption case against former Ord-
nance Factory Board Director General Su-
dipto Ghosh, who has been convicted in
the case by a special CBI court.
Antony had then said that the 10-year
ban on these companies doing defence
business in India would apply to their
ancillaries too and the entire Defence
Ministry family will have no business
to do with these companies: Singapore
Technologies Kinetics, Israel Military In-
dustries, Zurich-based Rheinmetall Air
Defence, Corporation Defence Russia,
Delhi-based TS Kisan and Company and
Ludhiana-based RK Machine Tools.
In the case of the AgustaWestland deal
for the VVIP helicopters, the contract and
the integrity pact provides for ve-year
ban in case of any wrongdoing is found
during the tender or after signing of the
contract, which has been incorporated as
per the Defence Procurement Procedure
2006.
If things come to such a pass, here
is what the ban would mean for not just
April 2013
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www.geopolitics.in
The policy of banning every company that comes under the slightest
cloud should be immediately done away with, as it does not help the
cause of armed forces modernisation. So should the provision to can-
cel the contract. If the product that has been offered by the company,
which come under a taint at the stage of implementation, then the
contract obligations should be completed by the firm.
However, completion of contractual obligations doesnt mean the
company that got involved in graft will not go scot-free despite the
wrongdoing. It will pay up and face financial penalties that would be
so severe that it would not only recover any loss that may have been
caused to the nations exchequer, but it would make the firm think
twice on getting into underhand dealings.
foreign threats affecting national securi-
ty as well. As of now we can just wait and
watch the developments that will take
place.
Prem Singh, Kolkata
Plugging the Leaks on Coastal Security
(GEOPOLITICS April 2013) was interest-
ing to read. As the story suggests, there is
no universal legal denition for coastal se-
curity. It is dened as comprising those is-
sues that pertain to the sea and have sig-
nicant implications for the countrys
security. It covers many policy sectors in-
cluding seaborne trade and commerce
including energy resources. Assessment
of the Indian maritime coastal securi-
ty and challenges faced thereupon is the
biggest question that pops up now and
then. However, as the story states, there is
a multi-tier arrangement for maritime se-
curity of the country involving the Indian
Navy (IN), Indian Coast Guard (ICG) and
marine police of the coastal states and
Union Territories. The overall responsibil-
ity for maritime security rests with the In-
dian Navy and Indian Coast Guard. The
Coastal Security Scheme which was im-
plemented in the nine coastal states and
four coastal Union Territories since 2005
for strengthening infrastructure for coast-
al patrolling and surveillance.
Naved Ansari, Mumbai
April 2013
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www.geopolitics.in April 2013
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www.geopolitics.in
T
he term maritime security,
which has no universal legal
denition, is dened as com-
prising those issues which
pertain to the sea and have
signicant implications for the countrys
security. It covers many policy sectors
including seaborne trade and commerce
in energy resources, the management of
living and non-living marine resources,
the delimitation of international seaward
boundaries, and the deployment and em-
ployment of naval forces. Elements of the
maritime security regime could be coastal
security including port security, vessel se-
curity, facility security, resource security,
environmental security including man-
agement of oil spills, security of seafarers
and shers including search and rescue.
Assessment of the Indian maritime
coastal security challenges must com-
mence with a statement on the maritime
boundary to comprehend the enormity of
the problem: India has a 7,517 km-long
coastline of which 5,423 kms covers the
mainland and 2,094 kms encircles Anda-
man & Nicobar (A&N) Islands. The coun-
try has an EEZ of 2013410 sq km. To se-
cure the coastline and the maritime area
of interest, a layered security system that
begins beyond the countrys physical bor-
ders with at-sea presence to deter poten-
tial threats is required. Maritime domain
awareness through surveillance assets
intelligence sensors to track and inter-
pret a matrix of real-time images sourced
from satellites, drones, ships at sea and
manned surveillance aircraft and iden-
tication of all vessels at sea, to increase
warning time and engage the potential
threats at the farthest point possible.
There is a multi-tier arrangement for
the maritime security of the country in-
volving the Indian Navy (IN), Coast Guard
(ICG) and marine police of the coastal
States and UTs. The overall responsibil-
ity for maritime security rests with the
IN. ICG is designated as authority re-
sponsible for coastal security in territo-
rial waters assisted by state marine police
and other central and state agencies. The
Indian Customs, which patrols the sea up
to 24 nm to prevent smuggling, has also
been brought under the coastal security
mechanism. The three-level Coastal Se-
curity Scheme (CSS) delineates the geo-
graphical limits and responsibilities:
Marine Police would be responsible
for patrolling up to 12 nautical miles;
fromthe coast
ICG to patrol from 12 to 200 nautical
miles and
IN to patrol beyond200 nautical miles.
Post-Kargil, in October 2001, a Group
of Ministers (GoM) was appointed to re-
view the national security systems. This
started a series of events which led to the
present day improvements in the coastal
security. In January 2004, the Department
of Border Management was created in
MHA for effective management of land
and coastal borders. Thereafter the Kar-
gil Review Committees comprehensive
recommendations prompted the Central
Government to launch the Coastal Secu-
rity Scheme.
The Coastal Security Scheme was
implemented in the 9 coastal States and
4 coastal Union Territories (UTs) since
2005 for strengthening infrastructure for
coastal patrolling and surveillance. 73
coastal police stations, 97 check posts,
58 outposts and 30 operational barracks
were set up. The approved outlay of the
scheme was `400 crore for non-recurring
expenditure and `151 crores for recur-
lated for creating additional infrastruc-
ture for ICG to ensure intensive patrolling
and surveillance of the close coastal areas
of Gujarat and Maharashtra. Under the
scheme, ICG is to procure 15 Interceptor
Boats and set up three Coast Guard Sta-
tions in Dhanu and Murud Janjira in Ma-
harashtra andVeraval in Gujarat. The pro-
curement of the 15 interceptor boats from
M/s Bharati Shipyard Ltd is scheduled for
completion by March 2014.
In addition, for protecting naval bas-
es and adjacent strategic installations,
a specialised force (Sagar Prahari Dal)
consisting of 1000 personnel equipped
with 80 interceptor boats is being raised
by the IN. The physical security of Indias
major ports is being ensured through the
deployment of the Central industrial Se-
curity Force (CISF). An informal layer for
surveillance comprising shermen and
coastal villagers has also been added Lo-
cal shermen and villagers have been
organised into groups (Sagar Suraksha
Dal and Gram Rakshak Dal) and trained
to keep a vigil at sea as well as along the
coasts.
Maritime Domain Awareness
For achieving near gap-free electronic
surveillance of the entire coastline the
Coastal Surveillance Network project is
being implemented. This project provides
surveillance up to 25 nminto the sea and
involves the setting up of 46 static radars
along the coastline36 in the mainland
and 10 in the island territories. Phase I
of the project is nearing completion. The
network has other components; one of
which is the National Automatic Identi-
ring expenditure for 6 years. The scheme
was later extended by one year up to
31.03.2011 with additional non-recurring
expenditure of Rs 95 crores. The procure-
ment of the 204 interceptor boats was
done centrally through M/s Goa Ship-
yard Limited (GSL), Goa and M/s Gar-
den Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers
Limited (GRSE), Kolkata. The Ministry of
Home Affairs (MHA) has signed a contract
in March 2008 with these vendors for sup-
ply of 84 (5 Ton) and 110 (12 Ton) boats.
Besides, an agreement with GRSE has also
been signed for supply of ten of 12 Ton
boats for A&N Islands with higher speci-
cations.
The coastal States/UTs carried out
vulnerability/gap analysis in consultation
with ICG and recommended an addition-
al 131 coastal police stations including
upgradation of 20 existing Police Stations
in A&N islands and procurement of 225
boats under the Phase-II of the Coastal
Security. The Phase-II has a nancial out-
lay of `1,579 crores to be implemented in
a period of 5 years from 1st April, 2011.
A Comprehensive Security Plan for A&N
Islands with an implementation period
of eight years, in three phases 2012-2015,
2015-2017 and 2017-2020 was also formu-
lated. The comprehensive security plan
is in two parts; Part A is taken up under
Phase II of coastal security scheme and
Part B is taken up in the state plan of A&N
Islands.
A scheme with an outlay of `342.56
crores and six years implementation win-
dow with effect from2005-06 was formu-
TWOCIRCLES.NETS PHOTOSTREAM
INTERNALSECURITY
Following the attack on Mumbai from Sea in 2008, the government has undertaken many measures to enhance the
coastal security, but there are areas which need relentless vigilance through well-trained manpower and well-equipped
systems, writes MONISH GULATI
PLUGGING THE LEAKS
PHOTOGRAPHS: INDIAN COAST GUARD
*NAUTICAL MILES
Indian Navy: Beyond 200 NM*
Indian Coast Guard: 12 to 200 NM
M a r i ne Police Upto 12 NM from the s h o r e
COASTAL
SECURITY
SCHEME
GEARING UP: Com-
mandos of Indian Coast
Guard jumps out of an
Indian hovercraft to
perform a drill
Def Biz 42-47final.qxd 4/28/2012 4:41 PM Page 27
May 2013 www.geopolitics.in
YEARS OF
SERVICE
As MiGs complete 50 years of glorious service in India this April, we take this ride
down memory lane. Ever since the inception of the rst MiG in the Indian Air Force
(MiG 21), MiGs for over 5 decades, formed the backbone of the nations air defence
assets. Even today, India is reliant on MiGs as the Indian Navy procures MiG 29Ks
for its carrier based ghter needs.
1982
MiG 23
The MiG-23 is a variable-geome-
try ghter aircraft. It was the rst
attempt by the Soviet Union to
design look-down/shoot-down
radar and one of the rst to be
armed with Beyond Visual Range
Air-to-Air Missiles (BVRAAM).
After three decades of service
with the IAF, the combat ghter
aircraft was phased out. The
swing-wing MiG-23BN was one
of the most powerful single-
engine ghters in the world. The
MiG-23BN ground attack aircraft
was phased out in 2009 and the
MiG-23MF air defence intercep-
tor phased out in 2007. A total of
150 MiG-23s had been obtained.
BASES
MiG 21s are based at Pathankot, Tez-
pur, Jamnagar, Jaisalmer, Hashimara,
Halwara, Chandigarh, Bathinda,
Bareily, Bagdogra, Ambala and Jal-
landhar airelds.
MiG 23s are based at Jodhpur, Hal-
wara and Jallandhar airelds.
MiG 25s bought ready to y
from the Soviet Union were based at
Bareilly.
MiG 27s are based at Kalaikunda,
Jamnagar, Jodhpur, Delhi (Hindon),
Hashimara and Bathinda airelds.
MiG 29s are based at Jallandhar
and Pune airbases.
ENGINES
MiG 21 Tumansky R-25 Turbojet En-
gine is a two-spool axial-ow turbojet.
The engine was also built under licence
by HAL in India. MiG 23 and MiG 27
Tumansky R-29 was a turbojet engine,
generally described as being in the
third generation of Soviet gas turbine
engines. MiG 25Tumansky R-15-300
is an axial ow, single shaft turbojet
with an afterburner. It was known for
ease of maintenance, performance, and
good monitoring systems. MiG 29 &
MiG 29KMiG 29 uses Klimov RD-33,
a turbofan engine. The space between
the engines generates lift to improve
manoeuvrability.
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May 2013
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www.geopolitics.in
1961
MiG 21
1981
MiG 25
MiG-25 is a supersonic
interceptor and recon-
naissance aircraft that was
among the fastest military
aircraft to enter service. The
aircraft entered into service
in 1970. Production of the
MiG-25 series ended in 1984
after completion of 1,190
aircraft. It is the second
fastest and second highest-
ying military aircraft ever
elded after the SR-71
reconnaissance aircraft. In
India, the existence of the
MiG 25s with the Indian
defence establishment was
a closely guarded secret.
1986
MiG 27
The MiG-27 is a ground-
attack aircraft licence-
produced in India by HAL.
It currently only remains
in service with the Indian,
Kazakh and Sri Lankan Air
Forces in the ground attack
role. Since 2001, the Indian
Air Force lost more than
12 MiG-27s to crashes. In
mid-February 2010, India
grounded its entire eet of
over 150 of the aircraft after
a MiG-27 crashed on 16
February 2010 in Siliguri,
West Bengal. It was manu-
factured in India at HAL
Nasik.
1980
MiG 29
MiG-29 is a fourth-gener-
ation ghter aircraft. India
is one of the largest export
operators of MiG 29. Since
induction into IAF, it has
undergone series of modi-
cations. MiG-29s good
operational record prompt-
ed India to sign a deal with
Russia to upgrade all its
MiG-29s. In 2007, Russia
gave Indias HAL a licence
to manufacture 120 RD-33
series 3 turbofan engines
for the upgrade. Six MiG-29s
will be upgraded in Russia
while the remaining will be
upgraded in India.
2004
MiG29K
The MiG-29K is an all-
weather carrier-based mul-
tirole ghter aircraft. India
has in total ordered 45 MiG-
29Ks ghters. The MiG-29K
is to provide airborne eet
air defence and surface at-
tack capabilities. MiG-29K
entered operational service
with India in February 2010.
The ghters are based at
an air eld in Goa until the
INS Vikramaditya joins the
navy. The future indigenous
aircraft carrier Vikrant, cur-
rently being built by India,
also is likely to carry these
aircraft
PANORAMA
MiG 21 is a supersonic jet ghter aircraft.
The ghter made aviation records as it is
the most-produced supersonic jet aircraft
in aviation history.
In 1961, the IAF opted to purchase the
MiG-21. As part of the deal, the So-
viet Union offered India full transfer of
technology and rights for local assem-
bly. MiG-21 became the rst supersonic
ghter jet to enter service with the IAF. It
also became the rst ghter to be manu-
factured in India. Positive feedback from
IAF pilots prompted India to place more
orders and also invest heavily in building
the MiG-21s maintenance infrastructure
and pilot training programmes. It was
manufactured in India at HAL Nasik.
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The countrys armed might has
ventured into the world of space
reconnaissance and digital commu-
nications technology for net-cen-
tricity, crucial in fighting a two-front
war, writes SAURAV JHA
BECOMING NETWORK
CENTRIC
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PERSPECTIVE
READY TO SERVE: Indigenously
built Rohini 3D Radar system of the
Indian Army, which has a range of
around 150 kms
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C2 nodes. The IACCS consists of ten ma-
jor nodes with each node having ADDCs
under it which in turn will be continu-
ously connected with both Air Staff HQ as
well regional command HQs.
Incidentally, the Ministry of Defence
(MoD) recently oated an international
tender for software-dened radio based
communications tied to the networks
airborne and ground-based segments. It
is understood that Israeli Aerospace In-
dustries, RAFAEL, Rockwell Collins and
Rhode & Schwartz are competing for this
tender. The IAFs nationwide Live Wire
exercise underway at the time of writing is
related to testing the efcacy of its IACCS.
In any case, the IACSS, by 2015-17,
will have under its purview a fully mod-
ernised eet of early warning and Elec-
tronic Counter Measures (ECM) resistant
radars. As of now the IAFs chief ground-
based radar assets are the THD-1955,
36D6 and the P-12/18 family and the in-
digenous INDRA-II but this is changing at
a fair clip. As such the IAF has begun to
progressively induct contemporary jam-
resistant radars with digital receiver and
programmable signal processing. This
means that the software dened radars
can be re-programmed to keep Electronic
Counter Measures (ECCM) capability up
T
he rst Gulf war showcased to
the world the importance of
mastering the so-called Ob-
serve, Orient, Decide, and Act
(OODA) cycle, itself the prod-
uct of credible command, control, com-
munications, computers, intelligence,
surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR)
capability. C4ISR-enablers have evolved
rapidly since the information technology
revolution actually accelerated. The In-
dian armed forces, aware of the fact that
they could be faced with a two-front war
in the near future are investing heavily
to augment C4ISR and become true net-
work-centric forces. Building a superior
network is crucial to thwarting any coor-
dinated multiple front offensive against
India by Pakistan and China. However,
even as a number of new ISR platforms
are being inducted by the services, man-
aging and co-ordinating the vastly-in-
creased quantum of input is posing new
challenges and quicker movement is re-
quired on the C4 front particularly by the
Indian Army (IA).
In todays battle-space, networks ght
networks and they are increasingly look-
ing to become Mobile Adhoc Networks
(MANET) to literally keep pace with an
ever-changing tactical battle area. Com-
pressing the sensor to shooter chain re-
quires ad-hoc networking that optimises
spectrum utilisation when coupled with
contemporary waveforms, which in turn
enables the real-time delivery of video,
image transfer, voice and data. The de-
pendence on space to provide wider cov-
erage continues to grow which is then
sought to be linked with MANETs on the
ground, in the air and above and below
the seas.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) has taken
the lead in becoming a network-centric
force of this sort. This is not surprising as
the IAF has seen the greatest accretion in
terms of new airborne ISR platforms in-
cluding Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)
which in order to be exploited fully must
ride new age networks. The fact is that the
IAF has traditionally been Indias most
technology-intensive force as it garners
the largest share of the Indian defence
budget.
The IAFs big move in the direction
of network-centricity was taken with the
launch of AF-NET in 2010 which replaced
the IAFs old communication network
set-up using tropo-scatter technology
from the 1950s. Under AF-NET all ma-
jor formations and static establishments
have been linked through WAN and are
accessible via data communication chan-
nels. AFNET incorporates the latest traf-
c transportation technology in the form
of Internet Protocol (IP) packets over
the network using Multi-Protocol Label
Switching (MPLS). A large Voice over In-
ternet Protocol (VoIP) layer with strin-
gent quality of service enforcement will
facilitate robust, high quality voice, video
and conferencing solutions. IAFs emerg-
ing Integrated Air Command and Control
System (IACCS), an automated command
and control system for air defence (AD0
operations will ride the AFNET backbone
integrating all ground-based and air-
borne sensors, AD weapon systems and
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MISSION READY: An Indian
AEW&C Embraer jet getting
ready to take-off
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in two to four seconds as opposed to the
20 to 40 seconds that is standard with
legacy AWACS types sporting rotodomes
housing mechanically steered arrays.
The PHALCON in any case will be a key
element in the IACCSs cruise missile de-
fence posture given its characteristics. At
the moment two more IL-76 based PHAL-
CONs are under consideration.
In the near future the PHALCON will
be supplemented by three units of DR-
DOs ERJ-145 based AEW&C which will
operate in conjunction with the former.
This indigenously developed system cen-
tred around an S-band AESA is expected
to deliver features such as high perfor-
mance tracking and priority tracking with
reference to ghter sized targets. The cab-
inet committee on security has also given
the go ahead to DRDOs AWACS India
project which will develop an indigenous
radar in the PHALCONs class, although
the system may be based on a western
platform like the A-330. Up to seven units
of this type will be in service by 2020.
The IAF has also expressed require-
ments for nine special mission aircraft for
Signals Intelligence (SIGINT), Communi-
cations Jamming (COMJAM), ground sur-
vey and target towing. According to the
reports, Request For Information (RFI)
has been sent out globally out of which
two of the nine aircraft would have to be
certied for the SIGINT role while the rest
be validated for the COMJAM mission.
The service is also bringing in more
aerostats equipped with the EL/M-2083
radar which is reported to be a derivative
of the Green Pine missile defence radar
used in the Arrow Anti-Ballistic Missile
(ABM) system. The EL/M-2083 given its
reported antecedents is probably a L-band
phased array radar capable of search, ac-
quisition as well as re-control. It can ac-
quire and track targets at both high and
low altitudes, identify targets such as
cruise missiles and Unmanned Aerial Ve-
hicles (UAVs) against background clutter.
It scans electronically in both azimuth as
well as elevation and does so out to a po-
tential 500 kms. A potential buy of a dozen
such systems may be in the basket. All of
these assets will enjoy greater network ca-
pability once a dedicated communication
satellite for IAF planned to be launched in
2013-2014 becomes operational.
However, the Indian armed service
spearheading the exploitation of space
is the Indian Navy (IN). Given its domain
of operations the IN is a natural user
of Geographical Information Systems
(GIS). At the moment, the IN is look-
ing to achieve true Maritime Domain
Awareness (MDA) by making its ships all
weather day and night networked with
each other and linked to the Navys
shore based headquarters through ISRO
launched communication satellites and
stabilized terminals. The Navys rst dedi-
cated satellite, the multi-band GSAT-7, is
scheduled to be launched on board of an
Arian space launcher this year. Accord-
ing to ISRO, GSAT-7 has a lift-off mass of
2,550 kgs with power handling capability
of around 2.6 kilowatts. All Indian naval
ships are currently being outtted with
dual offset gregorian terminals in 45 inch
radomes which would allow communica-
tion via GSAT-7.
As of now the IN is also leveraging ex-
isting Indian satellites for its ISR needs.
Oceansat-2 is giving the navy access
to bathymetric data which is assisting
Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW). Indias
synthetic aperture radar eet consisting
of radar Imaging Satellite (RISAT-1) and
RISAT-2 are allowing surveillance in all
weather day/night conditions with the IN
using commercially available data banks
of ships to nger-print them at sea and
in harbours. In any case the tri-service
Defence Image Processing and Analysis
Centre (DIPAC) in New Delhi which has
satellite receiving facilities in Central In-
to date. The IAF is also introducing its rst
ground-based active arrays in the form of
the Arudra MPR which is a S-band solid
state active aperture that can detect and
track ghter-sized targets from more than
300 km away. The radar is also capable
of both stand alone as well as network-
centric mode, although in the latter de-
partment Arudhra apparently offers ex-
tremely potent capabilities. Replacing
the P-12/18 family is DRDOs Rohini 3D
which has a range of around 150 kms and
DRDO claims that the entire set up can
be deployed or decamped in 30 minutes.
Though a mechanically steered pulse
doppler array, the Rohinis ECCM capabil-
ity owing to its all digital environment is
noteworthy.
However, true situational awareness
in mountainous areas cannot be achieved
without deploying Airborne Warning and
Control Systems (AWACS) in numbers
and this is exactly where the recently ac-
quired IL-76 based PHALCONs are prov-
ing to be a game changer. The PHALCONs
EL/M-2075 radar can detect low Radar
Cross Section (RCS) targets amidst back-
ground clutter from hundreds of kilome-
tres away, under all-weather conditions.
Its AESA technology allows it to achieve
superior target discrimination in com-
parison to mechanically-steered arrays
and also makes it less susceptible to inter-
ception and jamming. For instance track
initiation by the EL/M-2075 is achieved
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PERSPECTIVE
SPREADING WEB: The Indra
Radar system displayed on
the eve of Republic day
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dia often gives the Navys requests prior-
ity tasking. Under Project Rukmani the
IN has also created an initial naval enter-
prise network in the VHF band for satel-
lite augmented communications. The
Navy currently uses a mix of indigenous
and imported ship terminal to control
its growing eet of land based UAVs over
extended ranges in all sea states. All new
airborne platforms including the P-8I
long range maritime reconnaissance air-
craft and the proposed medium range
maritime reconnaissance aircraft will also
naturally act as ISR facilitators to MDA.
Unfortunately, the laggard service in
terms of attaining network centricity is
the Indian Army (IA). In fact, the current
agship IA programme, the Tactical Com-
munication System (TCS) was actually la-
belled as TCS-2000, initially given that it
was supposed to be rolled out by that year
2000 and after a decade long delay, the
programme was re-labelled as TCS-2010
and its already 2013. Clearly something is
amiss with this programme that needs to
be xed quickly.
Be that as it may, the TCS programme
which is sought to be developed under the
make category of the Defence Procure-
ment Procedure (DPP) has two compet-
ing development agenciesBharat Elec-
tronics (BEL) and a consortium of L&T,
Tata Power and HCL Infosys Ltd. TCS as
currently envisioned is essentially a mix
of a mobile Vehicular Ad-hoc Network
(VANET) and is a more static Wireless
Service Network (WSN) technology at the
corps level. It is designed to give the Army
the means to communicate on the move
even as it penetrates into enemy territory
making the TCS a very big enabler of the
cold start doctrine.
Based on lightweight, high mobility
vehicles that represent communication
nodes TCS will have the bandwidth to
handle very high data rates and provide
encrypted voice, video and data trans-
mission though frequency hopping radio
networks with multiple redundancies.
Naturally this network will also have the
mobile terminals necessary for the sat-
ellite based connectivity as well and the
rewalls necessary to prevent cyber intru-
sion given that cyber and electronic war-
fare techniques are increasingly melding
with each other.
The project worth around $3 billion
and will see each of the two competitors
build a prototype of TCS with the one be-
ing selected will be given the contract to
build seven sets of TCS for seven corps
of the IA. The TCS is however a harbinger
of a truer MANET called the Battleeld
Management System (BMS) which will
facilitate high bandwidth real time com-
munications from the battalion head-
quarters forward to the companies and
platoons. Being elded in all varieties of
terrain the BMS contract value will prob-
ably be worth ten times more than the
current TCS contract and a game changer
in Asia. The IA actually has vast network
centricity plans and envisages a tactical
command, control, communications and
information (TacC3I) system core which
will encompass the command informa-
tion decision support system, the Shakti
artillery combat command and control
system, the battleeld surveillance sys-
tem including battleeld support surveil-
lance radars and weapon locating radars,
an air defence control and reporting sys-
tem augmented by newer generation of
3D radars and of course the BMS.
The three services together are moving
towards an overarching Defence Commu-
nication Network (DCN) which once fully
operationalised would give real meaning
to the concept of jointness championed
by security experts. In the words of the
Defence Minister, DCN envisages a net-
work of optical bre cables, satellite earth
stations and transportable and portable
satellite terminals with high security fea-
tures that enables conduct of simultane-
ous real time networked operations from
multiple sites to cater for contingencies
and failures, as well as hardware redun-
dancies for fail-safe operations. Such a
network will be the backbone of the pro-
posed joint commands for cyber-warfare,
special operations and space operations.
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SECURING SKY: An IAF
IL-76 based Falcon (AWACS)
Aircraft
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Leaving the murky past of protracted
evaluations, myriad scams and
whimsical cancellations behind, the
military helicopter acquisition pro-
gramme in India is progressing on
the right path, writes VIJAINDER K
THAKUR
BUILDING A CHOPPER
READY FOR WARFARE:
HAL built Rudra for Indian
Army with the complete
bag pack of weapons
BRIGADE
May 2013
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IAFs copters
Communication and logistics needs are
best served by light or medium-light heli-
copters because they tend to be more ma-
noeuvrable and handle better at high alti-
tudes. Armed variants of these helicopters
can attack and defend themselves better.
All the three services have a size-
able eet of light helicopters comprising
Chetaks (Alouette III, Empty Weight 1.23
tons) and Cheetahs (SA 315 Lama, Empty
Weight 1.02 tons). The IAF and the IA are
now in the process of inducting HAL built
Dhruv Mk III (empty weight 2.5 tons).
Wartime mobility of troops and
equipment is better provided by medium
and heavy helicopters, which can carry
larger number of troops in battle gear, ar-
moured vehicles and even heavy artillery
slung under their bellies. The IAF uses the
medium Mi-8 / MI-17 (Empty Weight 8
ton) as its workhorse for helicopter borne
airlift. In the past, the IAF used Mi-6 heli-
copters for heavy lift.
Attack helicopters, unlike armed he-
licopters, have no communication and
logistics role. They are light to medium
helicopters that are shaped and sized
to be manoeuvrable. They are single,
or twin tandem seaters with low frontal
cross section and armour plating, mak-
ing them difcult to shoot down. They
are equipped with heavy duty weapons
and sensors to neutralise enemy armour
as well as soft skin targets, in terrain that
rules out ghter aircraft operations. The
IAF has a limited number of Mi-35 attack
helicopters in its inventory.
Future military requirements
The helicopter eets of the three services
T
he requirement of the Indian
security forces for helicopters
is large and growing. Luckily for
the country, Hindustan Aero-
nautics Ltd (HAL) has made
good progress in meeting the demand, in
contrast to its dismal record with design-
ing and developing ghters, trainers and
transport aircraft.
The Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH)
Dhruv took much longer than it should
have but the ultimate success of the
project has given HAL a solid base and
the condence to incrementally develop
increasingly specialised variants of the
basic design. The Dhruv Mk 4 Rudra, for
example, which is an armed variant of the
basic Dhruv design, received its Initial
Operational Capability (IOC) on Febru-
ary 3, 2013 in Bengaluru, and its rst lot
was delivered to the Indian Army during
Aero India 2013.
HAL has also been developing the
Light Combat Helicopter (LCH). Aerody-
namically a completely different design,
the LCH uses a lot of the technology de-
veloped for the Dhruv including its Shakti
engines.
Dhruv is a light medium helicopter
with a maximum take-off weight of 5.5
tons. Besides light medium helicopters,
the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has iden-
tied requirements for light utility and
observation helicopters (2-3 tons), multi-
role helicopters (10 tons), medium attack
helicopters (10 tons) and heavy lift heli-
copters (20 tons).
Choppers in armed forces
Helicopters serve a critical role in the
armed forces, during peace and war. In
the case of the Army and the Air Force,
they provide quick communication, lo-
gistics and casualty evacuation support to
units and installations located in remote
areas and harsh terrain.
Most of Indias border areas t the
above description, with the Himalayas in
the north and north-west, and desert and
marshlands in the west and south west.
Only the Punjab sector has a communi-
cation and transportation infrastructure
that is well developed right upto the bor-
der. As an example, the journey by road
from Guwahati to Tawang takes a mini-
mum of two days by road, but just around
two hours by helicopter.
In the case of the Navy, helicopters
similarly serve ships out at sea. In war-
time, helicopters additionally provide
mobility and exibility to redeploy weap-
ons, troops and supporting equipment
quickly, serving as force multipliers.
Use of armed copters
Since helicopters serve units and troops
along border areas, they can come under
re when battle lines change rapidly, or as
a result of intrusions. They can also come
under re from insurgents.
As a result, the Army and the Air Force
are increasingly opting for light or me-
dium helicopters that can be tted to re
weapons while ferrying troops and sup-
plying. These helicopters can re back,
eliminate the threat and continue with
their mission.
The IAFs rotary wing workhorse, Mi-
17, can be converted to an armed heli-
copter. Similarly, the Army plans to equip
itself with the Rudra, an armed variant of
the Dhruv.
NEW INDUCTIONS: (Left) An armed version of MI
17 V-5 of IAF and (right) indigenously built LCH for
the Indian Army
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SPECIALFEATURE
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escort duties. Also the IAF should be able
to spare enough helicopter support effort
for such internal security tasks till the po-
lice/para military forces are able to have
their own.
According to Singh, our helicopter
eet is spread too thin for a country as
large as India. In case of any natural ca-
lamity/contingency requirement, crucial
valuable time would be lost in reposition-
ing helicopter relief and rescue elements
from far off bases. Thus, there is a need to
have a reasonable amount of helicopter
support available to all parts of the coun-
try for which the IAF needs to induct more
helicopters. With an improving economy
and increased afuence, expectation
from the services for assistance during
natural disasters is likely to go up. For ef-
fective relief and rescue helicopter is nor-
mally the ideal platform and not surface
means, he said.
In the case of IAFs own requirements,
there are many tasks for helicopters at all
IAF bases e.g. Search and Rescue (SAR),
reconnaissance, communications, lim-
ited logistics for which each base must
have some heli-support at its disposal.
As of now the same is not adequate and
needs to be enhanced. For instance, very
often a single helicopter is earmarked
for SAR at two ying bases that are miles
apart. For SAR to be effective, there needs
to be at least two helicopters on duty dur-
ing ying hours at any ghter base.
Viewed thus, most of the increased
helicopter requirement would be for light
helicopters and HAL has done well to
score a success in this area. Requirement
for medium and heavy helicopters is also
expected to rise for special operations and
increased mobility of troops. If a breach in
defences has to be plugged, or a counter
punch thrown at the enemy is not enough
to be able to ferry a handful of troops, the
country needs to move battalions.
Helicopter procurement
The good news is that several helicopter
procurement and development projects
are underway, even if their progress has
been very slow.
Light utility and observation helicopters
MoD is in the process of procuring 197
military Light Utility Helicopters (LUHs)
to replace the existing eet of Chetak and
Cheetah helicopters in the three services.
need replacement and augmentation.
The light helicopter eetChetaks and
Cheetahsis based on 1950s design and
technology. Improvements have been
conned to instruments and the limited
avionics tted on these helicopters.
GEOPOLITICS spoke to Air Cmde
Bhupinder Singh Subhlok (Retd.), a for-
mer IAF helicopter pilot who now works
with Pawan Hans. Asked if he expected
the requirement of helicopters for the de-
fence services to increase in the coming
years, his answer was a very categorical,
Yes. Along our borders with China and
Pakistan, the requirement of helicopters
for logistics and communication will only
increase further in future due to focus on
rapid deployments/re-deployments. The
Air Force too would need to deploy cer-
tain elements in the forward areas which
would need helicopter support, he ex-
plained.
Alluding to the Naxalite threat and
the recent incident when an IAF heli-
copter came under re from insurgents,
Singh said there was a requirement to ad-
equately protect the helicopters deployed
on such duties that added to the require-
ment of attack helicopters with IAF for
BUILDING THE DHRUV
INDIAS ALH:
Crew: 2 Nos.
Length: 12.89m
Braking System Rotor Blades
Flight/Engine
Controls
Air to Air Missiles
Engines
Hydraulics
Flotation
Fuel Tanks
Self-protection Display & Mission Computers Display & Vibration Control System
Gun turret
B
A
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F
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G
G
A E
A
Rocket Launcher
SOURCE:AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
20 mm gun turret under nose
2 torpedoes or 4 anti-ship missiles
(in Naval version)
Height: 3.76m
Max. speed: 280 km/h
Service celling: 6000m
WEAPONS POSSIBILITIES:
Anti-tank missiles
4 Mistral air-to-air missiles
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Of these, 133 are for the Army and 64 for
the Air Force.
Russian Kamov 226T and Eurocopters
AS550C3 are contenders for the initia.
Medium helicopters
While HAL has a credible capability in
designing and developing light helicop-
ters, it is only now starting to design and
develop a medium (empty weight 6.5
tons) helicopter. HAL displayed a concept
drawing of a Multi Role Helicopter for the
rst time at Aero India 2011.
The HAL multi-role helicopter would
be used for:
TucIIcuI Ifoop movemenI
AIf muInIenunce uI hIgh uIIIIude
OIIshofe opefuIIons
HeII-bofne und umphIbIous us
sault operations
AnII-submufIne wufIufe
AnII sufIuce wufIufe
India has invited request for informa-
tion for 16 Multi-Role Helicopter (MRH)
to replace its eet of aging Sea King He-
licopters. It is likely HAL is developing the
Indian Multi Role Helicopter to meet the
long term need of the three services for a
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SPECIALFEATURE
The PLA operates a eet of light utility
and attack helicopters consisting of Har-
bin Z-9B (empty weight: 2.35 tons, its
armed variant is WZ-9) and Changhe Z-11
(empty weight: 1.12 tons). The Z-9B is a
Chinese adaptation of the French Euro-
copter AS365 Dauphin. China initially li-
cence manufactured the Dauphin as Z-9A
and then progressively increased the use
of locally manufactured components. The
Z-11 is locally designed and developed,
but based on Eurocopter AS350 Ecureuil.
PLAs medium helicopter eet compris-
es a large number of Mi-8 and Mi-17s
bought from Russia; these can be tted
as armed variants. The PLA uses Changhe
Z-8 (empty weight 6.86 tons), a locally
produced version of the Arospatiale Su-
per Frelon for ship-based ASW/SAR.
China also purchased two dozen
Sikorsky S-70 Blackhawks from the US in
the 1980s, before the arms embargo that
followed the Tiananmen Square massacre
in 1989.
In the past the PLA has shown inter-
est in attack helicopters and looked at the
AH-1 Cobra, Mi-28, Ka-50 and the Italian
A129 Mangusta. It couldnt strike a satis-
factory deal for any of them and has so
far not elded an attack helicopter. The
recently unveiled Changhe WZ-10 is set
to change that. Russians Kamov designed
the WZ-10 to Chinese specications un-
der Project 941 in a 1995 deal. With an
empty weight of 5.54 tons, the WZ-10 is
in the same class as the Boeing AH-64D
Apache helicopter being acquired by the
IAF.
US/Israel G
MIXED COLLECTIONS: Chinese fleet of choppers
which include (top) WZ-10 attack chopper, (centre)
Changhe Z-8 heavy lift chopper and (bottom) WZ-11,
a Chinese surveillance chopper
CHINAS MIXED
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10 ton class helicopter.
Attack helicopters
MoD is in the process of acquiring 22 at-
tack helicopters to replace the IAFs age-
ing Mi-25 and Mi-35 attack helicopters.
Boeing (AH-64D Apache Longbow) and
Mil (Mi 28 Havoc) competed for the con-
tract, but the Mi 28 did not meet IAF re-
quirements during ight trials.
The IAF requirement was for a twin
engine helicopter that was highly ma-
noeuvrable with good anti-armour ca-
pabilities and capable of operating in all
weather and terrain. The IAF is getting the
Block III version of the Apache AH-64D
(empty weight 5.2 tons).
The US Army has renamed the AH-
64D Block III the AH-64E. The Apache is a
ne example of contemporary attack heli-
copter technology. It carries laser-guided
Indian Army plans to acquire from the US
under FMS, for use along Indias moun-
tainous border with China.
India invited bids for 15 heavy-lift he-
licopters in May 2009. Boeing (CH-47F
Chinnok) and Mil (Mi-26 T2) submitted
competing bids. Both Boeing Chinnok
and Mi-26 T2 bids were found to be tech-
nically compliant but the Boeing bid was
found to be more competitively priced. In
a press release on December 5, 2012, GOI
conrmed that Boeing had emerged as
the lowest bidder.
HALs military helicopter design and
development is one of the few indigenous
defence production success stories. The
companys decision three years ago to
venture into production of medium heli-
copters could allow it to meet almost the
entire spectrum of helicopter require-
ments of the defence forces. Heavy lift
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SPECIALFEATURE
helicopters like the Chinnok and highly
specialised armed helicopters like the
AH-64D are required in too small num-
bers to justify local manufacture.
Despite HALs success with helicop-
ters, chronic delays in development and
operational certication continue, with
all projects running years behind initially
projected time lines. There is a limit to
the extent of delay the armed forces can
accept, before being compelled to shop
abroad because of operational consid-
erations. Also, delays lead to sensor and
weapon ts becoming outdated soon
after induction, sometimes even before,
once again providing an imperative to
shop abroad.
Despite the IOC for Rudra, it could
take a long while before HAL is in a posi-
tion to supply the light armed helicopter
to the Army in large enough numbers. Its
not surprising that Bell Helicopters has
been making a low key pitch to India for
an armed version of its Bell 407 AH. A suc-
cessful commercial helicopter, the Bell
407 can be converted into an armed heli-
copter using certied kits and specialised
mission equipment.
Bell says the 407 AH is the rst com-
mercially qualied, armed helicopter,
congurable to perform a wide range of
missions. The company displayed the
helicopter during Aero India 2013 and
demonstrated its ying and sensor char-
acteristics to select personnel, outside the
ying display timings, without creating
any media buzz.
precision missiles, 70 mm rockets and 30
mm automatic cannon. A mast mounted
radome on the Apache AH-64D houses
the AN/APG-78 Longbow re control ra-
dar. Its millimetre-wave sensing allows
the helicopter to y under poor visibility
conditions being less sensitive to ground
clutter. The short wavelength also allows
a very narrow beam-width, which is more
resistant to countermeasures while guid-
ing the helicopters missiles to their tar-
gets.
The radome can be traded for an Un-
manned Aerial Systems Tactical Common
Data Link Assembly (UTA) thats mounted
in the same place on the mast.
Heavy lift helicopters
MoD is procuring 15 heavy lift helicop-
ters, primarily to ferry the Bae Land Sys-
tems M777 ultra-light howitzers that the
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BUYING ABROAD: (Top) Chinnok heavy lift chopper
and (bottom) an Apache Longbow attack chopper
which is being procured from the USA for the Indian
Armed Forces
Continued on Page 24
Mounting corruption charges in defence deals has prompted
the government to usher in a new Defence Procurement Policy
(DPP) that will strengthen the indigenous industrial base in In-
dia. Under the new policy, the first preference for defence pro-
curement will be given to the countrys public sector units and
the private sector. A special report:
A DPP FOR
SELF-RELIANCE
Indo-Israel
defence project
hits roadblock
20
Agilent Technologies introduces
its latest products
Sikorskys President Mick Maurer speaks on
innovation and excellence
INTERVIEW NEW DESIGN
D E F E N C E B U S I N E S S
36
GEOPOLITICS
F
or a country, which has relied
almost 100 per cent on foreign
vendors and nations to meet
its military hardware require-
ments, the import route would
be the last option for the armed forces un-
der the new Defence Procurement Policy
(DPP) approved by the Government.
T
he Indo-Israel joint develop-
ment programme for surface-
to-air missiles for the Navy
and the Indian Air force (IAF) has
been put under scrutiny, according
to the reports. The defence ministry
has put on hold all further orders
of Long-Range Surface-to-Air Mis-
sile (LRSAM) and Medium-Range
Surface-to-Air Missile (MRSAM), es-
timated at around `50,000 crore.
The LRSAM joint development
programme was signed between
the Defence Research and Devel-
opment Organisation (DRDO) and
the Israel Aerospace Industries
(IAI) for the Navy in 2006, while
the MRSAM project for IAF was
signed in 2009.
The project has been delayed
by almost four yearsthe LRSAM
for the Navy, for example, was to
be ready by 2010since the op-
erational requirements projected
by the IAF and Navy have not been
met.
The private company floated
by the Tata group and IAI, Nova
Integrated Systems, is also out of
the picture after it was made the
final integrator of the project.
When that happened, it was re-
ported that the DRDO would set
up an assembly line for integra-
tion in Hyderabad. However, giv-
en its role as the military research
agency, the government may not
agree to DRDO running an assem-
bly line.
The new policy approved by the De-
fence Acquisition Council in its two meet-
ingsirst on April 2 and the second on
April 20cleared the policy framework
under which the indigenous industrial
base would be widened by the Govern-
ment as they would be the rst choice for
buying weapons for the forces. The DPP-
Continued on Page 27
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SECURING INDIA: Tata
Motors Micro Bullet-Proof
Vehicle (MBPV) design to
assist the countrys elite
forces in internal combat.
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We are very anxious to
get started in the Indian
market
GOOD PARTNERSHIP: (Left) Air Vice
Marshal (Retd) Arvind Walia, Regional
ExecutiveIndia & South Asia and
(right) Mick Maurer, President of
Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation
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Sikorsky has a global reputa-
tion for innovation and ex-
cellence exemplified by one
of their rotorcraft, the Black
Hawk. But there is more to
the American giant than just
this one machine, as Presi-
dent MICK MAURER told K
SRINIVASAN in Bangalore
during Aero India
On Sikorskys journey
The big question always is how quickly is
this going to happen. But its not a ques-
tion of whether things will happen; it is
a question when things will happen and
we recognise thatwe are patient. But we
are making some really good progress in
terms of just establishing ourselves in the
Indian industrial base with Tata of course,
but also looking at some of the other op-
portunities that may develop over time.

Partnership with Tata
Sikorsky already does that. We actually
sell a few xed-wing aircraft ourselves.
The one that is most interesting is called
the M-28. It is a short take-off and land-
ing utility aircraft. It is produced in Poland
and may have some use here in India. We
have seen some interest here at Aero In-
dia show. So we do produce a xed wing,
although that is a small percentage of our
business. Almost everything that we do
as an Original Equipment Manufacturer
(OEM) is rotary wing. But in the aftermar-
ket, we do quite a bit of xed wing work
military xed wing.
In some of our factories, we actually
produce some components for xed wing
manufacturestypically aero structures
for a number of OEMs, so we expect the
same thing with our joint venture in Hy-
derabad. Initially, as we start, all the parts
we produce are for Sikorsky products (AS
92), but we purposely develop capability
and have an expectation. We are actually
talking to a few other OEMs to be selling
different detailed machine parts to other
OEMs.
The other interesting thing about the
joint venture is thatcertainly not neces-
sarilythe legal structure that we have is
in place now and we can use that com-
pany to branch into other activities in
the defence area. Whether that is system
integration, completions, engineering
development, any one of those we can do
using that company. So that is really excit-
ing for us.
On other joint ventures
The relationship we have with the Tatas
started a few years ago and we are looking
at not just capability, because obviously
they are new to aerospace, but its really
compatibilityculturally, ethically and
in a number of other levels. So, we see a
good t there and we also have connec-
tions across other parts of United Tech-
nology. So, we are not the only part of the
united technology that works with the Ta-
tas. And yes, there are a lot of great com-
panies here in India and I dont believe for
a minute that the only relationship we are
going to have in India is with Tata. Clearly
there are other players too.
Building relationship with customers
It is and we found out that as we have
been working together, it is getting that
much better. It is not so much what you
produce rst, it is about developing the
partnership so that when the next op-
portunity arises, you know how to work
together, and you already have a relation-
ship. So, now you can be that much faster
and that much more capable of going af-
ter an opportunity or serving a customers
needs.
On what lies next
We are now doing a couple of things. We
are building two air vehicles that will be
bigger than the rst one. One of those two
is primarily so that our customers can y
and they will believe it when they actually
see it right and do it. So (we have to) give
them that experience, but also use that to
have the customers feedback. What you
like, what you do not like, what would
you like to see us do differently, how can
we make this better? So to get interactive
feedback with customers because the rst
aircraft only a test pilot can y - so, it is
limited in that sense.
The other aircraft we are using will
mostly be heavily instrumented in use
to prove the technology: check data and
because one of the things we have to do
clearly one of our bigger customers in
the US is the Department of Defence
they look at something called the techni-
cal readiness level. And they are looking
to say how much risk is here, how sure in
the technology, where you stand? So, one
of the primary goals of ours in this pro-
gramme is to advance the technical readi-
ness level so that the risk is reduced in the
governments mind. When they are ready
to do something, they look at risk (and)
say the higher the risk the higher the cost
and more time.
So, we are trying to say No, the risk is
manageable. In fact, the cost is competi-
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tive. This is a very affordable solution I
think. We are not working with some wild,
exotic materials or doing something that
is really earth-shattering. So, we fully ex-
pect to have an affordable solution that is
also extremely capable in terms of its per-
formance. That is what we are doing with
that product.
Now, not coincidentally that product
is exactly the same size as what is needed
in the US Army for something called the
Armed Aerial Scout and they have an old,
old product which is called Kiowa War-
rior. They have to decide, Am I going to
continue trying to extend the life of that
one more time with some sort of upgrade
and what they call a service life extension
programme or am I going to go to a new
start? So, we are really trying to tempt
them by saying, Here it is. And a lot of
the customers are seeing that and drool-
ing over it and saying, Boy! I really would
like thatthe thing that goes 220 knots as
opposed to this thing that goes 90 knots.
And it can handle the high-hop require-
ments, but the sticking point is how long
it will take us to do it and how much will
it cost. So, they become sort of afraid of
that. We are trying to go as fast as we can.
We do not know whether we will go fast
enough.
On future prospects
Well, we are going to y at the end of 2014.
And we were also sharinga lot of what
we are doing now during development is
we are sharing data and working with
the customer so that they can feel more
comfortable with the technology.
Just a quick storyit might be inter-
esting. When we ew the X2 we had a pre-
diction that said if I put this much power
in, here is how fast I should go. We did
the curve, we looked at all the data and
when we were done, it turns out that it
was better than we predicted, meaning
it took less power to go faster. Now you
would think, that is great, right? No, not
if you are the Army Technology Director-
ate. They said, You do not understand it
because you could not predict it, which
is sort of true, right? Therefore, there is
risk. Well, so one of the things we have
done recently is that we have done some
testing in the NASA wind tunnel with the
customer and us, sharing all the data and
we discovered a phenomenon we did not
expect. Most of the time when you have a
propeller it is on a wing; you know a xed
wing aircraft. But this is different as it is at
the back of the body of the helicopter. So
all the aerodynamic theory that has been
around since the 20s and beyond, all the
conventional wisdom says, here is how
you look at this. You have an effect, which
has to do with the air going over the fu-
selage, and you have an effect that has to
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DEFBIZ
do with the propeller. And you add those
two together and you run the calculations
and you get this curve and you say, Okay,
that is how much power and this is what I
expect to see.
Well it turns out we did not under-
stand then that we now understand that
there is a 1+1=3 type of fact that says there
is a synergy that happens with the pusher
prop and the fuselage that generates more
lift than we expected.
So, now we understand why it takes
less power to go as fast as we want. Now
the army is happy. They say, Now you un-
derstand, you get credit. So, it is not just
the thing that you see and how fast it goes.
It is little, what might sound like subtle
things like that where we are proving out
the technical readiness so that everybody
understands the product better, every-
body understands the technology bet-
ter and we are hopeful. We do not know
whether that will happenwere really
hoping that the Army will say, You know
what? This could be so much better that
I think Ill run a competition and have a
new start rather than try to upgrade the
old one. So, were waiting, it may happen,
it may not.
Partnership with Boeing
We have an equal, basically a 50-50 part-
nership, we equally invest. We equally
BUILDING BIG: (Top) A Sikorskys S-92
cabin being made at TASL-Sikorsky
production facility at Hyderabad and a
completed S-92 chopper with first India
made cabin
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share the work and we intend to equally
share the returns.
Problems with Boeing
It is hard for me to say. I will admit that
I am not the Rotorcraft engineer. I cer-
tainly have a lot of interest in it. I might
have some opinions but I would not say
it was denitive. The investment in Rotor-
craft in terms of development over time is
much less than xed wing. The market is
much less as well. So, in terms of the air
vehicle, you could say, Yes, I see a single
main rotor, looks about the same as what
I have always seen. So, there is not much
of an advance from there. What goes in-
side has changed a loty by wire, active
vibration control, certain other aspects
like that. I think you could probably make
a pretty good argument that says, the in-
vestment has not kept pace with xed
wing and probably the advances have not
kept pace with xed wing.
The other thing that you have with
xed wing that is different from Rotor-
craft (is that) 80 per cent of the market is
commercial. So, there is a private industry
investment that naturally happens, right?
Chasing after all that business and the
military gets a collateral benet.
In Rotorcraft, that is (in the) reverse. It
is about 75-80 per cent military and you
have got to have a lot of guts to do specu-
lative development in the military world.
So typically, you wait for the customer
to dene a programme and make the in-
vestment and then you invent what they
want. It is a little less free market maybe
a little less natural innovation might hap-
pen in Rotorcraft. Having said that, our
X2, a lot of people will say, that is the next
new thing. It is very different and it looks
like it is going to work and so we will see.
On engineering excellence
Frankly, we have a long history that we are
very proud of. We tend to be a bit of an en-
gineering-centric organisation founded
by Igor Sikorsky. His son still works for us.
So, we have a great sort of tradition and
passion around that. We have had the for-
tune to have some real success. The Black
Hawk may be the biggest in terms of just
a franchise that just has gone on for de-
cades and so that foundation allows us
to make investments and do other things
that maybe some other companies may
not have the luxury to do. So, we are very
fortunate with that.
We have a mix of commercial and mil-
itary; we have a mix of sort of the old and
the new. So, we have a lot of interesting
things going on and we are fortunate that
in the last ve years we have had some
very rapid growth. So, we have been able
to hire. We have had a lot of new, fresh
young engineers coming in, paired up
with some of the more experienced folks,
working on things like the X2. You know
we have small groups but almost all these
small groups it is interesting when you
look, there is a mix. It is not just the old
hands; it is a really healthy mix. Both re-
ally benet from that.
The other thing that we decided to do
a couple of years ago was to create our
own, a separate group that we call Sikor-
sky Innovations. And those are the peo-
ple that are allowed to go and do things
that do not necessarily have a specic
contract, a specic bottom-line today.
They are the guys that did X2.
On innovations
We are working on different unmanned
systems. We are doing a lot of things now
that will provide returns in a short time
maybe not. But we back that technology
(drive). We are very tied into universities
and that sort of thing. So that keeps us
fresh, I think.
On success and failure
We are hopefully placing enough bets, so
that if a few of them pay off we are going
to be very happy.
On touring India
One of our quotes isNothing sells he-
licopters like helicopters and having the
customer see that, y thatthat always
tends to be benecial. That is an aircraft
that has never own in India before it
showed up here. We took it to many more
places (other) than India. So we thought it
was a way to recognise some of the people
that use our aircraft and also our employ-
ees. The people who got to participate
in that, it really helped the morale of our
people, to say thank you to them and our
customers but to take it around and you
see a bunch of young kids at a school, eyes
light up, rst time maybe they have ever
seen a helicopter, certainly one that big
maybe and have a chance to play around
and see that and talk to the pilot. So, it was
business and pleasure I guess. It is busi-
ness and community that is one of the
things that we pride ourselves on. I do not
know exactly how it translates but I guar-
antee we got ten times the return from a
business standpoint than it cost us to do
that. And it was especially nice we could
bring it here to India where we build the
cabins. That was really special. I was at the
factory before it came but I was not here
while it arrived.
On Indian programmes
One in particular that we are very anx-
ious for them is to open the envelope.
We think we will be successful and we are
really anxious to get started. It is nice to
do all the bidding and the talking and the
quoting, talk to reporters and all that but
really what matters is actually building
the aircraft, delivering the aircraft, and
servicing the aircraft for the customer.
That is really the rewarding part and we
are very anxious to get to that point in the
Indian market. Yes, it will happen. Im not
the most patient person in the world but
(I am) trying!
On flying choppers at 450 km per hour
No. The reason I say that and I admit I
maybe wrong, in aerospace anything that
is ying twenty years from now, has been
invented now. There may be some tech-
nology that is just getting started but in
terms of the users, probably not, but who
knows? I do not knowwho is to say, but
I think for it to be in production and in
practical use, pretty much anything that
has been left that is going to be in use
twenty years from now, is being devel-
oped today.
FLYING HIGH: A Sikorsky Black Hawk chopper of the
US Army which was used in Abbottabad operation
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The new DPP is a refreshing change and
it has brought new energy to the Indian
defence and Aerospace industry. Though,
the amended policy is a good one but it
has some drawbacks like giving priority to
the indigenous content in buy categorisa-
tions. Larger the Indian content in buy cat-
egorisations less is the chance of winning
a bid because Global OEMs will include
all international firms whereas the Indian
OEMs will be restricted to Indian vendors.
According to me, a price and purchase
preference could be an idea that could be
developed or incorporated in the new DPP.
Sujeet Samaddar, Director and CEO at
ShinMaywa Industries India Limited
REACTIONS FROM INDUSTRY
All the proposed amendments approved by
the Defence Acquisition Council are excit-
ing. We in the Indian private sector have
been eagerly awaiting the prioritization of
projects under the Make Indian or Buy
Indian category. This is the only way by
which the nation can be self reliant in the
Defence sector. We hope that the revised
licensing requirements are also imple-
mented quickly and the revised DPP finds
acceptance in the political arena.
Cmde (Retd) Samir Advani, Vice Presi-
dent, Strategic Business Development at
Mahindra Defence Systems
We are expecting many of the future pro-
grammes in India to be Make India pro-
grammes. So, we have teamed up with
some of the Indian partners and this will
continue to be a key element in our strat-
egy. As we have already collaborated with
the TATA Strategic Electronics Division
and with the new DPP coming in, local
industry will be positioned better off for
technology transfer. Rockwell Collins has
existing partnerships with key Indian com-
panies such as TATA, HAL, and BEL. The
new policy will benefit the local economy
while providing the best solutions for end
customers and the companies involved.
T C Chan, Managing Director, Rockwell
Collins
Continued from Page 19
A DPP FOR SELF-RELIANCE
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DEFBIZ
2013 is being issued with the twin objec-
tives of infusing greater efciency in the
procurement process and strengthening
the defence manufacturing base in the
country, a Defence Ministry spokesper-
son said. He went on to add: The new
procurement policy has been nalised
under which Indian public and private
sector will be given rst priority for mili-
tary procurements and will help in plug-
ging loopholes that allow corruption.
Under the DPP-2013, which will be
formally launched by the Ministry next
month, the armed forces have been asked
to rst exercise the option of buying from
Indian sources and if they are not in a po-
sition to do, look for other sources. Pref-
erence for indigenous procurement has
now been made a part of DPP through an
amendment that provides for a preferred
order of categorisation, with global cases
being a choice of last resort. The rst op-
tion would be to buy from India followed
by buy and make India, the Defence
Ministry said.
Under the second category, private
and public sector rms can tie up with
I think this is the best policy so far and is a
strong proof of the Indian MoDs commit-
ment to build a strong and vibrant Indian
defence industry in the private sector. I feel
that the international firms will be more
willing to share their technology if the
partnership share is increased to 49 per
cent from the existing 26 per cent under
the new DPP. Hence, as a country, India
will gain greater exposure to international
standards of working.
Puneet Kaura, Executive Director,
Samtel Avionics & Defence Systems Lim-
ited
The amendment to DPP 2011 announced
is a retrograde step and will adversely af-
fect the much needed modernisation and
outfitting of the Indian Armed Forces with
the latest technological solutions available
in the world. Clearly the amendments have
been hastily drawn in a jerk reaction to the
alleged kickbacks in the Agusta Westland
case and will affect the county at large.
Cdr Sunil Chauhan, Retd. Defence &
Security Analyst
The steps enumerated will take India and
Indian industry towards substitutive self-
reliance. The MoD has addressed several
key industry recommendations. We wel-
come this and eagerly await the details in
the fine print of DPP-2013.
Rahul Chaudhary, CEO (Strategic
Electronics Division) of Tata Power and
co-chair of Ficcis Defence Committee
foreign vendors and produce the equip-
ment required by the armed forces within
the country. The Ministry has also made
it mandatory for the armed forces to ex-
plain to the Ministry that why they are not
buying from Indian sources or excluding
the higher category.
The other three categories include
Buy and make with Transfer of Technol-
ogy, Make and the last option of buy-
ing the equipment from foreign vendors
directly under the Buy (global) category.
The only way forward for the country
is rapid indigenisation of defence prod-
ucts, with both the public and the private
sectors playing pivotal roles in this en-
deavour. The government will make all ef-
forts to create genuine level-playing eld
for Indian manufacturing industries vis-
a-vis global players, Defence Minister A
K Antony said.
The new policy measures are expect-
ed to provide a drastic boost to Indian
industry which has so far played second
ddle to the foreign suppliers in providing
equipment to the Indian armed forces.
To ensure that the forces have access
MIXED VARIANTS: A fleet of military trucks
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to reliable supply chains in times of war,
the Ministry has dened the indigenous
content in an unambiguous manner,
providing requisite clarity and a common
understanding.
Under the new clauses approved for
the DPP, the Ministry has made it clear
that it would not allow the Indian private
sector rms to put a made in India stamp
on equipment procured from abroad and
offer them to the Indian armed forces as
indigenous one.
The Ministry had taken up the case of
night sights provided by one Public Sec-
tor Unit which had around 90 per cent of
foreign content whereas the requirement
stipulated it to be not more than 50 per
cent.
The DAC also approved an amend-
ment mandating consultations to begin
sufciently in advance of actual procure-
ment by Services, so that capital acquisi-
tion plans can be translated into national
Defence Research and Development and
production plans.
In addition, a high-level Committee
has also been constituted for simplica-
tion of Make procedures, with a view to
unleash the full potential of this impor-
tant category, the Ministry said. Under
the make procedures, the DRDO and
the DPSUs produce the equipment for
the armed forces. The Ministry also an-
nounced that it will allow the private and
public sector vendors to access the Long
Term Integrated Perspective Plans (2012-
2027) of the armed forces and the Tech-
nology Perspective and Capability Road-
map (TPCR).
This will help the vendors to rm up
their research and development efforts
and capital investments towards the ac-
tual requirements of the armed forces as
they would know what all equipment and
technology is planned to be inducted by
the forces in the long-term, the spokes-
person said.
However, this was putting old-wine
in a new bottle as similar announce-
ments had been made during the DEF-
EXPO-2010 but the Ministry took no con-
crete step in this direction for a long time.
Antony also formally gave up his pow-
ers to approve deviations from the De-
fence Procurement Procedure (DPP) in
military tenders to buy equipment for the
forces. The Ministry insiders, however, say
this was done to avoid the scope of being
We welcome the Indian govern-
ment initiative for rapid indigeni-
sation of defence products. We
are looking for partnership with
the Indian public and private in-
dustry for transfer of technology.
But the transfer will only take
place when foreign players have
a higher equity than present. An
increase in FDI will motivate the
OEMs to transfer technology.
Inderjit Sial, President and
Managing Director, Textron India
Private Limited
The new Defence Procurement Policy (DPP)
is sound in principle. However, both Buy
and Make Indian cannot happen without
requisite transfer of technology from the
global defence firms. Consequently, it is
imperative that the government create
conditions for meaningful joint ventures to
fructify, if it want the private sector to take
greater role in the defence sector. The new
DPP in my view will remain incomplete
without creation of an enabling ecosystem
with FDI upto a minimum of 49 per cent.
Lars-Olof Lindgren, Head Market Area
India, Saab India Technologies
Indian industry to have first right of
refusal in defence tenders
Foreign vendors to be last resort
for procurement
Maintenance and repair of equip-
ment to be done by the private sec-
tor and the public sector both end-
ing PSU monopoly
All procurement procedures sim-
plified by the Ministry for Indian
vendors
Armed forces to share their devel-
opment plans with private sector
firms
Buy and make India cases worth
`1,20,000 crore to be cleared on
priority
Simplified licensing procedures for
defence companies
The financial powers of Services
Headquarters get three-fold hike
from `50 crore to `150 crore
SIDBI to grant `500 crore loan to
defence medium and small com-
panies
HIIGHLIGHTS OF DPP-2013
CONTROVERSIAL DEAL: AgustaWestland
(AW101) VVIP chopper deal that rocked
Indian defence procurement
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Defence PSUs such as Bharat
Dynamics Limited (BDL) and
Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL)
were also not consulted when
the project was conceptualised.
But, a few months ago IAI, BEL
and BDL entered into a MoU to
work out a final contract for the
integration of the system.
To top it all, the rocket mo-
tors being developed by DRDO
also failed to meet requirements.
Incidentally, the other crucial
technologies of the system have
been sourced from Israel.
According to reports, the en-
tire programme had been signed
only as a work share contract and
not as a joint development pro-
gramme. The Intellectual Prop-
erty Rights (IPR) of the technol-
ogy developed for the project
would not belong to us despite
India funding the entire develop-
ment.
Continued from Page 19
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DEFBIZ
Tata Motors welcome the amendments
to the DPP-2011. The new rules will pro-
vide private Indian defence OEMs, such as
Tata Motors, a level playing field not only
with foreign players but also with DPSUs.
MoD agreeing to release a public version
of Long Term Integrated Perspective Plan
(LTIPP) is particularly noteworthy, as this
will help us to strategise R&D, Technology
and Infrastructural investments.
Company Spokeperson, Tata Motors
India
accused of favouring or not giving favours
to any particular vendor on part of the
Minister and he wanted any such pro-
posal to be discussed or debated through
a collegiate body before any nal discus-
sion.
In the DPP-2013, the main thrust is
to avoid the chances and scope for cor-
ruption in the procurement cases after
Antony was twice caught in the midst of
Parliament sessions for defence scams.
The rst scam was the Tatra truck deal
scam in March last year and this year it
was the AgustaWestland.
Taking a cue for the allegations of
specications being changed by the IAF at
the last moment to allegedly favour Agus-
taWestland in the VVIP chopper tender,
the Ministry has made it mandatory for
the armed forces to freeze tender speci-
cations of the desired products before
they are approved by the DAC.
A stipulation to freeze Service Quali-
tative Requirements before the Accep-
tance of Necessity(AoN) stage (in DAC)
and the validity of AoN has also been re-
duced from two years to one year. These
measures are expected to expedite the
acquisition process and increase trans-
parency, the Ministry said. The Ministry
has left very little scope for any changes
to be made in technical specications of
the armed forces or in tender documents
at later stages, which was being observed
in several procurement cases.
The nancial powers of the armed
forces headquarters have also been
raised from `50 crore to `150 crore which
will help them to procure items at a faster
pace without getting approval from the
Defence Ministry, the Ministry said.
Armed with these enhanced pow-
ers, the Services headquarters will now
appoint Additional Financial Advisers
(AFAs) to deal with the increased bur-
den of procurement. The new structures
would be given a nal shape in conse-
quent meetings of the DAC. The Ministry
also approved the Defence Items List that
would be sent to the Department of In-
dustrial Policy and Promotion for noti-
cation, which will bring required clarity in
the licensing process. The Ministry has
categorically claried to DIPP that dual-
use items will not require licensing, there-
by bringing added clarity to the licensing
process, it said.
Draft security guidelines for the pri-
vate sector rms under which they will
have to maintain a minimum-required
security perimeter for their facilities were
also approved by the DAC. The Ministry
has circulated the guidelines for consulta-
tion among the stakeholders, it said.
The Defence Ministry said it will take
up the matter of rationalisation of tax
and duty structures impinging on Indian
industry with the Finance Ministry. The
Ministry also announced that the Small
Industries Development Bank has agreed
to provide loans worth `500 core to Indian
small and medium enterprises working in
the defence sector. Along with these mea-
sures approved in the DPP, the Ministry
is also mulling more changes in the pro-
curement structure and may include the
Central Vigilance Commission in it.
It is also mulling the creation of a new
body on the lines of the Enforcement Di-
rectorate (ED) to check corruption in pro-
curement and keep an eye on its ofcers
involved in it along with the foreign and
Indian vendors, sources said. The CVC
gets involved to check the fairness of pro-
curement procedures if the Government
gets any complaint from any source re-
garding corruption in any defence deal.
Indo-Israel defence project hits
roadblock
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On the footprint in India
We are very keen on constituting a de-
fence programme in India because there
is a great need in India for the improve-
ment in systems, modernisation of sys-
tems, particularly in communication.
And so we see an opportunity that can
help the country in terms of modernising
its communication network and are fo-
cussing some of our efforts on this, apart
from the other programme that we are
driving through, we are investing in the
country at the same time.
We have a designing centre at Hy-
derabad. And at the last Aero India Show
2011, we were about 300 people and now,
I am very proud to say that we have about
close to 500 people in Hyderabad. The
people are involved in cutting-edge de-
signs, designing software and (the centre)
has also added research engineers who
will be researching on the communica-
tion software waveforms, may be even on
the encryption, working with the Indian
defence establishment.
We want to show the defence com-
munity in India that we are not only fo-
cussing on communication but we have
avionics capability as well. We have simu-
lation capability. And in a different show,
we will also be able to show our ability to
address targeting systems and simula-
tions and training as well.
On the private-partnership collaborative ef-
forts
Well, we announced that we have almost
nalised an agreement with Tata SED to
collaborate on the Indian Air Force SDR
programme and we believe that Tatas
would bring a lot of strength to our prod-
uct portfolio. They obviously know the
market trend and how to pursue the pro-
gramme here. So, we are working together
to try and provide the Indian Air Force the
sort of communication that they need in
the near future.
On the relationship with HAL and BEL
We are in touch with many private rms
but obviously whether a partnership
comes to fruition, really depends on val-
ue proposition. How we value them and
what value can we get from them in ex-
change, is a big question. So really, (there
have been) very open sort of discussions,
We can help
the country to
modernise its
communication
network
T C CHAN, Managing Director, Rockwell Collins, spoke
to K SRINIVASAN on the sidelines of Aero India 2013 at
Bengaluru, about the exciting developments and collabo-
rations in the sub-continent and in India
nothing is concrete at the moment but we
want to keep the options open. The only
partnership we have at the moment is
with the Tata on the Indian Air Force SDR
programme.
On the specific programme that is under-
way
As I mentioned earlier, we have put four
research and development engineers in
IDC and the people involved would be
specically researching on the defence
products, which can be introduced to the
market may be in 3 to 4 or 5 years time.
For our partnership, we are thinking with
the other entities around in India. And
yes, we are also looking for the core devel-
opment of products that may indigenise
into an Indian environment and in the
longer term, we can introduce that in-
novation to the United States or to some
other countries at a later stage.
On the design centre at Hyderabad and the
working environment there
People are working on various domains
from ight management systems and
displays to communications. They are
involved in mechanical design, PC board
design, and are working on programmes
that not only just come from the United
States but programmes that are spread all
over the world. So, we have engineering
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DEFBIZ
centres in Europe and obviously in the
United States. We are working in collabo-
ration with all of them.
On the fact that not many of the engineers
are aeronautical engineers
I think the main knowledge of some of
these engineers that we have is becom-
ing more and more recognised and grow-
ing up. Obviously, it takes a long time. I
mean, a fresh engineer from a university
will know a lot of languages in program-
ming but they need to know and under-
stand the domainthe domain knowl-
edgeand that is what we are trying to
teach and impart to the engineers. It has
come a long way. We are doing a lot of
cutting edge work. For instance, we are
developing the information management
system for the A350. Airbus and Rockwell
are doing a lot of cutting edge in the IDC
programme today. We are doing a large
part of it but we are denitely part of that
programme chain that is being led from
France.
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Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd.
(HAL) achieved new nan-
cial highs with a turnover
of `14,316 crore in the -
nancial year 2012-13 (pro-
visional gures). The com-
pany declared an interim
dividend to the tune of `823
crore-683 per cent of eq-
uity base of `120.50 crore
for the nancial year. HAL,
being a technology driven
company, continues its
thrust on R&D by incurring
12 per cent of its turnover
towards it. The company
led a record 32 patents in
2012-13 to reinforce and
protect its intellectual prop-
erty developed at large in-
vestment. Chairman HAL,
R K Tyagi said, We strive
to live up to the expecta-
HALs new highs
HALs CIVIL
FORAY
HAL-BAE FUTURE
tions of our stakeholders. He
added, The companys return
on shareholders investment
is impressive, comparable to
some of the best companies
anywhere.
This year witnessed land-
mark events for HAL, such
as handing over of the rst
weaponised Advanced Light
Helicopter (ALH) Rudra to the
Indian Army, export of Chee-
tah helicopters to Republic
of Surinam and Do-228 light
transport aircraft to Seychelles
and the rst ight of Jaguar
In a momentous occasion,
HAL got a rare visit from BAE
Chairman Dick Olver and
Chief Executive Ofcer Ian
King, who interacted with
HAL Chairman R K Tyagi on
various business issues of
mutual interest. Speaking on
the occasion, Olver insisted
that the deep routed business
relationship with HAL should
go beyond Hawk to make
the future better than the
past. He said that the part-
nership could be expanded
to working on new projects
in 17 countries where BAE
has its presence. Tyagi said
HAL would be keen to carry
forward this relationship. A
new business model such as
Performance Based Logistics
(PBL) could be an area of co-
operation with HAL learning
from BAE experiences. HAL
and BAE Systems have been
together since 40s and the re-
lationship has strengthened
over the years.
Currently HAL produces
awk Mk advanced jet trainer,
32 under licence from BAE
Systems, UK.
At the FAA-Asia Pacic
bilateral partners meet-
ing hosted by the HAL,
Civil Aviation Minister
Ajit Singh said that efforts
will be made to get Fed-
eral Aviation Administra-
tion (FAA) certication
for HALs Advance Light
Helicopter (ALH-Dhruv).
He added, We also have
a national civil aircraft de-
velopment programme for
100-seat medium trans-
port aircraft. Some of the
DARIN-III upgrade and LCA
Naval prototypes. The last of
the limited series production
LCA took to skies this year.
Backed with long experience
of being with military aviation
and extensive infrastructure,
HAL plans to foray into civil
segment which is forecast to
have promising growth. Sepa-
rate operations are planned to
handle civil segment includ-
ing suitable partnerships with
private Indian industries and
foreign operators.
HAL aims to achieve busi-
ness excellence while pur-
suing its mandate of nation
building. It has plans to in-
troduce additional capacity
to handle future programmes
like the Medium Multi-Role
Combat Aircraft (MMRCA),
Fifth Generation Fighter Air-
craft (FGFA), Multi-role Trans-
port Aircraft (MTA), Light
Combat Helicopter (LCH) and
Light Utility Helicopter (LUH).
The LUH has gone past the
design phase with success-
ful realisation of the Ground
Test Vehicle, MTA has entered
the conceptual design phase
and the FGFA will be entering
the detail design stage, all en-
couraging signs for the future
of aerospace in India. During
the year HALs focus areas in-
cluded building partnerships
and relationshipsbe it with
employees, shareholders, cus-
tomers, value chain and busi-
ness partners, industry lead-
ers, academic institutions or
the government as industry
regulator.
countrys leading aeronautics
and space scientists are spear-
heading the project and I hope
this takes shape.
R K Tyagi, Chairman, HAL,
said the company plans to di-
versify into the civil market.
We now propose to play a
leading role in Indias national
civil aircraft development pro-
gramme as we have dedicated
facilities at our transport divi-
sion in Kanpur, he added.
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India-Russia finalise
tech specs of PAK FA
The contract to develop a sketch and
technical project of the Russian-Indi-
an prospective multi-functional Fifth
Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) has
been completed. Both parties have
agreed upon on the amount and divi-
sion of work during the research and
development (R&D) stage. A contract
for the R&D is being prepared. It is to
be signed this year.
The agreement on the joint devel-
opment and production of the fth-
generation ghter aircraft was signed
on October 18, 2007 in Moscow at the
7th Session of the joint Russian-Indian
Intergovernmental Commission on
Military and Technical Cooperation.
It is the largest joint project of the
Russian-Indian military and technical
cooperation.
In December 2010, Rosoboronex-
port, Sukhoi Company and the Hin-
dustan Aeronautics Limited signed
a contract to develop a sketch and
technical project of the ghter. In the
course of the rst stage of the project,
the Russian side trained Indian profes-
sionals, provided them with the origi-
nal data and the software to create a
single working environment. While
the Indian working group of experts
has been in Russia since January 2012,
a group of Russian specialists have
been working in India. Both parties
have been exchanging the necessary
information.
The Foreign Investment Promotion
Board (FIPB) recently cleared a joint
venture between Bharat Electronics
Ltd (BEL) and Frances Thales to build
radars meant for the Indian Air Forces
medium multi-role combat aircraft
programme, which has already been
delayed.
In the venture, government owned
BEL will have a 74 per cent stake, the
remaining shared between Thales Air
Systems and Thales India Private Ltd.
Thales forms part of the IAF deal to
buy 126 medium multi-role combat
aircraft from Dassault Aviation, whose
combat jet Rafale emerged as the low-
est bidder after a global contest.
The FIPB blocked Israeli company
Elbit Systems tie-up with Bharat Forge
Ltd for making artillery guns, howit-
zers and mortars. The proposed JV on
manufacturing of artillery guns and
command, control, communication
and radio systems with Indian compa-
ny Bharat Forge would have supported
the armys artillery modernisation
programme. The FIPB deferred the de-
cision on the JV on the recommenda-
tions of the home ministry as well as
the defence ministry.
FIPB nod to Thales-BEL JV
To bolster blue water capabilities, the
Indian Navy plans to acquire ve self-
propelled Fleet Support Ships (FSS) that
are capable of transferring all types of
stores, ammunition, fuel and personnel
to naval units at sea. According to the Re-
quest for Proposal (RFP) issued recently,
the Navy wants the FSS to be able to per-
form 60-day missions with the capabili-
ty to operate for an extended mission on
requirement and be able to endure a trip
of 12,000 nautical miles at a speed of 16
knots. The FSS should have a service life
of 30 years, be capable of operating heli-
copters in extremely rough and cyclonic
sea conditions and should possess bal-
last capability. The RFP, issued under
the Buy Global category, is expected to
elicit responses from around the world.
Indian shipyards have their hands full
and need expertise to undertake such
ventures. Larger blue water navies tend
to have large auxiliary eets compris-
ing longer-range eet support vessels
designed to provide support far beyond
territorial waters.
Indian Navy to
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propelled Fleet
Support Ships
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The Mirage 2000 is now being
refurbished successfully. How
is it going?
We have signed (the agree-
ment) two years ago; we are
in the process of developing
an upgraded Mirage. We have
an Indian team with us. Then
we will shift the work to HAL
which will do the job in Ben-
galuru with the support of the
team to start with. Then, they
will do it by themselves.
You have a very good working
relationship with HAL and the
Indian Air Force?
Yes, you may say that, be-
cause, I think, it has been a
long time that we have been
working with the Indian Air
Force. You may know that our
rst customer after the Second
World War was India. We are
proud that we have been able
to develop with the people of
Indiaand to contribute to
the ability to defend them-
selves. So, it has been a very
old relationship. Based on the
capabilities of the Rafale and
budgetary estimation by the
Ministry of Defence, we have
succeeded in the MMRCA
competition.
Even the present Chief of the
Indian Air Force has been a Mi-
rage pilot.
Yes. I think the Mirage 2000 is
one of the backbones of the
defence system in India. It
proved itself to be operational
in the hands of the Indian Air
Force pilots. And I am sure
that the Government of India
knows very well of the capa-
bilities of the Mirage and what
it did in the past. I think, the
second matter is that we have
always been supporting the
Indian Air Force, in the best
way we could, but we did it in
a very transparent way. And
I think IAF knows they can
count on a company like Das-
sault.
Do you think the Libyan opera-
tions helped the Rafale?
I think, rst of all, India got
the information based on the
evaluation. You know the Ra-
fale was evaluated like the oth-
We have no problem with HAL
Said ERIC TRAPPIER, Chairman and CEO, Dassault
Aviation, when K SRINIVASAN met him recently in
Paris. The reaction came after the reported break-
down of negotiations with Dassault on the $20-bil-
lion (`1,05,000 cr approx.) deal to buy 126 Medium
Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA). The French
manufacturer told the Ministry of Defence that it
would not be responsible for the 108 aircraft that
HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd) would produce. In
fact, Dassault said that the government would have
to sign separate contracts: one with Dassault for
18 fly-away aircraft and another with HAL, which
will produce 108 jets under licence. Trappier, in fact
was gung-ho about the deal and hoped it would go
through by the end of this year. Excerpts:
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DEFBIZ
which are very interested by the
fact that they saw the results of
the Rafale in Libya and in Mali.
We may have some new coun-
tries interested in the Rafale,
because they are a bit disap-
pointed by the US ghters like
the F-35 which takes time to be
developed, faces problems, has
a very high cost and this could
be the idea for others to join the
family of Rafale.
Well, the Eurofighter team has its
own questions of the Rafale as do
many others.
Well, I would be unhappy if I
failed. I am happy because I
succeed. I expect them to be
unhappy, but thats life. I think
we have a better aircraft and it
also (happened) to be less ex-
pensive. Because this was the
criteria, L1. According to the
Indian Government, it had to
be lowest. So, I think we got it
because we had a good aircraft
and we were L1. I think the In-
dian Government did a great
job by having six competitors
with countries like US, Russia,
Britain, Germany and Italy. And
they were able to organise a big
competition, selection was a
very transparent one and very
clear in not too long a time for
such an important project. It
(has been) a good challenge and
we are proud to work with India.
So, I would say congratulations
to them. But now we need to -
nalise, its the last step.
er competitors in India and
in different places in India.
And the IAF knowing very well
about the Miragehas been
able to y the Rafale in such a
way that it could have a good
knowhow and knowledge
about the Rafale. I am sure the
combat report and demon-
stration of the Rafale in India
is a good condence for those
who want to buy it because it
has demonstrated itself to be
really operational in all types
of missions: at ground, rec-
ognition, to see, thats some-
thing which is seen by Indian
defence capabilities.
So, how is your relationship
with HAL, IAF? Thats why there
is a bit of surprise at the devel-
opments where you have ques-
tioned the capabilities of HAL?
Its quite normal because we
have had a good working re-
lationship with HAL mainly
with the Mirage 2000. They
were in charge of the Mirage
2000 in Bengaluru. Now we are
in tough discussions because
we are discussing the details
for the work share, transfer
of licence of air frames and
engines. And this is taking
time because when you speak
about transfer, you have to
speak about the job which has
to be performed: who is doing
what. And that is taking time
so we are not so much con-
cerned by what the press is
saying, So we are progressing.
The general perception that you
have no confidence in HAL is,
therefore, wrong?
Its wrong. We know HAL has
certain capabilities. Its differ-
ent from France, the standards
are different. It is also not...
maybe something that is to-
tally the samethe work done
in India cannot be compared
with the work done in France.
What we are doing now is to
understand how the job of
manufacturing in France will
be implemented in India in
HAL. Maybe, there is a matter
of time (in moving forward),
as far as we are concerned, we
have no problem with HAL.
And HAL has been designated
by the Government of India to
be a lead production agency.
So they are the leaders.
In effect, you want to say that
the standards you follow in
France must be replicated in
India?
Yes.
So, you want to ensure that the
quality should be maintained
since post the first 18, all will
be produced there.
Yes, correct
When do you think the deal will
be signed?
Thats a most difcult ques-
tion. Because I dont know
(laughs) well, the sooner the
better. But at least, we need
to discussthe Government
of India and Dassault, HAL
is also involved, we have also
partners involved in the li-
cence. It is taking time. We try
our best to go fast. And there is
a huge team mobilised on the
task on both sides. And I hope
2013 should be the year. We
have a target for mid-2013, so
this is the target. So, I think the
more realistic (target) should
be that it should signed before
the end of the year.
You got the French Air Force
and the Navy, and you got the
Indian Air Force. Where else do
you expect to sell the aircraft?
We have some better pros-
pects in the Middle East, in
South America, in ASEAN. So,
there are a couple of countries
READY TO FLY: A Rafale outside the
final assembly line plant at Bordeaux,
Merignac
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Israel is all set to bag another mega In-
dian defence deal to equip all the 356 in-
fantry battalions of the Indian Army with
third-generation Anti-Tank Guided Mis-
siles (ATGMs). With Russia in the lead, Is-
rael is trying to fend off the US to remain
the second largest arms supplier to India.
The `15,000-crore project will involve
an initial direct acquisition of the man-
portable tank killers followed by Trans-
fer of Technology (ToT) to defence PSU,
Bharat Dynamics, for large-scale indig-
enous manufacture.
The 1.13-million Army is pushing the
critical project since it has a huge short-
fall of 44,000 ATGMs of different types,
half its authorised inventory at present.
At present, the Army is making do with
second-generation Milan and Konkurs
ATGMs, produced
by BDL under li-
cence from French
and Russian com-
panies, which are
wire-guided and
do not have re-
and-forget capa-
bilities. A part of
the deciency is
to be met by the
induction of the
long-delayed in-
digenous third-
generation Nag
ATGMs, which are
vehicle and helicopter-mounted, with
a 4-km strike range. The Army has al-
ready placed an initial order for 443 Nag
missiles and 13 Namicas (Nag missile
tracked carriers).
Boeing and Bharat Electronics Limited
(BEL) are expanding their partnership
through a follow-on contract involv-
ing the manufacture of subassemblies
for the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet
ghter jet. This contract, for Super Hor-
net subassemblies, expands work Boe-
ing awarded BEL in 2011. BEL delivers
components for the Super Hornet and
P-8I maritime reconnaissance aircraft;
and is a partner with Boeing at the
Analysis and Experimentation Centre
in Bengaluru that opened in 2009.
Boeings relationship with BEL
demonstrates our commitment to
working with Indian industry to pro-
vide customers with the best products
while fostering global growth and mar-
ket access, said Dennis Swanson, vice
president of International Business De-
velopment for Boeing Defence, Space
and Security in India.
Through the new contract BEL
will produce Super Hornet subas-
semblies including the Ground Power
Panel, Helmet Vehicle Interface Stow-
age and Switch assembly and Cockpit
Console Panels. For the F/A-18, BEL
also produces a stowage panel for the
Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System
connector cable and an avionics cool-
ing system fan test switch panel with a
Night Vision Imaging System-compati-
ble oodlight assembly. For the P-8I it
provides the Identication Friend or
Foe interrogators and Data Link II com-
munications systems.
BEL believes this cooperation
with Boeing is a great opportunity
and is ever willing to take it to greater
heights, said H.N. Ramakrishna, BEL
director of Marketing.
Night-vision devices
for army approved
The Defence Ministry has approved a
`2,820 crore proposal to provide night-
vision devices to the Army to enable its
tanks and infantry combat vehicles to
have capability to ght in both day and
night conditions.
Under the plans to do away with the
night blindness of Armys mechanised
eet including the Russian-origin T-90
and T-72 tanks and the BMP Infantry
Combat Vehicles (ICV), around 5,000
thermal imaging sights would be pro-
cured from defence PSU Bharat Electron-
ics limited. Meanwhile, the Ministry also
cleared a proposal to upgrade the exist-
ing inventory of M-46 130mm artillery
guns to 155mm guns through the Ord-
nance Factory Board.
Boeing-BEL
partnership
expands
Israel to bag another Indian
defence deal
DEF BIZ
May 2013
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Agilent
equipment for
Indian forces
Agilent Technologies, a premier test and
measurement company, launched its lat-
est state-of-art products for the Indian
Defence Forces in New Delhi. Agilent Tech-
nologies provides test system development
and designing to the defence forces across
the world as they have served several coun-
tries for more than three decades and have
a presence in more than 100 countries. The
companys latest state-of-art products are
designed especially for the Indian market
as they can work in extreme weather condi-
tions and serve the Indian purpose for test-
ing and measurements. The major eld of
research is the aerospace and defence sec-
tor as company offers huge range of prod-
ucts to these sectors. The latest products
launched were the Agilent EEs of EDA sys-
tem for electronic system-level design that
allows systems to innovate the physical lay-
er of wireless and aerospace/defence com-
munications systems, the FieldFox hand-
Streit Group, the worlds largest
privately-owned vehicle armouring
company, has appointed David Win-
ner to the key position of General
Manager, Streit Group UK. Opened in
London in 2012, the UK subsidiary is
responsible for all of the Groups sales
and marketing operations across Eu-
rope and for consulting on European
defence and security requirements
and design solutions.
David Winner has joined Streit
after a 32 year career in the British
Army during which he was entirely
focussed on armoured vehicles. He
has been involved at all levels, from
vehicle user to trials and development
work to the short notice introduction
of new platforms for operations. He
was also responsible for the delivery
of technical training on a number of
platforms operated by the Royal Ar-
moured Corps and the wider Army
community.
held microwave analysers are built to work
in any weather conditions ranging from-45
o
c
(Drass sector) to 71
o
c (Desert region) and hard
to reach locations such as dense forests and
Real-Time spectrum analyzer, an upgraded
version of existing PXA signal analysers which
can be used for deeper analysis of complex
signals and act like a powerful interceptor. The
other products introduced were PXI signal
generator used to deliver new levels of speed
in signal generation and the U1610A/20A
handheld digital oscilloscopes, a 3 in 1 prod-
uct which is dened as precision,
reliability and readiness due to its
effectiveness.
The customers for the Agilent
technologies in Indian defence
market incorporates DRDO Re-
search centre, HAL manufacturing
units, several Indian dock yards
and IAFs workshops and depots
as well as Bharat Electronics Ltd.
which uses Agilent instruments for
their tests and measurements.
The Boeing Family of Advanced Beyond
Line-of-Sight Terminals (FAB-T) wide-
band communications programme has
entered a new phase by delivering the
rst two engineering development mod-
els to the US Air Force. Able to perform
nearly all FAB-T production terminal mis-
sion functions, the models will be tested
through June under realistic operational
conditions aboard aircraft and at Hans-
com Air Force Base, Mass.
These models will allow the Air Force
to test how actual terminals will perform
in their deployed congurations, said
Paul Geery, Boeing Vice President and
FAB-T programme manager. With tests
conducted in 2012, Boeing has demon-
strated that FAB-T can perform effec-
tively even in the extreme vibration and
harsh temperatures found on airborne
platforms. FAB-T will carry protected
communications for the command and
control of US nuclear forces via Advanced
Extremely High Frequency and Milstar
satellites. The terminals will be used
aboard B-2 and B-52 bombers, RC-135
reconnaissance aircraft, and E-4 and E-6
Special Air Mission aircraft, as well as in
xed and transportable congurations
on the ground. These milestones vali-
date that Boeing has a mature design that
meets operating requirements for all mis-
sion environments, Geery said. Our so-
lution offers the quickest and lowest-risk
path to putting all the FAB-T functions
into war-ghters hands.
Streit
appoints
Winner
Boeing delivers FAB-T
Test Units
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May 2013
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www.geopolitics.in
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GEO Subscription form_April.qxd 3/31/2012 2:37 PM Page 1
May 2013
(38)
www.geopolitics.in
DIPLOMACY
INDIGENOUS CONTENT OF
OUR COUNTRY HAS GONE UP
TO 55% TODAY
In an exclusive interview with the editors of GEOPOLITICS, Scientific Advisor to the Defence Min-
ister and Director General of the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) Dr VIJAY
KUMAR SARASWAT outlined where India stands today in its indigenisation programme of defence
production. Excerpts:
May 2013
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www.geopolitics.in
gg
DEFBIZ
Now to generate 5 kilowatt power, there
are various methods. There is a chemical
laser system what we have done now and
we have already built it.CO
2
gas dynam-
ic laser coil that we have done already. It
is now working. It is in TBRL, Chandigarh.
We have a full setup. We are able to pro-
duce chemical and it can produce almost
100 kilowatts of power, no problem. But
technology that is not a solid state laser.
That is a chemical gas dynamic laser. So
we have to now build a solid state laser.
Technology is going in that direction. So
we are developing today in DRDO bre
lasers. Then power combining of the bre
lasers to make 5 kilowatt into 25 kilowatt.
So all these technologies are part of our
DEW programme in which special mate-
rials are required, special control systems
are required, interaction of the laser beam
with the atmosphere is required, beam
pointing accuracy is required, power
combining that means the stabilisation
system on which it is mounted has to be of
a very precise accuracy because the beam
size, the spot size is less than a millime-
tre and if it is drifting or if it is widening,
the whole power is lost. So these are all
critical technologies which are part of our
programme which we are developing to-
day. In fact, we have a lab here in LASTEC
in Delhi which is doing work and we are
setting up another lab in the similar direc-
tions at Hyderabad where we will do wea-
ponisation of these systems. Here, we will
do fundamental work and there we will
do weaponisation so that we can convert
them into usable systems because unless
weapon is portable or transportable, it is
no point because then only it is useful.
Here, when we are talking of the weapons,
say our missiles, are we also working on
expanding their range?
The range of a system or capability of a
missile is a function of what is my threat
prole. I will develop a system to meet my
threat. I will never try to unnecessarily
build a system. So our choices of ranges,
our capabilities are purely based upon
threat proles and I can only assure you
that whatever ranges we are covering to-
day meets our existing threat proles. We
do not have to worry about going to Mars.
No there is no requirement to go to Mars.
Where exactly we are on the front of devel-
oping stealth aircraft and bombers?
See, our road map for the development
of ghter aircraft systems is very clear.
So you are confident that the foreign com-
panies will provide us all the components
and technologies that we are aware of?
Yes, they will give but there is only area
which is a new area which is called the
composite materials. It is not metallic
materials, 99 per cent I am condent. But
on composite materials and composite
manufacturing, India still needs to build
the infrastructure and capability and this
we are facing today in the missile pro-
gramme because we are switching over
to composites in a big way to reduce the
weight. In the aircraft programme again,
we are moving, 4th generation itself has
got 60 per cent composite component.
So we have to go now 7075 per cent.
Boeing is already 70 per cent compos-
ites. You know the Boeing Dreamliner. So
this technology to aerospace standards
has to be set up in this country. Now
that is where the industry is coming. So
my request to the Indian private sector
islook, you should now start taking the
best technologies, for example, Vacuum
Assisted Resin Transfer Moulding or the
Resin Film Transfer Moulding; all these
systems have to come.
They have to be set up because metal-
lic materials are a problem in many cases.
Composite materials are the need of the
hour. For example, you can get F glass
ber but you cannot get an E glass bre.
You have to import. So we have to make
bres. Carbon bres you have to import.
Now these are the things which we have
to augment. DRDO and Department of
Defence and Atomic Energy and Space
are doing lot of work in this direction to
promote composite technologies because
without that, we cannot work.
What about composite and ceramics?
Composites and ceramics I have referred
to in a generic manner. Ceramics is also
very important.
Ceramics constitutes the key component in
our directed energy weapons programme.
What will you say on this, particularly on
solid-sate leaser?
See, Solid-State lasers up to certain power
level, we are okay with power source, few
watts. But the moment high power comes;
directed energy weapons are not done
with few watts of power. You are aware
of that. They are done with high powers.
High power means kilowatts of power. I
did at least 5 kilowatt to 100 kilowatt, in
that range different types of weapons.
Why is that India is poor in developing
engines, which are the most important
thing in developing systems? With regard
to propulsion technologies, we have a lot
of catching up to do. What are the issues
dogging propulsion capability development
in India?
See, I agree with you that there is a gap in
the propulsion technology in general. I
am talking general propulsion. We talk of
so much about the automobiles that we
have got automobile boom, economies
due to the automobile.
We have got almost 1520 major play-
ers in the automobile sector. I may be
wrong. I have not counted, around that
number. But if you look at how and where
we are barring a few who have started
now making their own designs, most of
the designs which came are from outside
and even if they have done the design, the
engines have come from outside. So that
is called when you classify the system,
A grade item, B grade item, and C grade
item. So C grade and partially B grade we
make here. A grade comes from outside.
That is the problem. Unless we make
A grade items also here and this has hap-
pened in all sectorsit has happened in
defence because we have licensed pro-
ductions going on coming from various
agencies like Russia, France, Germany, or
whatever places but we got manufactur-
ing technology and critical systems and
subsystems continued to come from out-
side.
This is even today it is happening. So
we are changing this now. Now through
the DRDOs collaboration, we are chang-
ing this syndrome totally. When I am do-
ing LR-SAM with Israel today, we do not
have any element in that which we are
not exposed to. There is no way we can
be told that no this is not available to you.
Fullright from the rst letter A to the
complete paragraph is known to us.
But what about the precision manufacturing
capability?
India has got good precision manufactur-
ing capability except in one or two areas.
For example in the gears, we still need to
have that same amount of precision what
others are having. But otherwise gen-
eral machining, engineering capability
in India is very good. That is why when
we come for the offset tomorrow, we will
have lots of components and subsystems
being produced by the Indian industry to
the aerospace standards.
May 2013
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www.geopolitics.in
We have done LCALCAMK.1 which is
going to be produced. Production has
started, you know it. Then we are doing
LCA- MK.2. Then we are doing LCANavy.
Now these LCAMK.2 and LCANavy are
similar. LCA-Navy only one difference is
that it is to take off and land on deck of a
ship. So we are building all facilities for a
short lift, short take off, short landing, all
that we are doing. We are building a sys-
tem at Goa where from there Shore-Based
Test Facility (SBTF) are going to do that.
This is our present prole and this
present prole will take care of all light
combat capabilities required. Now, there
is a gap between what the user needs and
what is available either through import
because they have imported. We have got
MiG-29. We have got Jaguar. We have got
Mirage. So there is a prole which covers
variety of combat requirements. In future
what we are seeing is there will be a re-
quirement for a medium lift capability in
the region of 25 to 30 tons class and that is
where our future programme, Advanced
Medium Combat Aircraft(AMCA) will be
directed.
Now obviously even as we do a future
programme, it cannot be the 4th genera-
tion technology. It has to be a next gen-
eration technology better than what we
are having. So we have set up our goals
in that direction that the AMCA is going
to be the 5th+ generation aircraft with all
technologies which are relevant to 5th+
generation. That means one of them is
supercruise. I should be able to go on a
supersonic mach number without ring
the re-heat afterburner. I should be able
to have capability so that the signatures of
the aircraft are minimum.
That means all my weapon systems
and all my stores are completely hidden.
They are not suspended like one bomb
here and one bomb here. All the signa-
tures whether they are radio signatures or
thermal signatures should be minimized.
That means stealth. So we have got a big
list of technologies which will be done in
that. Present status is we have done a lead
project which is leading to the design of
the system at least what we call as a rst
level of design.
That lead project is on and after lead
project is done then of course national
level reviews and things like that, it is a
process. And then we will go for the sanc-
tion and then this is as far as. But we
have in parallel a technology develop-
ment programme which will provide the
subsystems and systems for AMCA. For
example, we are working today on stealth
technology, special materials, signature
subtraction, and measurement of signa-
tures.
Similarly, we are working on special
mechanisms for controlling the aircraft
because even when we talk of y-by wire,
the next generation is y-by wire with
minimum number of wires. So what is
called a photonic interface is coming for
all avionics. This is also called y-by light.
So we are now building that, photonic
interface so that my signals, my power,
my communication is all done through
that process. So that is technology. So
we have got large number of technology
projects which are already on as part of
my S&T programme and they will
ultimately merge into the avail-
ability of critical subsystems for
AMCA.
AMCA requires an engine of
higher thrust... So our Kaveri does
not meet the requirement. Kaveri,
you know, we are not able to
use in LCA itself because of the
lower power. So we are going to
develop a new engine and that
would be the AMCA engine. So
that will be a part of our AMCA pro-
gramme.
But what about the engine for the
AMCA? Are you looking towards inter-
national collaboration for this aspect?
I am coming to that. AMCA requires an
engine of higher thrust.. So our Kaveri
does not meet the requirement. Kaveri,
you know, we are not able to use in LCA it-
self because of the lower power. So we are
going to develop a new engine and that
would be the AMCA engine. So that will
be a part of our AMCA programme. And
we will certainly look forward to collabo-
ration in that area. We are going ahead.
Since we are talking about engines, what
about the indigenous engine for the Arjun
MBT programme?
We have started a national programme
for building the engine for tank. It is in
advanced stage today. Designs have been
completed and now we are launching de-
tailed development.
Will Arjun have sufficient orders from the
Army?
Yes, yes, 100 per cent, I have no doubts
about it because the MK.2 and MK.1,
there are major modications which we
have done in terms of the.and all modi-
cations based upon the requirements of
the users. For example, missile ring ca-
pability, we are introducing on MK.2, the
missile ring capacity from the MBT Ar-
jun. For example fording capability, it can
become an amphibian so that it can cross
all the rivers and all the tanks whatever is
that. Like that and panoramic site for the
commander or gunner site for all these
tanks. Earlier, they were analogue. So
large number of changes; active protec-
tion systems, protection system against
the incoming project tanks; so all of them
are on the right course. With Arjun MK.2,
When I am doing LR-SAM with Israel today,
we do not have any element in that which
we are not exposed to. There is no way we
can be told that no this is not available to you.
Full right from the first letter A to the
gg
DEFBIZ
complete paragraph is known to us
May 2013
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www.geopolitics.in
we are testing certain elements. Out of
the 56 modications, we have demon-
strated about 20 plus in the last summer-
time.
Does this technological upgradtion include
protection from nuclear weapons?
No, no, we are not talking of nuclear
weapons protection. Nuclear weapon is
a different ball game. But active protec-
tion system is something, suppose there
is a projectile coming to you, it could be
a bomb or it could be a missile or it could
be. I should be able to divert that or
engage it. That is called active protec-
tion system. Passive protection is any-
way they have in terms of armour which
iseven armour we are changing in the
MK.2. We were putting Explosive Rreac-
tive Armour(ERA) there.
So these are ongoing programmes.
That is why I am telling you, indigenous
technology has got that greatest advan-
tage that you can do product improve-
ment on your system and follow what is
called spiral methods of development.
understand how to do this force multipli-
cation. How do I do MIRV? How do I do
all this? So technology work is going on.
Some reporter said Agni-6 has been done,
no, no.
We want to actually rst demonstrate
dummy packages from a missile at vari-
ous altitudes. This is my rst experiment.
Does this include the use of micro- sat
launches?
No, no, this force multiplication which I
am talking of has nothing to do with mi-
cro satellites. That is a different question.
What they were saying at that time is that
can India have a launch on demand capa-
bility? I had saidyes, India today with
Agni-5 and other launchers what we have
made has the capability to launch micro
and mini satellites on a short notice to
meet the tactical and strategic require-
ments in the event of our space assets
being denied. This is precisely what I had
said. And that I had said as a scientist.
We scientists keep doing assessment. We
do keep analysing. It is my job as a Sci-
entic Advisor. You will appreciate that. I
have to keep seeing what possibilities are
available. So we did our analysis. We did
our simulation. We did our calculations.
We found that yes, it is feasible. It can be
done. Now, when it is required to be done,
how many numbers to be done, who has
to do it, how it has to be done, it is more a
policy decision which will be taken as and
when we come to that point.
Going to another area, do you think cyber
warfare and electronic warfare are about to
merge? The United States is known to be
researching air to air cyberwarfare tech-
niques and electromagnetic waveforms
containing code that can be fired through
radar apertures to take over as the system
administrator of air defence networks. Does
DRDO have any similar programmes under-
way?
It will merge ultimately because today
people are more concentrating on cyber
warfare with respect to cyber space but
all technologies which we are develop-
ing for cyber warfare will be applicable
for electronic warfare. Only thing is that
instead of cyber space, it will be the com-
munication or the surveillance space of
particular weapon system. If you recall
today itself in an electronic warfare, we
have COMINT, we have ELINT, and we
have ESM. We are already doing many
we have got a big list of technologies which
will be done in that. Present status is we
have done a lead project which is leading to
the design of the system at least what we call as a
first level of design
gg
DEFBIZ
You can have MK.1. You can have MK.2
and ultimately you can reach the latest
technology in the MK.3 or whatsoever.
There was a newspaper report which said
that you announced the existence of an
Agni-VI programme on the sidelines of Aero
India 2013. Please tell us more about this
and whether the Government has given the
go ahead for this programme?
This particular question whosoever has
written in that newspaper, I saw that, it
is a totally wrong statement of mine. It is
false. I have never said that we have an-
nounced A6 programmes. What I have
said is we are converting Agni-5 into a
force multiplier which is not A6 and I also
mentioned that Agni-5 is a force multipli-
er with multiple delivery systems. That is
all. It is not A6. It is not anything and that
also we are doing technology. We do not
have a mission mode programme which
will lead to tomorrowno see, because
we do mission mode program after our
technology levels come to a certain level.
I mentioned to you. Now, rst I have to
May 2013
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www.geopolitics.in
of these things. We have got an airborne
range when my Sukhoi or my MiG-29
goes, it has got escort jammer, it has got
communication system detection, it has
got a radar, and missile warning system.
All these things are already happen-
ing. What they want to do is that they
will sense the signatures of what software
is running inside because if I am send-
ing a particular pulse which is jamming,
I will analyse the pulse tomorrow and
nd out how that pulse is generated and
make sure that the system of generating
the pulse is nished. That is what you are
talking of that. So all this is happening in
the cyber warfare today. We are killing the
complete software of a computer. We are
using the cyber space for that. It will hap-
pen in the communication space tomor-
row in the electronic warfare system.
Talking of cyber Space, how indigenous is
the planning for Operating Systems(OS)?
We are working very hard on that and se-
curity OS is our priority. OS for commer-
cial use, we are not so much worried. We
want to develop rst OS for the security
system of the country and that is one area
where we are putting lot of effort and we
are getting help from academic institu-
tions and some industries also. Security
OS is our priority. Of course, it is a com-
plex process. We cannot develop OS in a
hurry.It is still in the architecture, nalisa-
tion, and lot of module designs and things
like that.
Sir, let us go to a different front. As you
know, military is one of the largest con-
sumers of energy. The Defence Minister
has been talking of the importance of envi-
ronmental protection by our military, leave
alone the financial angle. Your comment.
See, it is not defence alone. Energy is a
major issue in this country. Energy se-
curity is a major issue. You are aware of
it. If you take our import bill, oil is the
largest bill. And you also know that the
oil resources are depleting very fast. The
prediction is that 2035 onwards, oil may
not be available as freely as it is available
today even if you pay. Obviously, there is a
need for alternate energy sources.
And there is lot of work going on. You
guys are aware of that. Only thing is there
are technologies which are very specic.
What technology we should choose for
a country like India? Coal is going to re-
main in India for next 73 years. We have
got many reserves of but our quality of
coal is poor. We have got a coal which is
high ash content coal and that remains
that. We should solve that problem tech-
nologically.
So government has decided that they
should go for gasication of coal. They
should go for ultra supercritical combus-
tion and boiler something like that which
will remediate many of these problems.
So there is a major programme going
on. How we want to take this technology
which is emerging somewhere into de-
fence? We want to make packaged gasi-
ers for our armed forces. This is one.
And the advantage of gasier is the gas
which comes out is free from pollutants.
Only carbon dioxide and hydrogen comes
out and I can use hydrogen for running a
small turbine and carbon dioxide I have
to store and sequester somewhere. So I
am condent. This is a cycle. So we want
to build packaged gasiers which can be
put on a vehicle and like generators peo-
ple are using today, I can generate power.
This is one segment.
Another segment is fuel cells. DRDO
is working on the development on the
fuel cells. We have done already fuel cells
which are working on hydrogen, oxygen,
methanol base, and ethanol base. We
have got 30 kilowatt fuel cell which is
working in my lab in NMRL. Now fuel
cell, so we have got solid oxide fuel cell
programme. We have got a programme
for Air Independent Propulsion(AIP) for
my diesel submarine so that I do not de-
pend on the air. The programme is going
very well. In fact, now we are coming to
the engineering stage. We are making a
full what we call as the plug. We will have
the total system integrated and then when
the submarine manufacturing of this is
happening in our dockyard, we can take
that and integrate that. It is in advanced
stage today. So AIP is one which will give
power, power for mobile systems or using
I have never said that we have announced A6
programmes. What I have said is we are
converting Agni-5 into a force multiplier which
is not A6 and I also mentioned that Agni-5 is a
force multiplier with multiple delivery systems
gg
DEFBIZ
May 2013
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www.geopolitics.in
fuel cells also is possible. This fuel cell is
one technology.
We have a power requirement in high
altitudes today. For example, our armed
forces which are deployed in Leh, Lada-
kh, up to Kargil, they have to carry diesel
all the way from Delhi, Chandigarh, and
all that. Transportation cost itself is very
high. You know you are aware that in Leh,
Ladakh, there is no power generation sys-
tem. The entire Leh, Ladakh is powered
by diesel sets and in these four months or
ve months when there is no transporta-
tion possible, they store huge quantities
of diesel and then survive. Now that is
a very dangerous situation, dangerous
from the security point of view. If some-
body wants to create problem for us and
that storage is nished then we are out.
So we have to think something like that.
We have done mapping of this com-
plete region and we found that right
from this side Nainital, Uttarakhand to
Kargil, the Himalayan ridge is having hot
springs. That particular belt has got hot
springs. So at a couple of places near Leh,
Ladakh, we have done the survey and we
found that you get steam at 16 bar pres-
sure and at 140 degrees Celsius which is
good enough for running an energy cycle.
One rst well we are digging now and we
want to demonstrate geothermal plants
in that area. that this is my passion which
I started and I hope I succeed in that.
First demonstration plant we want
to put up there because it requires time.
Drilling about 1 kilometer deep you have
to go for a well. There is a lot of work.
You need the geologist units. See, it is a
science which and you can work few
months. Transportation is a problem.
Difcult terrain. Now you will say DRDO
has delayed. What can you do about it?
Finally, all said and done, can you reassure
the nation by giving a fixed time line or say
a particular year by which India will pro-
duce 70 percent of its arms and ammuni-
tions indigenously, reverdsing the present
situation when we import them 70 percent?
You have to understand percentage is a
function of again Percentage is numer-
ator and denominator, you know. Then
only percentage comes. Unfortunately
what is happening, your denominator is
increasing very-very fast. This country
did not import anything between 1986
1987 till about 2005. You just see our
import of weapons and equipment for
all services; may be one odd major con-
tract was there. But from 2005 till 2013,
in 7 years, we are importing. Despite this
increase in the denominator, the self-
reliance inductors, we call as indigenous
content of our country has gone up from
30 per cent which was there in 1995 to 55
per cent today and this is based upon how
much is our import bill for weapons and
equipment, how much indigenous prod-
ucts have gone into production. This is
based upon that data and this sum is not
done by me. I asked the National Council
of applied Economic Researchplease
come and do this sum for us and they did
this sum and that.
So it is that increase despite the de-
nominator going up. Suppose we have
happened the same level of import what
we had in 1980s and 1990s and early 2000,
this gure would have gone up very high
but country has today certainly gone on
what is called self-reliance trajectory in a
much cheaper mode. I am of the opinion
that this will continuously grow despite
this denominator going up because today,
all such systems which our armed forces
need whether it is radar, radars we have
more than 80 per cent indigenous. Elec-
tronic warfare systems, we have 70 per
cent indigenous.
You take our missile programme, we
are 75 per cent to 80 per cent indigenous
except that 15 per cent and that will con-
tinue. We do not have to worry about it.
Components, materials, systems, not
cost effective to produce. So you should
not. But our criticality and independence
from control has come. Today, anybody
can put a MTCR in its totality. We are not
worried. We can manage with our indig-
enous capability. We are in the area of na-
val systems. All the sonar systems in our
country are indigenous. We are hardly im-
porting any system into that. All the naval
radars we are putting are indigenous.
You take now with MBT Arjun, I think
if the MBT Arjun MK.2 also gets into the
system, the requirement and my FMBT
program also is on the way then we will
be quite good in supplying the combat ve-
hicles also. Our bridges for the engineer-
ing, Sarvatra Bridge now 46 metre bridge,
all indigenous going into our system. The
gun programme which was not there;
after the Bofors, we never imported any
gun.
Now, we have started a gun pro-
gramme and I am sure in the next 3-1/2 to
4 years, I will give you an indigenous gun
which will be produced in this country. So
slowly, that trajectory has changed colour
and our at least the weapons which were
developed in 1990s, they will be available
through the indigenous sources. I am not
saying that weapons which are coming in
2015, I should be able to give you tomor-
row, no. Like DEW and all that will take
time. They are weapons coming today. So
we are developing. They are also develop-
ing and we will continue it. It is moving
up. The spiral is moving up. The trajecto-
ry is going on the rise. I expect that we will
be free of controls and we will be compet-
itive in terms of technology with respect
to other nations and nobody will be able
to blackmail us as far as non-availability
is concerned.
Energy is a major issue in this
country. Energy security is a
major issue. You are aware of
it. If you take our import bill, oil
is the largest bill
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DEFBIZ
May 2013
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NUMBERSGAME
A brawl among army
personnel in May 2012
at Mahe ring range
near Nyoma in Ladakh
witnessed disciplin-
ary action against 168
personnel including
then Commanding
Ofcer (CO) of an
artillery unit. An Army
Court of Inquiry (CoI)
168
JAWANS
TO FACE
DISCIPLINARY
ACTION
was recommended and
disciplinary action was
taken against those
involved.
The CoI was held
under Brigadier Ajay
Talwar and completed
the probe and submit-
ted its report to the 14
Corps headquarters
in Leh. The personnel
To thwart the Naxal
activity in Odisha, the
Border Security Force
(BSF) has deployed
2,000 personnel in
Naxal-hit area of the
state.
2,000
The jawans will be
deployed in the districts
of Koraput, Rayagada
and Nabrangpur and
will coordinate with
state police to counter
the naxal activity in the
state. With the des-
patch of these troops,
BSF TROOPS BOOST
FOR COMBATING MAOIST
IAF CHOPPERS TO
COMBAT MAOIST
To boost up the of-
fensive against anti-
Maoist operations, the
government has given
a thumps up to a plan
for deploying chop-
pers and drones under
the revamping of the
nationally-coordinated
offensive against Naxal
violence launched in
2009. A panel headed
by cabinet secretary AK
Seth has already cleared
a plan to assign 14
Indian Air Force chop-
pers that were recalled
recently from United
Nations peacekeeping
operations to be used
in anti-Maoist opera-
tions. The choppers will
replace the eet of six
MI-17 IAF choppers
currently at the minis-
trys disposal.
The ministry is
also planning to shift
the unmanned aerial
vehicle base from Be-
gumpet in Hyderabad
to Bhilai, a town in the
middle of Maoist battle-
ground in Chattisgarh.
The offensive against
Naxal has killed more
than 11,000 people in
the past seven years, as
per government sourc-
es. The home ministry
also wanted to deploy
helicopter gunships for
surgical airstrikes as
well as 30,000 person-
nel of the armys anti-
insurgency force, but
the defence ministry
turned it down.
14
The Indian Army
has approached the
Ministry of Defence
(MoD) as the 130 mm
Russian-origin artillery
guns in its arsenal need
to be upgraded to en-
able striking power at
longer range and with
greater accuracy. The
Army headquarters has
given its nod to the pro-
posal of `1,000 crore to
upgrade the 300 pieces
of the 130 mm artillery
guns.
The upgraded guns
will mean that the 130
mm will be refurbished
with new ring technol-
ogy, a new barrel and
a new set of ammuni-
tion to become a 155
mm gun the type
that is being preferred
globally.
The Army wants
the guns be upgraded
to re at targets 39 kms
away.
`1000
CRORE
FOR 300
ARTILLERY GUNS the total number of
paramilitary personnel
involved in anti-Naxal
operations would touch
one lakh.
Apart from BSF, the
CRPF has deployed 82
battalions. 11 battal-
ions each have been
deployed by BSF and
Indo Tibetan Border
Police for carrying out
operations in Naxalite.
Paramilitary ofcials
said ve battalions
were being trained and
would be sent to Naxal-
hit areas.
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`
10,000
crore
for upgradation
have been indicted
by the CoI for various
charges including arson
and assault. The army
personnel include 17
Junior Commissioned
Ofcers (JCOs) and 147
jawans as per Army
sources. Disciplinary
action in connec-
tion with the incident
against the personnel
may also lead to court
martial. The brawl
had left three ofcers,
including the CO, and
eight jawans of 226
Field Regiment injured.
Major General Venu Gopal, outgo-
ing GOC of Karnataka and Kerala
sub-area of the Army revealed that
ninety ve acre of defence land has
been encroached in Karnataka. As
per requirement, the Army should
have had 8,772 acres in the state in
view of the number of Army estab-
lishments; however, the Army has
only 4,435 acres out of which 95
acres had been encroached upon.
The Army had reclaimed seven
acres from the encroachers that
dated back to 1979-80. Though the
encroachments had been chal-
lenged in court by the Ministry
of Defence, the state government
has made an offer to Army on
alternative land on the outskirts of
Bengaluru city.
In view of the pending investigation
in the AgustaWestland bribery case,
India delayed a decision on a deal
to buy 197 light-utility helicopters.
In 2007, a similar tender to buy 197
helicopters for the army for $550
million (`3,000 crore Approx) col-
lapsed after claims of irregularities
in the eld trials.
Indias defence deals met a
setback after revelations of Agus-
taWestland bribery case came into
light after Italian police arrested the
head of defence group Finmecca-
nica over allegations that subsidiary
AgustaWestland paid bribes to win
a $750 million (`4,250 crore Approx)
deal to supply 12 luxury helicopters
to India. While looking into the Fin-
meccanica deal, Italian investiga-
tors said they found papers suggest-
ing a serving Indian army brigadier
offered to help AgustaWestland win
the contract for the 197 helicopter
in return for a $5 million (`275 crore
Approx) bribe. India plans to spend
$100 billion (`5,50,000 crore Ap-
prox) to upgrade its military
hardware to match its grow-
ing economic clout and
keep up as China and
Pakistan modernise
their own defence
capacities.
OF DEFENCE LAND
ENCROACHED
95
acre
CHOPPER PURCHASE
DELAYED 197
Punjabs unique VIP
culture is an obvious
reason behind the dete-
riorating law and order
situation in the state.
According to a
recent report by the
Punjab government,
the state has a list of
1,294 VIPs enjoying the
security cover of 4,121
Punjab police person-
nel. With this number,
Punjab has topped the
list of VIP protectees
1 COP
FOR355
3
CITIZENS
FOR EACH
VIP IN PUNJAB
in the country, leaving
behind Delhi (436) and
Assam (390). Punjab
police spends `15.57
crores yearly for VIP
protectees that range
from SGPC chief and
members, dera heads,
police ofcers facing
criminal inquiries and
cabinet ministers. Only
34 cops are protecting
29 Punjab and Haryana
high court judges, while
548 cops are moving
India is set to undergo
major upgradation of
its entire eet of over
2,000 infantry combat
vehicles which includes
advanced weaponry
and night-ghting
capabilities. The Army
is pushing for speedy
modernisation of the
1.13 million force.
Defence Ministry
will shell out an estimat-
ed cost of `10,000 crore
for the up gradation.
The armament upgrade
alone, for instance,
would worth over
`5,000 crore, with the
BMPs to be equipped
with two twin-missile
launchers on each side,
2nd-generation-plus
ATGMs (Anti-Tank
Guided Missiles) and
30-mm automated
grenade launchers. The
armoured corps has al-
ready inducted around
800 of the planned 1,657
Russian-origin T-90S
tanks and 124 indig-
enous Arjun tanks (the
Mark-II version of
which is being de-
veloped with 89 im-
provements), apart
from upgrading its
old warhorse eet
of T-72 tanks.
along with 351 judicial
ofcers posted in
various districts.There
are four Z+ category
VIPs, including Punjab
deputy chief minister
Sukhbir Badal, who
heads the Punjab police
as the home minister
and moves along with
30 cops and radio
frequency jammer
vehicles. Punjab has six
Z- category VIPs.
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INTERNALSECURITY
May 2013
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GENERALS AND
GENERALSHIP
COVERSTORY
May 2013
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www.geopolitics.in
IS THE INDIAN ARMY REALLY FACING A CRISIS WITH THE
QUALITY, CALIBRE AND COMMITMENT OF ITS SENIOR OFFICER
RANKS? RAJ MEHTA ATTEMPTS A HARD-NOSED ASSESSMENT
OF THE PROBLEM AND ITS PRAGMATIC RE-ORIENTATION
T
he rank General rst came into
use in 1660, when King Charles II
of England used it for anointing
George Monck who he appointed to com-
mand the English Army on his behalf. Today,
Chambers dictionary rules that A General
can be any leader especially when regarded
as a competent one. Collins dictionary de-
nes the art of Generalship as The leader-
ship ability of a military General. Seen in
context, Generalship is leadership exercised
by competent Generals.
With much of the world in turmoil ght-
ing external aggression and internal strife
and with the remote possibility of a nuclear
war being engineered thoughtlessly by a buc-
caneering North Korean General and its su-
preme leader, Kim Jong-un, it is fair to won-
der about the direction in which Generals
and their Generalship are headed, and more
so in our context.
It is educative here, to examine what the
iconic American General, Douglas Macar-
thur felt drove Generals and Generalship:
Duty, Honour, Country. This phrase, taken
from General Douglas Macarthurs moving
farewell address to West Point ofcer ca-
dets, coincidentally captures the essence of
To create a strategic culture and develop it to the point of enumerating grand strategy requires
strategic integritythe skillsets to listen and to accept divergent viewpoints emerging from a
conceptual framework of analysis based on multi-disciplinary methodology. We have the third
largest armed forces in the world but have not even rationalised the role of Professional Military
Education (PME) within the ambit of higher education in India.
Prof Gautam Sen
a respected ex-Army military strategist and teacher
As matters stand now, a private who loses a rifle suffers far greater consequences than a General
who loses a war.
Lieutenant Colonel Paul Yingling
(Retd), US Army.
G
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COVERSTORY
a subtler, deeper Indian variation: Naam,
Namak, Nishan freely translated as Hon-
our, Integrity, Country. These deathless
words that have dened the Indian mili-
tary ethic evolved on the killing elds of
Kurukshetra and are meant to be imple-
mented through their soldiery, by Gener-
als displaying great Generalship. There
can be no disagreement with General Ma-
carthur when he said that These words
do not constitute a amboyant phrase.
Something that every (current) dema-
gogue and cynic will mock and ridicule
These words build your basic character;
mould you as custodian of the nations
defence. They teach you to be proud and
unbending in honest failure, but humble
and gentle in success; to learn to stand
up in a storm but to have compassion on
those who fall; to master yourself before
you seek to master others; to have a heart
that is clean, a goal that is high; to learn to
laugh, yet never forget how to weep. They
teach you to be an ofcer and a gentle-
man. The code, he intoned, embraces
the highest moral laws or philosophies
ever promulgated.
For India, its ancient Naam, Namak,
Nishan ethic was given a modern, explicit
implementation code by Field Marshal Sir
Philip Chetwode, Commander-in-Chief
India. Delivering his address at the inau-
guration of the Indian Military Academy
in 1932, he opined that the safety, hon-
our and welfare of your country come
rst, always and every time. The honour,
welfare and comfort of the men you com-
mand come next. Your own ease, comfort
and safety come last, always and every
time.
How do our Generals measure up in
implementing this demanding and sa-
cred Corporate Governance credo of In-
dias Armed Forces? Most observers would
agree with an overall B GradeNot bad;
could be much better.
Ben Kohlmann, an analyst, whose April
2012 article in Small Wars Journal:The
Military Needs More Disruptive Think-
ers has created worldwide military inter-
est because of its stark identication of
what is wrong with militaries worldwide
- reinforcement of status quo and medi-
ocrity over merit and a distinct inability
to keep pace with changing times, inno-
vation and new media. He quotes Joshua
Ramo to make his key point: Weve left
our future largely in the hands of people
(read ofcers) whose single greatest char-
acteristic is that they are bewildered by
the present. He says that a large (mili-
tary) bureaucracy thrives best when it
can promote the average individual in a
one-size ts all ascension programme.
This, however, necessitates sloughing off
the highly talented instead of promoting
them in accordance with their ability. He
adds that we should, on the contrary, be
developing individuals who can see con-
nections across a myriad of professions
and intellectual pursuits. This is not pos-
sible in a vertically integrated organisa-
tion like the military which hates change.
You cant innovate and have a long term
impact if you are only surrounded by like-
minded people. Challenging the status
quo, he adds, is anathema to most mili-
tary careerists. The article notes that the
ofcer learns how to function within the
system that promoted him. So we get of-
cers who think small, dont understand
the importance of broad understanding
and miss the trends that are shaping our
world. The indictment may be savage
and hurts. It is, however, quite symptom-
atic of not just the US Army, but, to a large
measure, the Indian Army (read Indian
Armed Forces) as well.
Are Generals and Generalship under public
scrutiny world-wide?
The question appears to be justied con-
sidering the current reality. In America,
the much lionised, media-savvy General
David Petraeus, who was not long ago
considered as Americas best General
since George Washington; the worlds
leading counter-terror expert and a po-
May 2013
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www.geopolitics.in
H

L

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H
HISTORIC SURRENDER: Pakistans Lieutenant
General A A K Niazi (right) signing the Instrument of
Surrender while surrendering to Lieutenant General
Jagjit Singh Aurora of the Indian Army (left) at the
National Stadium Dacca
gg
COVERSTORY
tential Presidential candidate is languish-
ing in shame and calumny. The FBI rev-
elation that he betrayed the nations trust
and his marital vows by having an affair
with a subordinate ofcer, led to his sack-
ing and fall from grace. In Sri Lanka, ex-
Army Chief Sarath Fonseka, lauded for
defeating and eliminating the LTTE Su-
premo, Prabhakaran, was recently award-
ed Presidential pardon after languishing
in jail on charges of high treason. In Paki-
stan, the narcissistic Commando who
boasted in his poorly written In the Line
of Fire, that he broke the sacred Cadets
Honour Code while under training at the
Pakistani Military Academy; General Per-
vez Musharraf, is now in Pakistan; allowed
to participate in the forthcoming general
elections on bail. Musharraf is facing trea-
son, war against Pakistan as well as mur-
der charges.
The Indian situation: The media, experts
and Think-tank view
In India, the legal system is examining
whether several senior ofcers gleaned
unfair advantage in the allotment of ats
meant for war widows. The traumatic ex-
Army Chief-Government stand-off on
several counts including personal issues
has left the country shaken. The integrity
of a former Air Chief is reportedly under
investigation as unsubstantiated media
reports suggest his unethical involvement
in a Government-driven aircraft purchase
deal; an allegation that dees logical ex-
planation, because his was an advisory
role. Overall, cases involving impropriety
by senior defence services ofcers are also
on the rise.
So what gives? If Generals (and equiv-
alent ranks in the Navy and Air Force) are
indeed competent and Generalship a
display of their manifold leadership skills,
why is there a serious mismatch across
continents between expectation and de-
livery?
In the Indian scenario, particularly
the media, especially television channels
have gone ballistic in breathlessly break-
ing news by the day about corruption in
senior military ranks; about sleaze, ques-
tionable deals, corruption, unprofes-
sional and sometimes morally-debased
conduct and an expanding disconnect
between military leaders and subordi-
nates and other damning indices of the
militarys poor internal health. This media
carps about the lack of intellectual abil-
ity of Generals to comprehend internal
security dynamics; and perverse depen-
dence on imported warlike equipment
and weapons as opposed to indigenously
developed weapon platforms. They con-
demn the apparent lack of military ability
in senior ofcers to execute war or even
understand war in its larger geo-political
and geo-strategic context. Take all this at
its face value and you cannot be blamed
for thinking that there must be a serious
problem at hand, at least in-so-far as In-
dia is concerned.
Readers need a knowledge base to
gure out how much of the savage in-
dictment that bombards us incessantly
is hype and what percentage hardcore
reality. For doing so, the author has used
the American experience with their Gen-
erals and their displayed Generalship. By
implication, not much can be said with
authority on the current Indian systems
because it is closed, hence not open to
public scrutiny.
Current American views on whats wrong
and what needs fixing?
Given its open-minded culture, America
has never had a dearth of writers on how
its military functions. Major General Mc-
Master is an outstanding serving Cavalry
ofcer rated a counter-terrorism expert.
A protegee of Petraeus, his other claim
to fame is his book; Dereliction of Duty
in which he savaged the top political,
bureaucratic and military hierarchy for
their failure during the Vietnam years
to provide a successful plan to pacify ei-
ther a Viet Cong insurgency or defeat the
North Vietnamese Army. His disciple,
Colonel John Nagl (Retd), also a Petraeus
guy is another brilliant ofcer, whose
book Learning to eat soup with a knife
is a counter-terrorism classic. It examines
American mistakes in senior leadership
roles in Iraq and Afghanistan.
It is, however, Colonel Paul Yingling
(Retd), a young Artillery ofcer, who set
the cat among the pigeons in the US mili-
tary establishment with his damning ar-
ticle, A Failure in Generalship published
in April 2007. He likens Iraq to Vietnam,
stating that for the second time, America
faced defeat at the hands of an insurgen-
cy. Because Vietnam was commanded by
different Generals than Iraq, he conclud-
ed that the US Generalship as an institu-
tion had failed, not individual Generals.
He proposed that Congress take more in-
terest in military affairs, especially when
conrming Generals. He stated bluntly
that the intellectual and moral failures
common to Americas General ofcer
corps in Vietnam and Iraq constitute a
crisis in American Generalship. He added
that the system that produces our Gen-
erals does little to reward creativity and
moral courage and instead, sought con-
formity because those senior ofcers who
select Generals were themselves con-
formists. He added, It is unreasonable to
expect that an ofcer who spends 25 years
conforming to institutional expectations
will emerge as an innovator when he be-
comes a General.
Yingling, therefore, suggested US
Congress oversight in selection, besides
changing the fundamental selection sys-
tem to a 360 degree evaluation system that
included peer and subordinate ratings of
seniors, so that people with creative in-
telligence, intellectual achievement and
moral courage got selected. Generals, he
wrote, have a responsibility to society to
provide policymakers with a correct esti-
mate of strategic probabilities. He said
that, by law, Congress had to conrm the
retiring rank of a three or four-star Gen-
eral to increase their accountability. Add-
ing that, as matters stand now, a private
who loses a rie suffers far greater conse-
quences than a General who loses a war.
By exercising its powers to conrm senior
retired ranks, Congress can ensure their
accountability.
Impact of the Yingling factor on the US
Army
The Yingling re-storm compelled the
TAKING COMMAND: The Supreme Commanders
on 5 June 1945 in Berlin; (from left to right) Bernard
Montgomery, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Georgy Zhukov
and Jean de Lattre de Tassigny
May 2013
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gg
INTERNALSECURITY
US military establishment to seriously
examine the internal health of its Gen-
erals and Generalship. That nothing
much has changed on the ground is not
Yinglings fault. It merely indicates that
management of change is always a chal-
lenge. The fact that Yinglings effort mat-
tered became clear when the US Army
Vice Chief took feedback from specially
selected, battle hardened young ofcers
undergoing a course at Fort Knox on what
they thought was the relevance of Paul
Yinglings article. He found a majority in
agreement. A summary:
Trust Gap between senior and junior
ofcers hurt because many young of-
cers have more combat experience
than their seniors and trust their in-
stinct more than they trust orders.
This accounted for an increase in of-
cers leaving the military while still
very young.
No-mistake: Army ofcers believe
that youre only one mistake away
from career end. Ofcers question
whether it is worth investing years
only to have one report kill them.
Seniors avoid risks for fear of failing.
Making a platoon leader learn from
mistakes rarely happens.
Marketability: There is concern with
post-Army marketability: Young of-
cers wonder Why stick around for
20 years with poor benets when the
civilian sector offers increased pay,
benets, stability, and quality of life?
Soldiers First; We Care for Soldiers:
These are seen as empty slogans be-
cause the erosion of benets is too
real to overlook. A year-long waiting
list for housing every two years makes
wives unhappy. Female ofcers have a
difcult time balancing military and
family life because day-care facilities
are inadequate.
ShiftinArmypersonality: From being
an envied way of life, it has become
just another overworked job without
time for unwinding. Units operate at
80 per cent intensity level all the time,
leaving no time for rest, recupera-
tion, and rebuilding unit cohesion.
Micro-management: Virtually every
ofcer felt that division commanders
were commanding companies and
brigade commanders platoons.
Mentoring: The group felt that men-
toring was a synonym for favorit-
ism. The Army should initiate an
Ofcer Professional Development
Programme, where senior ofcers
spend one-two days per week edu-
cating subordinates for studying and
learning their trade while NCOs run
the garrison.
Top-down loyalty: Most young of-
cers felt it does not exist. Senior lead-
ers will throw subordinates under the
bus in a heartbeat to advance their
careers.
Ethics: Most found it incredible that
senior leadership mentions ethics to
them.
Teaching at Schools of Instruction:
US military analyst Huba de Czege
puts it aptly: The crux of the prob-
lem is that ofcers are not system-
atically taught how to cope with un-
structured problems. This points to
linearity and development of too little
critical thinking in teaching. Training
schools do not teach coping with real
situations; focus on theory instead.
Instructors are not the best available.
PowerPointArmy: The Army leads by
ppts, does not conduct real training
and with too much focus on technol-
ogy simulation. Soldiers want to be
tough & realistic, not listen to fancier
Power Point briengs. The US Army is
a Talk Army; rather like the Russian
interpretation of NATO - No Action
Talk Only. The Army needs to return to
the basics.
SelfessService: Ofcers felt that Gen-
eral ofcers would gain much from
developing an understanding on self-
less versus selsh service. Most are
too preoccupied with their careers.
Other American views on Generals and
Generalship
The well known author of the 2007 best
seller, The Generals, Thomas Ricks, said
that the entire concept of future General-
ship in the US needs rethinking. He sug-
gested that not just Generals but civilian
ofcials too should be held accountable
when things go wrong. He emphasised
the need to add quality to the military
staff and war colleges. He supported the
sacking of incompetent Generals as prac-
ticed by the World War II great General
George Marshall, who he calls the Ameri-
can militarys Gold Standard.
Using American Metrics, where does the
Indian Army Stand?
One must salute the American military
penchant to read the Riot Act against it-
self without pulling punches. Such can-
dour is part of their military and national
culture. Regrettably, this ability is not part
of our military or national culture. For in-
stance, successive Indian Governments
have stonewalled demands to make the
Henderson Brooks Report on the 1962 de-
bacle public. We do have our General Pe-
traeus equivalents if not better senior of-
cers but not too many thinking ofcers
of the McMaster-Nagl-Yingling-Kilcullan
class who could make it to General Ofcer
ranks.
That aside, the US experience begs a
candid answer on whether it is relevant
to the Indian Army. It is, but with some
qualications. For one, there is a huge dif-
gg
COVERSTORY
May 2013
(50)
www.geopolitics.in
BOOSTING UP:
Gen. Douglas
MacArthur
addressing
an audience
of 50,000 at
Soldiers Field,
Chicago, on his
first visit to the
United States in
14 years.
ference in the geo-strategic and geo-polit-
ical matrix of the two countries. America
has been a world power for much longer
than India has been a developing coun-
try. America has no worthwhile main-
land threat other than imported terror.
India was born in battle (1947) and has
remained engaged since with external as
well as internal enemies. Americas wars
are a consequence of its world power/
global policeman status. India ghts to
defend its sovereignty with limited re-
sources, of which the Army gets just a
small fraction. More tellingly, America
was truly victorious just once in the last
100 years when it led the global coalition
against Germany in World War II. Post that
war, it has won battles, engagements and
skirmishes but never another war. Viet-
nam haunts America just as 1962 haunts
us. Korea, Iraq and Afghanistan have been
wars America won (or is winning) only
notionally.
India, on the contrary, has enviable
successes to its credit except for its 1962
shame, and, along with the Israeli Army,
is today amongst the most combat-hard-
ened Armies of the world, having won
four of the ve wars it has fought; with the
caveat that both 1962 and the Sri Lanka
intervention were eminently forgettable.
War is a hive of interlinked activity of
which the military is just one small por-
tion. Ends, Ways and Means are a strategic
equation to attain national victory. Ends
are dened as the strategic outcome or
end state desired. Ways are the methods
(diplomatic, economic, technological,
coalition-led), the tactics and strategies to
achieve the ends. Means are dened as
the resources required achieving the ends,
such as the armed forces, their weapons
systems, money, political will, and time.
The Army is thus, just a small sub-set of
means. In other words, countries win or
lose wars, not Armies, even though the
popular belief and mindset is to the con-
trary, leading to often unwarranted and
ill-considered criticism of the armed forc-
es; criticism better directed at the Govern-
ment. The 1971 Indo-Pak war could have
been a complete victory for India as World
War II was for America except for the fact
that the Government of the day did not
think through the benets of taking the
Armed Forces on board at Shimla, thus
effectively letting Pakistan off the hook
and unthinkingly allowing Pakistan the
space which it has ruthlessly exploited to
conduct proxy war. The Bangladesh issue
could also have been handled differently,
had the Army been co-opted.
Macro Issues that Affect Indian Generals
and Generalship
Cheerful acceptance of the American
ndings is mandated, with the key dif-
ference being of scale, because, with a far
better combat record achieved in far more
hostile terrain, altitude and weather and
with a fraction of the American resources
and wealth, we certainly have a better
General ofcer and Generalship record.
What we clearly lack:
Over-arching strategic vision: We
could not inherit the British strate-
gic vision which was tailored to suit
their national interests and havent
bothered to make one of our own.
Our Generals seem comfortable with
the stalemate rather than proactively
nudging Government to formulate an
overarching strategic vision.
Defence not a national priority: De-
fence is not a priority with Gover-
nance; it becomes an issue only when
sovereignty is threatened.
Ostrichoutlook: While candour, criti-
cal thinking and self-dependence are
an established American ethic, we are
savagely decient. Instead, we cope
resignedly with increasing corruption,
declining integrity, linear thinking; are
rabidly anti-intellectual; suffer from
lanyard-itis (favouring ofcers of the
same arm/service/unit/shared inter-
ests) and reward mediocrity.
Out-of-the-boxoutlook: We deride an
intellectual/maverick outlook; have
not formalised indigenous weapon
system philosophies, and run predict-
able, linear exercises on Army courses
of instruction on which students with
the pinks (suggested solutions) pros-
per. The known is honoured; the
unknown feared. In this context, the
need to encourage and develop dis-
ruptive thinking which is led by an
entrepreneurial spirit of seeking and
innovation is critically needed. For-
mal collaboration between top notch
military and educational institutes for
mutual military-corporate benet will
not just improve Generals but equally
the quality of CEOs.
Indigenousweaponsplatforms: Their
development is only a notional pri-
ority for the General ofcer/politi-
cian/bureaucrat triad. Except in mis-
siles and communication equipment
where we have attained high stan-
dards, what is on offerfrom ries to
battle-tanks leaves the user cold. The
vexed problem of Generals/equivalent
ranks preferring foreign tanks, guns
and aircraftbecause they are reliable
over indigenous systems, while under-
standable, is against our security in-
terests. That reality notwithstanding,
all players involved with indigenous
systems have been apathetic and for
this, Generals must take their share of
blame. The DRDO, whose certication
is necessary before import is allowed,
is not keen on import. Instead, it rou-
tinely promises the moon but rarely
delivers as committed. For turf rea-
sons, they are reluctant in encourag-
gg
COVERSTORY
May 2013
(51)
www.geopolitics.in
GENERALSHIP TO
THE FORE: Intricate
and crafty planning
by the Allied Forces
Generals saw the
US soldiers entering
Rome and pushing
out the enemy
ing public-private interface.
Absent synergy: Chummy photo-ops
aside, the three services rarely see
eye-to-eye on operational and service
matters. Narrow service loyalties do
not allow our Generals to think-joint-
ght-joint - an indication of poor syn-
ergy of outlook.
HR Issues: The messy and parochial,
short-term, tenure driven implemen-
tation of ofcer selection norms and
whimsical changes in selection crite-
ria is a disturbing indictment of Gen-
erals and Generalship. It should have
stabilised over the 65 years it has been
around but hasnt, and is open to ma-
nipulation instead of being a by-word
for transparency and fair play. The sil-
ver lining? Reform is under way.
Too many Generals: The Army is not
just short of 13,100 ofcers but is in-
triguingly over-staffed in senior ranks.
A comparison with the Israeli De-
fence Forces (IDF) stafng pattern is
instructive. IDF has just one Lieuten-
ant General, sixteen Brigadiers and
forty Brigadier-Generals for all three
services. The Indian Army; almost
fourteen times the IDF had in 2010, 67
(Inspector Generals), 216 (Lieutenant
Generals), 216 (Major Generals) and
866 Brigadiers with many more in the
pipeline. This stafng is almost double
the IDF norm; sending wrong signals
to the environment and degrading
standards.
Dissent
How should Service Chiefs express dis-
sent to Government? Recent occurrences
have severely vitiated the military-civil
interface. The Gold Standard example
that Indian Generals could look at is that
displayed by General SHFJ Manekshaw,
faced with what he considered unviable
orders from his Prime Minister, he pri-
vately expressed his angst to her on the
enabling circumstances for launching the
1971 Indo-Pak war and won her respect
and approval for his tact and content. US
General George Marshall who headed the
World War II allied war effort, acquiesced
with President Roosevelt, his political
boss, on prioritisation of war effort even
though he disagreed. Events later proved
Roosevelt right, thereby, proving that the
military mind isnt always right on issues
of war ghting as war is political in nature.
Qualityoflife: It is an established fact
gg
COVERSTORY
that serious quality of life issues sepa-
rate the Generals from his subordi-
nates and not too many Generals are
taking concrete and visible steps to
narrow the yawning gap. With over a
1000 suicides amongst enlisted men
in the main, since 2003, and increas-
ing numbers seeking early release, the
issue is serious.
Low Intensity Confict Operations
(LICO): This span externally aided ter-
ror and internally fuelled insurgency
and has extracted a huge price out of
the Army, which nds itself murder-
ously straitjacketed, over-committed,
under-staffed and under-resourced
besides facing public ire. By its nature,
this war is a decentralised; a small unit
war. By implication, those who com-
mand such wars at senior levels are
often at odds with younger ofcers
who either learn from mistakes, die
from them, get maimed, or cover up
if such is the senior ofcers demand.
These differing perceptions leave a
trust void between leaders and led.
Professional Military Education
(PME): Induction at ofcer entry
Academies, and training at Army
Schools of Instruction is another key
issue. This author had examined in
clinical detail, the rot in which our pre-
mier training academies are engulfed
with in an article titled Grim Portents
in November 2011 issue of Geopoli-
tics. The broad message was that we
continue with antiquated selection
and training norms that were current
60 years ago but today stand exposed
as grossly inadequate for meeting the
challenges of the modern battleeld.
Grim Portents had suggested a radical
revamp; establishment of oversight
by appointing an ombudsman and
getting the mind-numbing physi-
cality out of the syllabus, especially
its unauthorised, unscheduled and
destructive off-parade avatar. Noth-
ing much has changed, in spite, the
NDA facing problems now regularly
in media glare. It is equally regrettable
that the militarys focus during most
courses in terms of intellectual de-
velopment stops at linear exams and
memory testing rather than educat-
ing young minds to think out of the
tactical box. When liberal education
is nally allowed the ofcer is already
templated A case of too little, too
late.
QuoVadis: The Armys Training Com-
mand (ARTRAC), which was created
on the US pattern to upgrade the
Armys training remains rmly and
pathetically anchored in outdated
norms. This has resulted in creating a
well trained but hardly well educated
Army which can respond to an ever
changing battle scenario with aplomb,
efciency and balance. Most training
establishments under ARTRAC are, of
course, headed by Generals.
Misdirected Media criticism: While
the military does not expect or en-
courage media to get embedded in
the US manner, it is taken aback at
the endless diatribes that especially
the television medium and some
committed experts from diverse aca-
demic, media and sometimes service
backgrounds hold forth on all aspects
of the three services. They (the TV
medium leading) regularly savage the
uniformed forces with innuendos and
insinuations which have often been
proved false or hyped. While the me-
dia watch-dog role is necessary and
keeps the forces on their toes, excess
negative reportage and absence of
balanced reportage that seeks to un-
derstand why things happen the way
they do, has started affecting the mo-
rale of the mainstream Army; hardly
a desired development in a country
whose Armed Forces, man for man
compare with the worlds best.
Recommendations
Conventional armies the world over are
in the vice-like grip of rapidly changing
war ghting scenarios; exploding knowl-
edge bases of especially the younger gen-
eration that grew up with new media and
have mastered its intricacies far more
than those who are now Generals. Couple
that with growing aspirations and more
combat experience of the young than
their seniors and you have a lethal cock-
tail of either potentially world class lead-
ers or fall-outs who have the potential to
implode if not mentored right.
Americas senior leadership problems
are, with conditions attached Indias prob-
lems also and have been candidly por-
trayed as such. Indias special problems
have also been highlighted. Seen with
detachment, it is clear that the problems
affecting Generals and Generalship in the
Indian context are serious and should not
be disregarded. On the contrary, the Gov-
May 2013
(52)
www.geopolitics.in
gg
INTERNALSECURITY
May 2013
(54)
www.geopolitics.in
O
n Sunday morning, September 16,
1990, I opened my front door and
retrieved the Washington Post off
my front porch. Before I got back inside, I
saw the headline US to Rely on Air Strikes
if War Erupts. I read through the article,
my anger rising. During the hours of
plane interviews, Dugan
1
had apparently
talked to journalists about specic targets
we would hit if war came-Saddam per-
sonally, his family, and his mistress. Hed
talked about numbers and types of air-
craft deployed in the region, declared air
power to be the only answer thats avail-
able to our country if we wanted to avoid
a bloody land war, and said the American
public would support the operation in the
Gulf-until body bags come home
I called Scowcroft
2
, who was sched-
uled to be on CBSs Face the Nation in a
few hours. He would be asked about the
story. We agreed that Brent would make
clear Dugan did not speak for the admin-
istration. Then I left and went for a walk
alongside the C&O Canal to cool down.
A few hours later, back at home, I read
the piece again. And I got angry again.
I picked up the phone and called the
president at Camp David. He was on the
tennis court, but when he called back a
short while later, I told him I had decided
I might have to relieve General Dugan
based on his comments in the piece. The
president said I should do what I needed
to do, and he would back me up.
I did not take the prospect of ring the
Air Force chief of staff lightly. Dugan was
a good man with a distinguished career,
who had been in his job less than three
months. But he had dis-
played terrible judgement.
I worried that if I tolerated
what he had done, other
generals would step out of
bounds, and as the nation
prepared for the prospect of
war, I couldnt tolerate loose
cannons in senior ranks. I made notes on
the article and a list of the most serious
problems arising from what Dugan had
done. I decided I would call Dugan in and
ask him whether the news stories were ac-
curate. If they were, I would relieve him.
I asked Joe Lopez
3
to have Dugan re-
port to my ofce at eight the next morn-
ing. Just before eight I met with my dep-
uty Don Atwood and General Powell
4
.
I told them I planned to relieve Dugan.
I think Powell was surprised. He knew
Dugan had made a mistake in sharing so
much information with the press, but I
dont think he believed I would re Dugan
over it. He didnt object. He left my ofce,
but I wanted a witness in the room and
asked Atwood to remain. General Dugan
came in and took a seat. I went through
the major points in the articles and asked
the general if hed been accurately quot-
ed. He said he had. I told him I needed
his resignation by the end of the day. He
took it like a man, saluted smartly, and
left. I placed another call to the president
to inform him that I had indeed relieved
General Dugan. I recommended Gen-
eral Tony McPeak
5
, an F-15 pilot, as Du-
gans replacement, and in short order the
president nominated him and the Senate
conrmed him. Some days later, McPeak
introduced me to a group of retired air
force four-stars. This is Secretary of De-
fence Dick Cheney, he said. He wasnt
the presidents rst choice, either.
Excerpts from Dick Cheneys IN
MY TIME: A Personal and Political mem-
oir (Richard Bruce Dick Cheney was
the 46th Vice President of the United
States from 2001 to 2009, under President
George W Bush. He was the Secretary of
Defence during the presidency of George
H W Bush, holding the position for the
majority of Bushs term from 1989 to 1993.
During his time in the Department of De-
fence, Cheney oversaw the 1991 Opera-
tion Desert Storm, among other actions.)
1. General Michael J. Dugan was the Chief
of Staff of the United States Air Force for 79 days
in 1990 and was dismissed by United States
Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney after telling
reporters that the US military planned to target
Saddam Hussein, his family, and even his mis-
tress in the Gulf War with Iraq.
2. Brent Scowcroft was the United States
National Security Advisor under US Presidents
Gerald Ford and George H W Bush.
3. Admiral Thomas Joseph Lopez, a re-
tired United States Navy four star admiral who
served as Commander in Chief, U.S. Naval
Forces Europe/Commander in Chief, Allied
Forces Southern Europe from 1996 to 1998.
4. Colin Luther Powell was the 65th United
States Secretary of State, serving under US Pres-
ident George W. Bush from 2001 to 2005, the
rst African American to serve in that position.
5. Merrill Anthony Tony McPeak was the
15th Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force.
He replaced General Michael J. Dugan.
gg
COVERSTORY
POLITICAL COMPULSIONS FACING GENERALSHIP
ernment has a national obligation to set
Military Reform Commission to improve
and synergise the core systems which can
provide us quality Generals and thereby,
Generalship across the Services.
In his well written 2005 biography of
twelve Generals, Major General VK Singh
(Retd) showed that India has its quota
of war tested and experienced Gener-
als who command respect and always
will. This author is aware of recent, radi-
cal HR efforts by the Army to improve
our ofcer personnel management. He
is also well versed with some dedicated
senior eld commanders who lead by
example and wannabe Generals who are
top-class. Any effort, therefore, to paint
the entire General ofcer cadre black is
clearly a case of over-reaction and lack
of ground knowledge as well as basic re-
search by expertsof which we have a few.
This is unfortunate. In the nal analysis,
the General JFC Fuller formulation for
great generalscourage, creative intelli-
gence and physical tness remains quite
a few Indian Army General Ofcers credo,
though many more are needed. Add to
that the quality of what General Wavell
called privileged irascibility, by which
he meant that controlled outbursts of
temper are often admired, even expected
of great leaders, and his nal, hard learnt
point of being able to communicate well
with political superiors and you have
core DNA that makes great Generals.
Our Generals will be well served to
combine these attributes with the time-
less ethic of Service before Self (not the
other way around) and Naam, Namak,
Nishan (Honour, Salt, Flag). All that is left
is to be a Mai-Baap (Mother-cum-Father)
for subordinates; a message so universal
and transparent that it needs no ampli-
cation. This deadly combo will certainly
guarantee us the elusive Victory in War
that all nations yearn for.
The author is a retired Major General
May 2013
(54)
www.geopolitics.in
geopolitics
INTERNAL SECURITY
CYBER THREAT
ARE WE READY?
Cyber Terror poses a formidable challenge to global
security and economic stability.
INTERNAL SECURITY B R I E F S
May 2013
(56)
www.geopolitics.in
ATMS IN
MAHARASHTRA
PRISONS

In a move to upgrade
Maharashtra prisons,
Home Minister RR Patil
has given his consent to
the proposal of installing
ATMs in prisons across the
state. The state govern-
ment is set to provide SBI
ATM services in Yerwada
Jail, Pune Jail and Central
jail in Nagpur.
The ministry has as-
sured the bank that the
police would be respon-
sible for security. The
government will make
land available to banks to
set up the machines and
deposit rent received to
the family welfare funds in
each prison.

NIA has ap-

pointed se-
nior IPS ofcer NR
Wasan as its new Director
General. Wasan, a 1980
batch Andhra cadre of-
cer, was presently serving
as the additional Director
General of the NIA.
He was appointed after
incumbent DG S C Sinha
moved to the NHRC. He
will hold charge until a reg-
ular DG, NIA, is appointed,
or until further orders. Be-
fore being appointed Ad-
ditional DG (NIA), he was
OSD in Andhra Pradesh
Bhawan, New Delhi.
N R WASAN NEW
DIRECTOR
GENERAL
OF NIA
DELHI FALLS SHORT OF WOMEN COPS
J&K POLICE AT
INDO-NEPAL BORDER

After Liyaqat Ali Shah controversy, the gov-

ernment is set to deploy Jammu and Kash-
mir Police personnel along with the Sashas-
tra Seema Bal on the Indo-Nepal border to
streamline the surrender of former militants.
As part of the J&K governments rehabilita-
tion policy, the government is now set to
make the Nepal border route ofcial. The
MHA is now planning to frame standard
operating procedures for the surrender of
former militants, after consulting J&K, Uttar
Pradesh, Punjab and Delhi governments.
J&K Police personnel will be posted at 15
points along the border and will be respon-
sible for escorting the former militants to
Kashmir.
NEW LEAVE POLICY FOR PARA-MILITARY MEN
NIGHT VISION GEAR
FOR REBELS

The National Investigation Agency investigat-

ing the case of night vision equipment being
procured by left wing ultras has taken a curious
turn. NIA has neither found any evidence nor has
it been established that seized cartons of night
vision equipment recently procured were headed
to the red corridor. The company, however, has
been found to have forged letters in Jharkhand
governments name to procure the consignment.
The NIA FIR has charged the company with wag-
ing war against the country apart from cheating
and forgery.
NIA now suspects that someone from the
government may have a role in this case. The
ministry of home affairs had recommended im-
port of passive night vision goggles and night vi-
sion device with goggle worth `32.5 lakh through
the company in end-2011
and it was also
approved by
Director Gen-
eral of Foreign
Trade.

Delhi Police faces a shortage of

women cops after the December
16, 2012 gang-rape. The Home Min-
istry had proposed that each of the
capitals 180 police stations should
have nine women personnel after
the gruesome gang-rape.
A proposal for recruiting 3,000
women personnel in the force has
already been sent to the ministry.
Delhi Police has a strength of 85,000
of which around 5,700 are women.
Delhi has 87 women inspectors as
compared to 1,313 men and 265
women sub-inspectors in the force
out of 44,945 sub-inspectors.
In 2003, Delhi Police made it
mandatory that all women-related
crime cases should have at least
one woman investigator. H

C

T
I
W
A
R
I
J
&
K

P
O
L
I
C
E
C
R
P
F

The government introduced a new leave policy to overcome rising suicide

rates in the Central Armed Police Forces. The new leave policy will ensure
that jawans are treated fairly against rising stress-related issues.
In the last two months 14 personnel ended their lives due to personal
problems. According to a Home Ministry gure, nearly 352 para-military
men killed themselves since 2010. Suicide cases were mainly
due to the mental illness, marital discord, depression and in
few cases suicide was triggered due to work-related stress.
1,483 personnel of the CRPF and 997 in the BSF have
resigned from the service in the past ve years.
INTERNAL SECURITY B R I E F S
May 2013
(57)
www.geopolitics.in

Women constitute only

5.33 per cent of police forc-
es despite growing demands
for more representation. As
per the Home Ministry sta-
tistics, there are only 84,479
women out of 15,85,117 per-
sonnel working in state police
forces. Besides, there are just
499 all-women police stations
in the country out of a total
15,000 stations.
Uttar Pradesh has 2,586
women police personnel
which is 1.49 per cent of the
total 1,73,341 personnel while
Bihar has 1,485 policewomen
(2.18 per cent) in Bihar out of
the total 67,964 police person-
nel. Madhya Pradesh, where
the highest number of rapes
took place in 2011, has 3,010
policewomen (3.93 per cent)
out of the 76,506 personnel.
Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu
and Chandigarh have fairly
better statistics of 14.89 per
cent, 10.57 per cent and 13.48
per cent of women police
personnel respectively while
Delhi has 7.13 per cent police-
women.
5.33% WOMEN IN POLICE FORCES

Countrys largest para-

military force CRPF has
appointed senior IPS ofcer
Aruna Bahuguna as the new
Special Director General. She
has become the rst woman
ofcer to hold the second top
post in the hierarchy of the
force. She was till now serving
as the Chairman of the AP po-
lice housing corporation. The
Central Reserve Police Force

CRPF will soon use private

choppers for anti-naxal
operations. It has already
oated bids to hire private
choppers after several run-
ins with the IAF. CRPF will,
however, assume no respon-
sibility if the choppers come
under re from insurgents.
In a bid document, CRPF has
specied to hire two private
choppers for supervisory
reconnaissance by senior of-
cers besides carrying troops,
supplies like weapons and ra-
tions and casualty evacuation.
However, the responsibility of
the choppers safety will rest
on the private company. The
choppers are to be stationed
at Jagdalpur in Chhattisgarh
and Ranchi in Jharkhand but
may be used in other naxal-
affected states.
PRIVATE CHOPPERS FOR
ANTI-NAXAL OPERATIONS
CMS GAVE A MISS TO SHINDES MEETING

A chief ministers meeting

that was being viewed as an
attempt to hear views on the
suggestions in the Fifth Re-
port on Public Order of Sec-
ond Administrative Reform
Commission was skipped
by most of the chief minis-
ters this April. Only seven
chief ministers attended the
meeting. The conference also
saw chief ministers taking
on the government over the
issue of intrusion into their
domain since law and order
was a state subject. Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh,
who usually attends the chief
ministers conference, was
also absent along with some
Congress chief ministers of
Maharashtra and Rajasthan.

Ministry of Home Affairs Resident Identity

Card (RIC) may be further delayed due to the
turf war between the UIDAI and the MHA. The
Group of Ministers (GoM) formed to apprise the
Cabinet on the National Population Register and
Aadhaar is yet to decide on discussing the secu-
rity implications of the proposed smart card with
RIC ofcials. In its rst meeting, the GoM was
informed that Aadhaar was not a card but only a
number and the RIC was the legal identity card.
MHAS SMART CARD PROJECT
NAXALITES SET UP
MILITARY SCHOOL

Naxalites have setup their own train-

ing institute in the forests of Dan-
dakaranya, to transform tribals into
professionals equipped to handle tasks
related to the Central Committee. The
Buniyadi Communist Training School
(BCTS), a brainchild of CPI (Maoist)
top gun Ganapathy, has been churn-
ing out professionally-trained Com-
munists since 2009 with basic military
skills and knowledge of hindi, social
studies, mathematics and science.
BCTS is said to have trained around
150 cadres so far.
(CRPF) has three sanctioned
posts for SDG and two of
these have been lying vacant
for close to four months. At
present, in the ofcers rank,
the force has four women
Deputy Inspectors General
and an equal number of com-
mandants.
S
V
P
N
P
A
P
I
B
J
&
K

P
O
L
I
C
E
FIRST WOMAN
SPECIAL DG FOR CRPF
May 2013
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www.geopolitics.in
matter of seconds. Indian cyber secu-
rity experts discovered thousands of top
secret Cabinet Committee on Security
(CCS) les and other documents related
to surface-to-air missile and radar pro-
grammes from DRDL, a DRDO lab based
in Hyderabad, among many other estab-
lishments. As security experts began to
track its origin, they discovered that all
the sensitive les stolen from the infected
systems were being uploaded on a server
in Guangdong province of China.
It may be noted that the Second World
War expanded the war to three fronts:
land, water and air. During the Gulf War,
I
ndia may claim to be a software
superpower but increasingly it is
being perceived as a soft power -
smiling tiger, a trusting people. It is
this weakness which Chinese power
and telecom companies have exploited.
By selling India cheap power and tele-
communication hardwaremodems,
mobiles, routers, optic bre cables, power
equipment, etc. they have managed to in-
ltrate Indias electrical and telecommu-
nications network, especially BSNL and
some private Indian players. While the
world is focussing on Blackberry, India
has ignored the security concerns of RAW
and other Indian security agencies, espe-
cially after Chinese cyber spies managed
to steal sensitive documents from com-
puters of Indian embassies, Indian Min-
istry of Defence, the PMO ofce in 2009.
The Chinese also attacked the Indian
Navy data centre in 2012 by incorporating
virus through USB drives.
The latest cyber attack by China was
on the DRDO in March 2013. According
to the technical intelligence wing NTRO
(National Technical Research Organisa-
tion), a le was attacked to hack the email
accounts of senior DRDO ofcials that
quickly spread through the system in a
SMILING
TIGER, SPYING
DRAGON
Internet is the final frontier
in this digital age and you
no longer need to conquer
and occupy other coun-
tries physically. In todays
scenario, control the infra-
structure remotely through
telecommunications and
you can control the country.
While cyber snooping isnt
new, methodical and sys-
tematic stealing and infection
through Chinese manufac-
tured hardware is giving
India a big headache these
days, writes
DEEPA KANDASWAMY
May 2013
(59)
www.geopolitics.in
gg
INTERNALSECURITY
the war was fought from land, water, air
and spacethrough remotely-controlled
missiles. Land warfare or mortal combat
has become outdated and is now relegat-
ed to the movies and hopefully in future,
wars will be fought in cyberspace. Cyber
armies and cyber spies are being trained
by West and China. But thanks to its huge
population, cheap manufacturing capa-
bilities, the Chinese have a trained army
of over 180,000 in cyber warfare; over
30,000 of them being cyber spies. Chinese
made hardwarecheap and lled with
malwarepose strategic threats to India
and the world.
This is a very real threat and Chinese
have proved they can attack anyone any-
where remotely rst through the Ghost
Net operationChinese hackers have
been stealing and modifying informa-
tion in 103 countries worldwide including
India. How do they do this? All Chinese
made electrical and telecom equipment
have call home chips and software em-
bedded in them. This can be directly ma-
nipulated from China. Not long ago, Brit-
ish Intelligence published a report saying
that one of the major strategic threats the
UK faced was the ability of the Chinese to
shut down Britain by crippling its com-
munications and utility networks remote-
ly and demanded they replace Huawei
manufactured equipment with locally-
made equipment as the internet was rid-
dled with Chinese traps: these are usually
websites that appear to be critical of Chi-
na. When you click on such links, malware
is automatically downloaded onto your
computer. Following the Ghostnet inves-
tigation by Canadian researchers, these
researchers also produced a report titled,
Shadows in the Cloud: An investigation
Into Cyberespionage 2.0. The report dealt
almost exclusively with how China has
managed to inltrate India and the Indian
focus on the cyber spy ring in China.
The India-focused spy ring in China
has used a simple way to inltrate In-
dian government, corporations, media
and inuential individuals. They send
a simple email with a link on which you
are asked to click. Once you do that, mal-
ware is downloaded on to the computer
and it progresses to steal and transmit
documents even when the computer is
switched off. Secondly, in case, you are
smart enough not to click on the links,
they use social networking sites like Twit-
ter, Blogs, Yahoo! Mail and Google Groups
to infect computers apart from telecom-
munications and broadband network in
India that run on Chinese-made hard-
ware. Thirdly, Chinese have taken advan-
tage of a rule we have in giving contracts
a foreign company cannot establish a
presence in an area of India where they
share a physical boundary. So, Chinese
companies cannot establish factories in
North India but can do so in South India
as it is in a region where we dont share
the boundary with China. So, companies
like Huawei and Zhongxing Telecom Co
Ltd (ZTE), especially Huawei whose PLA
and Chinese intelligence contacts are well
established, have been able to set up shop
in the heart of Silicon Valley of India: Ben-
galuru.
During 2004-2008, when the UPA
government was dependent on Left sup-
port for survival, Chinese companies
products were rushed through, at times
violating laws of security like ban on sale
of mobile phones without IMEI numbers
in India. These phones were bought by
local private operators and sold under
their own brand names. BSNL bought
broadband modems and routers made
by Huawei with Sterlite Industries and in-
stalled them all over India. By 2007, when
RAW and other agencies began to express
security concerns, further contract allot-
ments was delayed with some excuse or
the other by the UPA government. The
Indian government also warned private
players not to sell Chinese-made elec-
tronic or power equipment under their
own names. But the damage had already
been done as BSNL and others did not re-
place the already-installed equipment in
government ofces and embassies world-
wide immediately.
Only from 2009, when the PMO ofce
incident happened, did the government
begin to take the security threat seriously.
In January 2010, the Indian Navy stopped
the installation of a Chinese-made ra-
dar system imported by the Indian Me-
teorological Department for real-time
monsoon predictions. The Navy was
concerned about allowing Chinese tech-
nicians to be present in sensitive zones.
Intelligence Bureau (IB) had warned
the Indian government about installing
foreign, especially Chinese-made, tele-
communications equipment in military
equipment. The Indian government re-
sponded by seeking an explanation from
Huawei and ZTE and asked them to allay
their security concerns! In May 2010, a re-
port in The Wall Street Journal stated that
India has given Huawei Technologies
Co. and ZTE Corp. one month to disclose
full details of their ownership, concerned
that foreign telecom equipment makers,
mainly from China, are a national securi-
ty threat as they can have spying technol-
ogy embedded in their equipment. While
Huaweis initial reaction was to rubbish
the concern, now they claim they will al-
lay the concern of Indians by establishing
a hardware factory in Chennai. With this
announcement, the Indian government
was somehow mollied about the secu-
May 2013
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www.geopolitics.in
to vanish for good, so he would know
something had been stolen?
Way back in 2005, the Prime Minster
rubbished the danger posed by Chinese
companies in their participation in infra-
structure projects like power and ports. In
2009, he learnt differently with the cyber-
attack of the PMO and now with the at-
tack on the DRDO, but in the past decade,
sometimes it had to be incidents of death
that convinced politicians that cheap
hardware and cyber warfare are real dan-
gers. Like the SEPCO accident in Chhat-
tisgarh, when the chimney being built at
Bharat Aluminum Company Ltd by Shan-
dong Electric Power Construction Corp.
(SEPCO) collapsed and claimed 41 lives.
Many Left-leaning Indian politicians saw
it as a conspiracy to help Western compa-
nies gain lucrative contacts while banish-
ing the Chinese! In 2006, when Chinese
were barred from participating in a deep
water port project in Kerala after Indian
security agencies raised concerns about
Chinese participation, Communist Party
of India (Marxist) objected to this. In
2011, the then Environment Minister Jai-
ram Ramesh, during his China trip, rub-
bished the fears of Indian intelligence
agencies and the Home Ministry for im-
posing, what he described as, needless
restrictions and for being paranoid about
Chinese investments and said, We are
imagining demons where there are none.
rity concerns and announced they would
deal with Huawei againthe same com-
pany the Obama administration refused
to allow inside the US for security reasons!
Most Indian CEOs from the IT and
Telecom sector are completely ignorant of
cyber-attacks and security risks posed by
hardware. Almost all politiciansyoung
and oldare ignorant of the security
implications of cyber warfare. In March
2010, while Sachin Pilot (Minister of State,
Telecom & IT) agreed that government
computers and government networks
had been attacked by Chinese, he rub-
bished claims about stealing of sensitive
documents as not one attempt has been
successful. Did he expect the document
S
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K
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P
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May 2013
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This, despite the theft of sensitive docu-
ments in 2009 and 2010 in Indian embas-
sies and Indian DRDO and PMO ofce.
These ill-informed statements show how
ignorant politicians are to our cyber secu-
rity concerns.
Apart from this, politicians promise
election freebies like free laptops in states
such as Tamil Nadu. While the company
is chosen by Electronics Corporation of
Tamil Nadu Limited (ELCOT) through the
auction process and it is students who get
free laptops, no security checks are run
on them. Even if it contains malware, the
problem begins only when students con-
nect it to the net either by using existing
network connections or obtaining data
cards made by ZTE (formerly Zhongxing
Telecommunication Equipment Corpora-
tion) which is cheap and popular in India.
This pollutes the network and spreads
the malware. Interestingly, the maximum
number of free laptops has been procured
from Lenovo, another Chinese company.
So, security concerns here have been
compromised.
Some common questions that can be raised
are:
1) What were classied documents do-
ing on computers that were linked to the
internet? Why arent classied documents
kept on computers with no networking,
no ports or disk drives? Isnt this a lapse
of Indian security system? The answer is
simplewhen something is just starting,
no one decides it is classied. This hap-
pens much later, also at some point of the
transfer of a le it will be shared across a
network. For example, a professor in NIT
gets a project for upgrading the design of
a missile. His research may go into the
classied folder stored on a department
server, but it does not mean this infor-
mation is entirely secure. So, if one has
enough people to consistently cyber stalk
a particular individual like the Chinese
do, it is possible.
2) Is India indulging in protectionism
as China welcomes Indian companies, es-
pecially IT companies? Not exactly. China
allows FDI and operations in 359 locations
inside China. Also, Chinese have only re-
cently allowed Indian IT companies and
that too only in places like Shanghai
which are zero sensitive. Foreigners can
travel to only around 1000 specied des-
tinations inside China. This is completely
unlike India. Indian companies cannot
and dont operate in Tibet, Xinjiang or the
Sichuan province where most of the Chi-
nese military establishments are located.
Secondly, the Chinese require that Indian
IT companies in China conne their busi-
ness to ofces of Western multinationals
and dont allow us access into Chinese
markets. They deter Indian companies
from entering the Chinese market place
by making it extremely expensive for for-
eign companies that make no business
sense to provide services or indulge in
infrastructure projects in China. So, India
is not indulging in protectionism while
China is doing so.
3) How can cybercrimes and snoop-
ing be possible when the computer or
modem is switched off? This is where the
malicious software (malware) comes in
as it does the job even when it is off and
transmits once it is turned on. After all,
since computers cannot operate without
software, we would be using it without
our knowledge.
While it is stupid to rubbish the con-
cerns of Indian intelligence as overcau-
tious, it is important that we do some-
thing about it. Can we ght the spying
dragon? Yes. We need a cyber warfare pol-
icy along with privacy and security policy
implemented on the ground. We have set
up a cybercrime division and have some
cybercrime laws. The Indian Navy has a
cyber-warrior division in the ofng after
they were attacked in 2012 and police
have cybercrime divisions. But we have a
long way to go as we dont have the hard-
ware or expertise at which western and
Chinese cyber spies operate.
This is not because we lack the ca-
pability but we do lack the will. We dont
even demand that Yahoo, Google and
other IT majors operating in India, apart
from social networking sites, protect us
by treating our privacy the same way they
do in other parts of the world. In the West,
one can opt out from the companys abil-
ity to sell private data to others.
Other than that, we can start by tak-
ing simple precautions by starting with
replacing all Chinese made telecom,
computer and power instruments with
our own. This means heavy Indian invest-
ment in hardware, which is worthwhile as
it will be also an investment into our secu-
rity and will provide employment to thou-
sands of young people. We need to devel-
op a good hacker community if we dont
want India in a re sale. We need to refuse
permission for Chinese made hardware
or Chinese subsidiary companies made
hardware to be sold in telecom, computer
and power sectors. Our networks need to
be free from malware. Private Indian play-
ers should face life time ban if they dont
replace hardware that are foreign made,
especially Chinese, Russian or American.
We need to train our own cyber warriors,
cyber spies monitoring networks and
have a strong cybercrime division so ac-
tion can be swift. Where there is will, well
nd a way.
The author, a senior journalist, specialises in
security issues
OPERATION RED
OCTOBER
Victims of adVanced cyber-
espionage network
gg
INTERNALSECURITY
May 2013
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www.geopolitics.in
B
ureaucracies dont ght net-
works. Networks ght net-
works. This is a lesson that
the Indian intelligence setup
needs to imbibe to defeat ter-
rorist, insurgent and other anti-state ac-
tivities both within and beyond the coun-
trys borders. Given the wide distractions
available in the world today, intelligence
bureaucracies are now quite susceptible
to single point failure issues. The old issue
of extended response times is likely to get
worse in a bureaucratic setup given the
rising complexity of human society itself.
Top down command and control setups
will increasingly nd themselves hard
A decentralised approach to intelligence will yield better results when tracking and hunting
down an enemy made up of cells and operating via cyberspace, globalised finance, familial
links and tactical alliances with other criminal and terrorist networks, argues SAURAV JHA
INDIA NEEDS A
NEW INTEL MINDSET
pressed to respond to the rapidly morph-
ing and temporary alliance making ad-
versaries that are extant today. In a world
characterised by nuclear deterrence net-
work superiority is the key.
After being defeated decisively by In-
dia in the World War II style conict in 1971
and losing half their country, Pakistani
planners decided to go nuclear. Proven
ssion designs like the CHIC-4 handed
down by the Chinese gave Pakistan the
spine to try its hand at more limited wars.
However, the Indian military defeated
Pakistani attempts in this sphere also, as
both the Siachen clashes and Kargil have
shown to the world. But even as the Paki-
stani Army was trying to hone its limited
war model, its Inter Services Intelligence
(ISI) along with the Central Intelligence
Agency of the US was incubating Islamist
terror for use against the Soviet Union. Af-
ter the Soviets left Afghanistan, Pakistan
began to expand its new core competence
and has now extended these networks be-
yond Kashmir to the rest of India under a
nuclear overhang.
Today, Pakistan is a state which excels
in creating networked criminal terrorist
entities that try to get the funding for anti-
India activities from Indian soil. In many
ways nuclear-derived terrorism is the
most ingenious export of Pakistan since
May 2013
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www.geopolitics.in
gg
DIPLOMACY
new agencies too will become adept at
post-event blame trading through selec-
tive leaks to the media, besides playing
the usual intra-agency secretariat games
once again aided and abetted by friends
in the media. In any case, the groupthink
syndrome aficting Indian agencies is a
direct result of the fact that the ofcers are
very literally drawn from the same group
the Union Public Service Commission
(UPSC) services.
It is high time that civilian Indian
agencies started drawing more people
from the military and directly recruiting
the necessary talent from the private sec-
tor. One must not forget that this is how
the legendary RN Kao built up Research
and Analysis Wing (R&AW) into a formi-
dable organisation during his watch. Of
course, R&AW has overtime gone the In-
telligence Bureau (IB) way and is becom-
ing yet another police heavy intelligence
agency.
The state of affairs unfolding today
is not just a question of playing out turf
battles. Indian intelligence is facing an
enemy that likes to divide itself up into
rapidly replaceable nodes who blur the
line between criminal and terrorist activ-
ity rather easily these days. While their
mother organisations make strategic
alliances with crime networks involved
in everything from intellectual property
theft to human trafcking (the latter be-
ing particularly useful for cross border
terror) the nodes make their own tacti-
cal alliances to engage in criminal en-
trepreneurship, masking their ultimate
objectives. Although truth be told, the
terror organisations of today, given their
own desire for sustainability, increasingly
seem keen to maximise inuence and
power beyond any one or two simplistic
political ends. This would be particularly
true of an organisation like the Lashkar-e-
Toiba, for instance.
Making the net-centric approach to
orchestrating terror simple is the massive
rise in telecommunications capability
across the world, leading to the discov-
ery of the required counterparty almost
virtually. Recruitment too has become
easy, as has radicalisation. The biggest fa-
cilitator of terrorist activity, however, has
been the increasing nancialisation of the
world economy with the rise of offshore
banking, tax havens and lax regulation. All
that a terrorist or criminal organisation
today needs to start moving illicit money
through seemingly above board channels
is for one bank to agree to route an ini-
tial transaction. Naturally, a horizontally
structured terrorist organisation is likely
to be dispersed enough to nd weak links
without themselves exposing their own
networks elsewhere that easily.
However, the money trail eventually
leads to superxers and brokers embed-
ded within our very own society who help
terrorist networks jump the wires as it
were. Without the contacts of these super-
xers, who may, otherwise, occupy very
respectable positions, terrorist nancing
and movement would not be half as easy.
They are the ones who enrich themselves
by facilitating in situ terrorist nancing
from Indian soil.
It is the emergence of these superx-
ers that makes hierarchical government
bureaucracies particularly vulnerable.
Given that the intelligence cycle in our
current structure ultimately leads to the
concentration of decision making, bro-
kers can much more easily obtain the
necessary results by simply corrupting
a senior ofcial and causing single point
failure. The worst part is that the compro-
mised government functionary may not
even realise who the broker is represent-
ing, given the latters diverse interests.
On the other hand, the broker may
actually also get away because of the
great deal of political intelligence he or
she possesses. After all, the same chan-
nels that launder money from the narcot-
ics trail can also be used to do the same
from political kickbacks. This is where
de-politicising Indias current intelligence
setup assumes the most urgent impor-
tance. There has to be some degree of
separation between the executive and
the work of the intel- community to en-
sure that issues related to say, vote bank
politics, do not get in the way of the ght
against terror.
Identifying the super-middlemen as it
were and getting levers on them, however,
requires that the intelligence agencies
themselves adopt a network centric ap-
proach and start building deep ties with
the private sector and between themselves
at every level. A decentralised approach to
intelligence will yield results when track-
ing and hunting down an enemy made up
of cells and operating via cyberspace, glo-
balised nance, familial links and tactical
alliances with other criminal and terrorist
networks. When the enemy breaks into
it came into existence. Of course, build-
ing troublesome networks is easier than
combating them as the recent Pakistani
experience itself shows. But then that
is cold comfort for India. Even as India
strengthens strategic deterrence, asym-
metric attempts at undermining Indian
state authority seem to be multiplying.
Unfortunately, however, the govern-
ment of the day seems to be responding by
multiplying bureaucracies as evidenced
by the setting up of the National Investi-
gation Agency (NIA), post 26/11-attack
on Mumbai. While ostensibly created to
unburden other agencies and fast track
terror investigations, we have, in the NIA
yet another undermanned agency look-
ing to justify its budget. Apparently, even
in the recent Hyderabad case, where jack-
ets saying NIA were quite visible, the
agency was given charge of the proceed-
ings with some reluctance, even though it
does have a eld ofce in Hyderabad. But
then that brings us back to the same issue.
What purpose will new agencies struc-
tured similarly to other agencies with the
same old muddle of branch ofces, pa-
perwork and cadre achieve?
Not that much by way of prevention.
And by prevention we mean the minimi-
sation of mass casualty terror attacks on
Indian soil and not merely claims about
neutralised cells. Of course, over time
May 2013
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www.geopolitics.in
nodes, it is better to do the same for track-
ing him. Naturally, this will lead to a very
different kind of intelligence cycle but it
will also increase the possibilities for di-
rect action though ground level coordina-
tion with small teams of law enforcement
agencies. Moreover, none of the smaller
nodes will know enough to comprehend
the larger picture. An analyst piecing it to-
gether would, but then they are the ones
most closely monitored by counter-intel-
ligence anyway.
Such an approach will also give India
a bigger bang for the buck for its intel-
ligence rupees. At the moment the eco-
nomics of the intelligence war clearly fa-
vours the terrorists given that the funding
and time required for planning terrorist
strikes has reduced dramatically owing
to the societal changes already discussed.
On the other hand, Indias intelligence
agencies (to be fair in other countries
as well) seem consumed by the need to
source ever superior technical intelli-
ing themselves. It is up to the Indian intel-
ligence setup to convince them that it is
better to cooperate.
Interestingly, the way a terrorist or-
ganisation keeps control of its nodes is
essentially ideological. Yes, many youth
may be attracted by money but there is
no denying that ideological orientation
plays a major part. All wars are ultimately
about doctrine. It is here that Indias intel-
ligence community must fashion a doc-
trinaire which involves a move away from
command and control to a collaborative
framework that will attract patriotic In-
dian citizens towards contributing to na-
tional security as per their capacities. A
national strategic doctrine will allow In-
dias intelligence community to move out
of petty rivalries, become de-politicised
and engender networks oriented towards
a broad range of tasks. It is time that India
articulates a Grand Strategy for the repub-
lic that will galvanise its people to create
the networks needed for national security.
HOME MINISTRY
Intelligence Bureau (IB)
National Investigation Agency (NIA)
National Security Guard (NSG)
Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF)
Border Security Force (BSF)
Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB)
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
Central Industrial Security Bal (SSB)
Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP)
Assam Rifes
MINISTRY OF DEFENCE
Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA)
Military Intelligence (MI)
Directorate of Naval Intelligence (DNI)
Directorate of Air Intelligence (DAI)
Coast Guard
MINISTRY OF FINANCE
Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI)
Central Economic Intelligence Bureau (CEIB)
Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU)
Directorate of Enforcement (ED)
Directorate of Income Tax Intelligence (DITI)
PMO/CABINETSECRETARIAT
Research and Analyses Wing (RAW)
National Technical Research Org. (NTRO)
Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC)
MULTI AGENCY
CENTRE
Nodal centre for
all intelligence on
terrorism
FRAIL INTELLIGENCE
NETWORK
The 25 intelligence and security agencies
in the Multi Agency Centre have held over
1,000 meetings since January 1, 2009, but
have not been very effective.
gence gathering tools and fund liaison
trips to overcome the usual lament about
inadequate training.
It is now time to discard this approach
to create human resources. Naturally,
training needs to be updated, but the
fact is creating a cadre will not address
the clear and present danger of terrorist
networks in any reasonable timeframe.
Intelligence agencies are better off using
their resources, getting the necessary tal-
ent from the private sector by tapping in-
dividuals, forums and enterprises that are
already in the game because the terrorist
footprint today essentially involves lever-
aging the rise of the techno-commercial
sector.
And it is not about spreading the
change. Given that private corporations
are the rst to be probed by criminal ter-
rorist activity and affected by even things
such as contractor kidnappings which
could be a terror nancing source, they
would have a vested interest in safeguard-
MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS
Railway Protection Force (RPF)
geopolitics
FOR A
NEW WORLD
ORDER
Will Brazil, Russia, India, China
and South Africa be the harbin-
gers of the change in the present
structure of global power?
diLma RoUSSeF F
President of Brazil
VL adimiR PUTin
President of Russia
manmoHan SingH
Prime Minister of India
Xing Jin Ping
President of China
Jacob ZUma
President of South Africa
May 2013
(66)
www.geopolitics.in
O N L O O K E R
Former Soviet leader, Mikhail
Gorbachev, criticised the laws
adopted during Vladimir Putins
third presidential term as at-
tacks on the rights of citizens
and advised the current Russian
President to make adjustments
to his regime. Gorbachev also
criticised Putins inner circle
as full of thieves and corrupt
ofcials, who are nevertheless
successful at maintaining him
in power and reducing the risk
of a coup or revolt.
Gorbachev believes that
the restrictive laws passed
in recent times indicate that
Putin is tense and worried
about his capacity to maintain
Margaret Thatcher was the
Prime Minister of the United
Kingdom from 1979 to 1990.
She was the longest-serving
British Prime Minister of the
20th century and is the only
woman to have held the of-
ce. Her political philosophy
and economic policies em-
phasised deregulation (partic-
ularly of the nancial sector),
exible labour markets, the
privatisation of state owned
companies, and reducing the
power and inuence of trade
unions. Thatchers popularity
during her rst years in ofce
waned amid recession and
high unemployment, until the
1982 Falklands War brought a
resurgence of support, result-
ing in her re-election in 1983.
British Prime Minister Da-
vid Cameron said: It was with
great sadness that I learned of
Lady Thatchers death. Weve
lost a great leader, a great
Prime Minister and a great
Briton. American President
Barack Obama said With the
passing of Baroness Margaret
Thatcher, the world has lost
one of the great champions
of freedom and liberty, and
America has lost a true friend.
Here in America, many of us
will never forget her stand-
ing shoulder to shoulder with
President Reagan, remind-
ing the world that we are not
simply carried along by the
currents of historywe can
shape them with moral con-
viction, unyielding courage
and iron will.
Thatcher died on the
morning of April 8, 2013
in London after suffering
a stroke. Details of Lady
Thatchers funeral had been
agreed with her in advance.
In line with her wishes, she
received a ceremonial funeral
including military honours
similar to that of Winston
Churchillwith a church
service at St Pauls Cathe-
dral. It was held on April 17.
The service was attended
by Queen Elizabeth and 11
serving Prime Ministers from
across the world. The Union
ag at Downing Street and
Buckingham Palace ew at
half-mast as a sign of respect
to her memory.
In a veiled attack on his
Labour Party Successor Ed
Miliband, Former British
Prime Minister Tony Blair -
who was in ofce from 1997-
2007 and involved Britain in
the unpopular invasion of
Iraq, that ultimately helped
end his political career
- racked up a storm by
saying that, the Labour
party he led to three
election victories was
in danger of be-
coming a protest
movement with-
out electable
policies. The
statement
is being re-
garded as
his boldest
foray into
British poli-
tics since
Italian Foreign Minister Giulio
Terzi has resigned over his
governments decision to
return the marines to India
to face trial for the murder
of local shermen while
on anti-piracy duty. The
marines are facing trial over
the shooting of two sher-
men off the southern state
of Kerala in February 2012
MARGARET THATCHER
PASSES AWAY
TONY BLAIR FAULTS
ED MILIBAND
ITALIAN MINISTER RE-
SIGNS ON MARINE ISSUE
resigning. In an article he wrote,
Blair suggested the party looked
like it was offering austerity-hit
voters sympathy but few specic
remedies before a 2015 general
election. He wrote, The scenario
is more menacing than it seems.
He also wrote, The guiding prin-
ciple should be that we are the
seekers after answers, not the
repository for peoples anger.
As the conservative-led
government pushes through
spending cuts to
welfare to try to cut a
large public decit,
opposition Labour
party has con-
demned it for im-
posing hardship
on those worse off
in society. Blairs
comments have
rufed feathers in
Labour ranks.
when they were assigned to
protect an Italian commercial
tanker from pirates. Since the
incident, India and Italy have
been embroiled in an escalat-
ing row at a time when Rome
is trying to secure a major
deal to sell helicopters (Agus-
taWestland) to the Indian gov-
ernment. The marines were
allowed home for Christmas,
and then again to vote in the
Italian elections in February,
on condition they returned to
India. On March 11, Italy said
it would not send the marines
back because Indian courts
did not have jurisdiction over
the incident, which Rome
said occurred in international
waters. But Italy reversed its
position last week after New
Delhi prevented the Italian
ambassador from leaving the
country.
PUTIN FACES CRITICISM
May 2013
(67)
www.geopolitics.in May 2013
O N L O O K E R
Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf
returned to Pakistan after years of self-im-
posed exilein hopes of reviving his political
career and winning a seat at the National
Assemblywas dealt a blow when he was ar-
rested in connection with allegations of com-
mitting treason while in power. He was earlier
forced to ee from a courtroom moments
after judges ordered his arrest. His exit and ar-
rest symbolised the diminished authority of a
former Pakistani army chief who once domi-
nated the nations political landscape. Earlier,
his bid to make a triumphant comeback
had garnered mass contempt throughout
Pakistan. His hopes of contesting had sunk
earlier when election ofcers barred him from
contesting. His return to Pakistan also placed
him at the mercy of the judiciary for whom
the showdown of 2007 is still a raw wound.
Kim Jong-Un succession to the leader-
ship of North Korea had initially bought
about hopes of peace in the Korean
peninsula as he was thought to have
a mild outlook in contrast to his late
father. These hopes have been proved
wrong as under his leadership, North
Korea conducted its third nuclear test
said to be more powerful than the
previous two. Under him, the country
also successfully launched a rocket
which was condemned globally as
whispers spread that the North was de-
veloping a long-range ICBM. On March
Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad quit after
months of tension with President Mahmoud Abbas.
Fayyad, a former World Bank ofcial, is credited
with helping create institutions in the West Bank
which would be needed if the Palestinians are to
gain independence from Israel.
The west expressed dismay since this turmoil
comes at a time when the United States is mak-
ing a concerted effort to revive peace negotiations
with Israel and boost the local economy. Admired
abroad, including Israel, Fayyad failed to build a
strong political base within the Palestinian territo-
ries, leaving him vulnerable to attacks from Abbass
Fatah party and the Islamist group Hamas, which
governs Gaza.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
has solved the Boston Marathon bombing by
arresting Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, an ethnic
Chechen from Russia while the other suspect,
his elder brother Tamerlan, 26 was killed in
a shootout. Preliminary interrogations with
Tsarnaev indicate the two brothers t the clas-
sication of self-radicalized jihadists. Tsarnaev
has been charged with using a weapon of
mass destruction to kill, a crime that carries
a possible death sentence. Suspect Dzhokhar
Tsarnaev admitted that his elder brother was
the driving force behind the
attacks and that no
international terrorist
groups were behind
them.US President
Barack Obama has
called the Boston
Twin bombings -
the worst attack
on US soil after the
September 11, 2001
attacks as an act of
terror.
KIMs ACTIONS
HEAT UP THE
KOREAN PEN-
INSULA
PALESTINIAN PM
FAYYAD QUITS
BOSTON BOMBINGS
power. Stressing that Putin
should not to be afraid of
his own people, Gorbachev
highlighted the fact that what
people want and expect is for
their president to restore an
open, direct dialogue with
them. Gorbachev himself is
not immune to criticism and
is widely disliked in Russia
for his role in dismantling
the Soviet Union. In a 2012
opinion poll asking Russian
citizens under whose rule
Russia experienced positive
development, Vladimir Putin
came rst, while Gorbachev
came at the bottom, after
Joseph Stalin.
END TO
MUSHARRAFs
DREAMS
29, 2013, Kim Jong-Un threatened
the US by, declaring that rockets
were ready to be red at American
bases in the Pacic. This declara-
tion came in response to the B-2
yby conducted by the US over the
Korean Peninsula. The yby also saw
the North issue a belligerent threat,
saying it has entered a state of war
with South Korea. Kim Jong-Un is
also said to have signed off a plan on
technical preparations of strategic
rockets the Korean Peoples Army,
ordering them to be on standby. He
also cancelled the armistice agree-
ment that ended the Korean war.
While Barack Obama called upon
North Korea to end this aggressive
approach, the US threatened to
shoot down any North Korean mis-
sile.
PUTIN FACES CRITICISM
May 2013
(68)
www.geopolitics.in
A
s we step into the second de-
cade of the 21st century and the
international system, which was
built after the Second World War
and the one that emerged in the
early years of the post-Communist world
is nearly unrecognisable, thanks to the rise
of emerging powers, a globalised economy
and the new geometry of global power. The
world is changing fast and so are its play-
ers. The transfer of global wealth and eco-
The fifth BRICS
Summit held in
South Africa on
March 27, 2013,
has given rise to
expectations. Will
the member coun-
tries be able to set
up more equalitar-
ian and beneficial
global institutions?
Perhaps, not since
there are some
legitimate apprehen-
sions, writes ASH
NARAIN ROY
TOWARDS A NEW
INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM
SMILING FACES: Leaders of
the BRICS nations posing for
photo in the just concluded
Fifth BRICS Summit in Durban
nomic power from the West to the East is
without precedent in modern history.
According to the UNDP 2013 Human
Development Report, the combined out-
put of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China
and South Africa) countries will surpass
the aggregate GDP of US, Canada and
other European countries by 2020. In fact,
the combined output of China, India and
Brazil alone will surpass the combined
gure for Canada, France, Germany, Italy,
May 2013
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www.geopolitics.in
B
R
I
C
S
5

S

P
H
O
T
O
S
T
R
E
A
M
TOWARDS A NEW
INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM
gg
DIPLOMACY
UK and the US. The rise of the South, the
UNDP Report adds, is unprecedented in
its speed and scale. Never in history have
the living conditions and prospects of so
many people changed so dramatically and
so fast.
In a volume, The End of Power, Moiss
Nam of the Carnegie Endowment for In-
ternational Peace (US) writes how power
within the geopolitical landscape is shift-
ing from the West to the East and from the
North to the South and the shifting pattern
is more than any other formation. There is
a new swagger in the policy postures of the
rising powers in BRICS. Their decision in
the just-concluded fth BRICS summit at
Durban to establish a development bank
has evoked scepticism in certain Western
quarters and may set an alarm for others,
as they are aware that the new bank, once
fully operational, could easily rival the
World Bank.
By no accounts, any formation with
combined foreign exchange reserves of
about $4.5 trillion and a contingency re-
serve arrangement of $100 bn (` 5,50,000
crore approx.) to ensure the nancial safety
net for the member-countries can be taken
lightly. It is BRICS rst concrete step to
challenge many of the international norms
put in place after World War II, largely by
the United States. The BRICS bank will
have $50 billion (` 2,75,000 crore approx.)
of seed capital shared equally between Bra-
zil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
The bold move is the rst concrete step
towards building a new and more equi-
table world economic order.The reserve
pool of central money would be available
to emerging economies facing balance of
payments difculties.
It is too early to say to what extent the
BRICS development bank could erode the
role of the World Bank and IMF. One thing,
however, is clear: it will be extremely at-
tractive to many developing countries that
have had their ngers burnt while engag-
ing with Western nancial institutions.
Ironically, it is South Africa, the S in the al-
phabet soup, facing a balance of payments
crisis, may nd a lifeline in it. As the weak-
est BRICS member, South Africa stands to
gain the most from the new development
bank. No one expects BRICS to render
Western nancial institutions redundant.
But even the IMF cant ignore the saga of
the emerging quintuplet. BRICS is the in-
evitable result of the global power shift.
What is worrying, in the opinion of the
Economist, is the fact that the values that
made it (West) great, have been sold on to
the rest of the world. The West risks not
the genteel decline of old age so much as
collapse, says British historian Niall Fergu-
son. But more importantly, the West would
require to ask: are they prepared to lead the
present world?
BRICS has now been institutionalised.
It has evolved from a mere economic con-
cept into a multilateral cooperation mech-
anism. At a time when traditional donors
aid budget seems to have frozen, BRICS
has started pumping up foreign aid. Be-
tween 2005 and 2010, Brazil and India in-
creased their foreign aid spending by more
than 20 per cent. China and South Africa
both upped their assistance by about 10
per cent. Russia, which had increased its
own spending earlier in the decade, now
is contributing about $500 million (` 2750
crore approx.)annually for development
spending overseas. During the same pe-
riod, US foreign aid budget grew by just 1.6
per cent.
What is remarkable about BRICS rise
is the speed. A projection made in 2008 by
the US Ofce of the Director of National In-
telligence said that growth projections for
Brazil, Russia, India and China indicated
that they will collectively match the origi-
nal G7s share of global GDP by 2040-50.
It further said that the rising BRIC powers
are unlikely to challenge the international
May 2013
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www.geopolitics.in
system as did Germany and Japan in the
19th and 20th centuries. Two years ago,
Reuters investment outlook summit pro-
jected that BRICS could become as big as
the G7 by 2027.
Jim O Neill, Goldman Sachs senior
economist, had predicted in 2003 that the
world economic structure would have
been reshufed by 2050 and BRIC would
have overtaken most the developed West-
ern nations by that time.But BRICS global
clout has risen faster. China has already
become the second largest economy and
Brazil has replaced UK as the sixth biggest
economy. As per original forecast Brazil
was expected to achieve that distinction
only by 2036.
Leaders of BRICS nations used the Dur-
ban Summit to ne-tune their common
positions on major international issues.
They also announced the setting up of a
business council and a think tank coun-
cil, besides chalking out an action plan on
further cooperation in nearly 20 elds, in-
cluding nance, economy and trade. There
were also deliberations on global economic
governance. They reiterated their demand
for restructuring the international mon-
etary and nancial systems and increasing
the representation and voice of emerging
gg
DIPLOMACY
BRICS was originally BRIC before the
inclusion of South Africa in 2010.The acro-
nym was essentially an economic idea that
was propounded by Jim O Neill, Goldman
Sachs senior economist, in a 2001 paper
entitled, Building Better Global Economic
BRICs. His essential point was that there
would be a shift of the global economic
power from the G-7 economies to these
four countries. Later, the political over-
tones were added to the idea, the most
important being that a successful BRICS
would ensure democratisation of the glob-
al political power.
BRICS have succeeded in making
global headlines since then and more and
more countries have been showing their
interests to join the group. But, dispas-
sionately seen, all its potentials that are
being projected by its supporters may not
actually materialise, if the present eco-
nomic situations prevailing in the mem-
ber countries are any indication. First, it
is not a grouping of equals, so important
for the success of any international ar-
rangement. The economy of China literally
dwarfs the combined economies of other
members. Second, much against the pro-
jections made before the current global
recession, the economies of India, Brazil,
Russia and South Africa are not doing all
that well. Even, the rate of growth of the
Chinese economy has slowed considerably
in the last two years, and there are no vis-
ible symptoms of its quick recovery.
As has been argued by Ruchir Sharma
of the Morgan Stanley Investment, on av-
erage, the growth rate of Brazil, Russia
and South Africa is likely to be around 2.5
per cent over the next few years. Chinas
growth rate has come down to 8 per cent
from 11 per cent a couple of years ago. In-
dia will be happy to reach the 6 per cent
mark of annual GDP growth. In fact, com-
pared to the BRICS countries, Mexico and
Chile in Latin America, Poland and Turkey
in Europe, and Poland and Indonesia in
Asia are doing much better economically
and attracting more foreign investments.
Against this background, in concrete
terms, every member of the BRICS, con-
trary to its public postures, will like to link
its economic with the US and US-related
bodies. So much for emerging as an eco-
nomic alternative!
Similarly, the proposed BRICS devel-
opment bank raises more questions than
answers. With the possible exception of
South Africa, whose ailing economy re-
quires immediate foreign funds, neither
Brazil nor India nor Russia will like this
bank to be dominated by China. No won-
der when China proposed in Durban that
the bank may be seeded with a capital of
$100 billion (` 5,50,000 crore Approx.) with
China being its bulk contributor, India and
Russia talked of a seed capital of $50 bil-
lion (` 2,75,000 crore Approx.)with equal
contributions from each member. The lat-
ters opposition was understandable, be-
cause bigger contribution meant bigger
controlling authority.
Third, notwithstanding what our for-
eign office spokesmen may say, the fact
remains that BRICS and IBSA (a trilateral
REALITY CHECK
M
E
A
LEADING AHEAD: The
BRICS nations are working
towards a new financial
institution that will be
headed by BRICS member
nations
May 2013
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www.geopolitics.in
markets and developing countries.
BRICS footprints will soon be seen.
After all, it has come a long way since its
Yekaterinburg meeting in 2009. Regional
and global alliances follow neither a set
ideology nor geographical specicities;
they merely follow perceived economic
and strategic gains. An alliance among
India, Brazil and South Africa, the three
countries separated by thousands of ki-
lometers, would have been unthinkable
only a decade ago. A group consisting of
Brazil, Russia, India and China would have
been even more unthinkable. But the way
the world has moved and the fact that the
centre of the world having moved east, new
economic and strategic formations follow a
logic of their own. BRICS is a futuristic al-
liance.
All is, of course, not lily-white. BRICS
still lacks coherence. Chinas overbearing
presence is worrying. On issues like com-
modities pricing, China and India are to-
gether while Russia, Brazil and South Africa
want higher prices for their commodities.
On trade issues alone, there are several
sources of friction among BRICS. Cheap
imports from China has crippled South Af-
ricas manufacturing sector.
India is wary of China pushing IBSAisa-
gg
DIPLOMACY
tion of BRICS. IBSA (India, Brazil and South
Africa) countries are aware that China and
Russia have no democratic credentials,
nor are these two members of the P-5
(permanent members of the UN Security
Council) on the same table when it comes
to democratising the United Nations. In
fact, at another level, India favours Rus-
sias resurgence, for it will create a greater
balance in global affairs. Russias decline
has facilitated Chinas rise which is against
Indias interests in more senses than one.
India also knows that China wants IBSA to
pack up. BRICS members are not partners
in the sense that IBSA members are, says
Oliver Stuenkel of Getulio Vargas Founda-
tion in Sao Paulo, because they share a
set of fundamental notions about global
order. As emerging countries they are not
yet fully integrated in todays international
structures.
In 2010, China tried to use the BRICS
summit to its advantage multilaterally by
expressing its desire to join IBSA. Hu Jin-
tao attempted to push his way into IBSA
but India foiled the effort. Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh asserted that though
IBSA was a forum for South-South coop-
eration, all IBSA countries are democra-
cies, thus implying that China was not and
had no place in a group of democracies. In
recent years, Turkey has shown interest in
joining IBSA. Of all the countries, India is
most non-committal on expansion and the
Indian position has been accepted by other
leaders.
Of course, at some stage the question
of expanding both IBSA and BRICS will ac-
quire momentum. As of now, the thinking
is that notwithstanding its strategic attrac-
tion, expanding these frameworks to in-
clude Russia and China in IBSA and Mex-
ico, Turkey and Indonesia in BRICS could
distract from the agendas of these two
groupings and undermine their cohesive-
ness. It could complicate the agendas of
these two formations by burdening them
with contentious issues.
In fact, some voices are being raised
that it is time to take the c out of the ac-
ronym. China is no longer an emerging
economy. It may not be a superpower in
the sense that the US is and the USSR once
was. But China is a power which is more
important in the global pecking order than
Europe and Japan. In other words, why
must China be part of BRICS?
The author is Director, Institute of Social
Sciences, New Delhi
group founded in 2003 by India, Brazil and
South Africa are not exactly complemen-
tary to each other. IBSAs political goals,
most important of which are that each of
them should be made a permanent mem-
ber of the UN Security Council and that the
functioning of UN and its related organs
should be democratised are not necessar-
ily something that the BRICS ( consisting
of China and Russia, already permanent
members) shares. No wonder why the
Durban declarations did not mention a
word about the need of reforming the UN
Security Council. Besides, as democra-
cies, IBSA members realise how tough it
is to carry out economic reforms in com-
plex political environments, something
no BRICS meeting will have in its agenda.
Most importantly, unlike that of the BRICS,
the IBSA members have no bilateral dis-
putes or frictions.
This being the case, common mem-
berships in BRICS and IBSA look very odd,
indeed.
Prakash Nanda W
O
R
D
P
R
E
S
S
JOINING HANDS: Leaders
of the IBSA (India, Brazil
and South Africa) meeting
each other in the Dialogue
forum of IBSA
May 2013
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www.geopolitics.in
ASIAN ARMS TRADE AND THE ARMS TRADE TREATY
WHERE DOES INDIA
STAND?
While an unaccountable
system explains Indias lack
of self-sufficiency in arms,
forcing the country to be
excessively dependent on
foreign countries, Indias
opposition to the Arms
Trade Treaty, far from being
guided by national interest,
is guided by entrenched
interests, argues ABHIJIT
IYER-MITRA
May 2013
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www.geopolitics.in
gg
DIPLOMACY
dia and China account for 18 per cent of
transfers while the three European states
accounted for just 2.3 per cent.
The confusion that this kind of split-
ting of procurement from transfers cre-
ates, is best encapsulated by Sunjoy Joshi,
Director of the Observer Research Foun-
dation, who said, For long the majority
of arms were bought by low population
high per capita income group countries,
whereas, now it is growing countries
with high populations and low per capita
incomes that buy the greatest quanti-
ties of weapons. The reality, however, is
that high income countries remain both
the biggest producers and consum-
ers of weapons not by quantity but by
value. This is owing to their signicant
lead in intellectual capital and persistent
improvements in quality as a result of
moving up the production ladder. These
countries are also the biggest consumers
of weapons given their vast geopolitical
stakes and global interests.
From this perspective, several gures
M
arch 2013 saw two events
related to the Interna-
tional Arms Trade. The
rst was the release of the
annual trend report of the
Stockholm International Peace Research
Institute (SIPRI) based on its databases.
This, like all statistical reports, is prone
to heavily contradictory interpretations
and is inuential as it is frequently quoted
in academic journals. The second was
the nalisation of the Arms Trade Treaty
(ATT) under United Nations auspices and
indications are that it may materialise
into binding law for some countries at
least. Indias reaction to the ATT has been
uniformly negative.
For India, there is a profound lesson in
linking these two developments; one may
begin by analysing relevant segments of
the SIPRI report and draw conclusions
from themspecically contrasting the
Indian statistics with those of China.
Then Indian statements on the ATT will
be scrutinised, contrasting them with do-
mestic media coverage in an attempt to
understand the root of Indias opposition.

SIPRI report
Trends in International Arms Transfers
2012 is an eight-page report that sum-
marises key trends over 2008-2012 period,
but more interestingly contrasts them
over the 2003-2007 period.
The key export statistics for 2008-2012
period were that US, Russia, Germany,
France and China were the top ve ex-
porters followed by the UK. Together, they
accounted for well over 75 per cent of to-
tal arms exports. The major shift was that
of China that moved up from a near con-
sistent sixth spot to the fth spot displac-
ing the UK. Since the end of the Cold War
in 1991, this has been the rst time the list
of top ve exporters has changed.
The key import statistic for the 2008-
2012 period was that the top ve import-
ers were all Asian. India, China, Pakistan,
South Korea and Singapore accounted
for 32 per cent of all arms imports over
this period. Combined Asia-Oceania ac-
counted for 47 per cent of total imports,
followed by the Middle East (17 per cent),
Europe (15 per cent), Americas (11 per
cent) and nally Africa at (9 per cent).
From this point on, the report moves
to a bland narration of gures accounting
for each major exporter and each major
importer listing out the stand out items
either in terms of cost (such as the F-35
to the UK), capability (the Akula to India),
quantity (152 F-15SA to Saudi Arabia) and
technology (2 Theatre High Altitude Air
Defence SystemsTHAADto the UAE).
SIPRI does not get into the politi-
cal implications in this report. Despite
the authors personal preference to not
question underlying assumptions, note
must be made here of the deliberate use
of the terminology transfer. The problem
with this term is that it articially splits
the marketdemand and supply into
internal and external. This transforms
the issue from a market perspective to a
proliferation perspective, irrespective of
whether this was the desired effect or not.
The defence budget of European
countries like the UK (US$ 62.7 billion),
French ($62.5 billion) and German ($46.7
billion) defence budgets are greater than
those of India ($48.9 billion) and China
($106.4 billion) combined. Yet due to the
applications of the transfer jargon as
opposed to weapons procurement, In-
Top Exporters compared over 2003-
2007 and 2008-2012
Source: SIPRI
MAJOR IMPORT REGIONS COMPARED OVER
2003-2007 AND 2008-2012
SOURCE: SIPRI
INDIA 12%
USA 30%
INDIA 9% CHINA 6%
RUSSIA 24%
CHINA 12%
MARKET SHARE OF TOP 5 ARMS IMPORTS
FRANCE 6%
GREECE 6%
CHINA 5%
SOUTH KOREA 5%
OTHERS 68%
OTHERS 26%
2003-2007
2003-2007
A
B
C
D
E
F
2008-2012
2008-2012
OTHERS 62%
PAKISTAN 5%
GERMANY 7%
UAE 6%
A
1
1
2
3
4
5
6
2
3
4
5
6
1
1
A
B C
D
E
F
2
2
3
3
4
4
5
6
5
6
B
C
D
E
F
RUSSIA 24%
USA 31%
FRANCE 9%
UK 4%
OTHERS 22%
GERMANY 10%
A
B
C
D
E
F
MARKET SHARE OF TOP 5 ARMS EXPORTERS
SOUTH KOREA 5%
SINGAPORE 4%
May 2013
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ten arms exporters proves that other fac-
tors could also be at work here, like qual-
ity, marketing niche, industrial capacity,
competence etc.
Another statistic that stands out is:
how much air power and its accessories
like missilesaccount for the bulk of
international arms transfers by value?
Maximum value addition in the 2008-
2012 period has come from air power and
associated transfers.
There is, however, one statistic that
is not accurately represented here and
that is the value of sub-systems. Notably
with regards to Indian imports, Israel has
gone from nowhere to by some estimates
Indias top defence partner on the basis
of sub-systems sales. Israel, except for
the Merkava tank, does not manufacture
platforms. As a result, all its sales are high
technology munitions or sub-systems
such as radars and targeting pods. In case
of Indian imports, surprisingly Uzbkistan
takes third place in the 2008-2012 period
owing to the fact that the Il-76 platforms
that form the basis of the Phalcon AWACS
system are manufactured there. The value
added of Israel in providing the all im-
portant radar and data fusion systems
that account for the bulk of the cost and
capability, however, do not seem to have
accrued to Israeli exports. This is more
than just a statistical mistake as it hides
the very important role that subsystems
play in modern combat and their cost to
the purchasing nation.
Should one look at things from a
transfer-proliferation perspective, then
the other critical statistic that is missing is
the impact that exported weapon systems
have on the importing regions balance of
power.
For example, signicant Chinese ex-
ports to Pakistan do little to upset the bal-
ance of Pakistani power vis-a-vis India.
However the export of 152 F-15SAs and 72
Euroghters to Saudi Arabia dangerously
exacerbates the already lopsided conven-
tional imbalance that Iran suffers.
are telling: Noticeably ve of the top six
exporters are permanent members of the
UN Security Council. These countries en-
compass three specic spectrum of the
arms trade. The US, UK and France all
represent the high value, high technology
sector, while China at the other end rep-
resents one of the lowest quality and low
technology segments. Russia traverses
the quality-quantity matrix with technol-
ogy still lagging behind the West but sig-
nicantly ahead of China. The inescap-
able conclusion here is that irrespective
of market spectrum, the P5 enjoy a 75 per
cent monopoly. Acknowledging that cor-
relation is not necessarily causation, nev-
ertheless power equations within these
three distinct production blocks have
determined most security dilemmas for
the major importer nations, causation
cannot entirely be ruled out. The fact that
Asia was the largest importer is indicative
of the rebalance/pivot and it cannot be
coincidence that the top ve importers
share land or maritime borders with Chi-
na. From that point of view SIPRIs chosen
terminology divorces the symptom from
the disease.
On the other hand, it can equally co-
gently be argued that the continued pres-
ence of countries like the Netherlands,
Spain, Italy and Ukraine on the list of top Source: SIPRI Arms Transfers Database
Rank 2012- Rank 2011- Supplier 2012 2012-
2012 2011 2012
1 1 USA 8760 8760
2 2 Russia 8003 8003
3 4 China 1783 1783
4 11 Ukraine 1344 1344
5 6 Germany (FRG) 1193 1193
6 3 France 1139 1139
7 7 UK 863 863
8 8 Italy 847 847
9 10 Netherlands 760 760
10 5 Spain 720 720
Others 2760 2760
Total 28172 28172
A VIEW OF UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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DIPLOMACY
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India and China
Leaving aside issues of terminology and
methodology, however, the contrast be-
tween India and China is stark. Indian
exports for the 2008-2012 period stood
at an abysmal rate of between $65 (`325-
440 crore Approx) to $80 million, working
out to an annual average of between $13
(`71-82 crore Approx) to $15 million. By
contrast China over this same period ex-
ported $6.9 billion (`38,500 crore Approx)
worth of arms - an annual average of ap-
proximately $1.4 billion (`38,500 crore
Approx).
From 2003-2012, India and China
have consistently been the top two im-
porters. However, while in 2003-2007
period, China accounted for 12 per cent
of import value which has now halved
to 6 per cent. On the other hand, Indias
share has gone up from 9 per cent to 12
per cent. While this can be indicative that
India somehow now faces a less favour-
able security environment, this is unten-
able given the facts on the ground. China
is now both a top exporter and a top im-
porter, while India gures at the top of
the import list and very near the bottom
of the exports list. Some tentative conclu-
sion can be drawn from this.
Exports largely have to do either with
knowledge (innovation or duplication)
or with production (industrial base, cost
controls etc) and both of these needs to
be ne-tuned with market knowledge.
Consequently imports can be seen as
symptomatic of a lack of innovation,
production and knowledge of market
dynamics. The classic example is China
- its primary imports are high technology
- process based systems that are impos-
sible to reverse engineer. These include
aircraft engines, the organic development
of crystal blade technology having de-
feated even the best Chinese efforts at du-
plication. Similarly in-spite of importing
a range of British (the HMAS Melbourne)
and Russian (The Kiev and Minsk) aircraft
carriers, China was unable to design and
weld together an indigenous hull. A paral-
lel to this can be found in 1930s Germany,
where repeated attempts to develop an
aircraft carrier for the kriegsmarine failed,
despite reported assistance from ally Ja-
pan that had produced several successful
designs. This is indicative of a lack of in-
novation and or industrial capacity in one
subset of knowledge or production. The
exact decit is hard to pinpoint given the
many elds of knowledge and production
that fuse into the construction of a carrier.
On the other hand, the Chinese can-
not be faulted for their knowledge of spe-
cic market niches and some forms of
production evident in the breadth and
scope of their defence industry as well
as the cost controls they maintain. This
reects in their export manifest which is
largely aimed at lling quantitative gaps
in importer nations. For example, the US
built F-16 Block 50/52 still remains the
most technologically advanced plane in
the Pakistan Air Force, but given their ex-
orbitant price tag, Pakistan had to order
the JF-17 to ll the quantitative gap. Ex-
ports to countries like Venezuela, Algeria
and Iran all show signs of markets where
price sensitivity dictates the need for
low cost products lling numerical gaps.
Three important macro trends are visible
here:
Chinese dexterity at reverse engineer-
ing.
Short government mandated gesta-
tion period between research and tan-
gible market output.
Lack of innovation.
In a sense, these three are distinct but
cyclically interrelated. The lack of innova-
tion is driven by various factors includ-
ing governmental control of the direc-
tion of R&D, but more importantly the
tight deadlines for R&D to fructify i.e. the
short gestation period between research
and output. On one hand, this produces
quickly to the production line, cheap,
export successes, but stunts long term
quality growth and innovation. This ne-
cessitates reverse engineering as a short
cut. The net result is an industry trapped
in a low innovation, low cost-low quality
cycle, but one that remains commercially
successful and viable.
India, on the contrary, betrays all the
signs of a disturbing lack of both innova-
tion and industrial base on the one hand
and of costing and market dynamics on
the other. The long R&D phases of the
As we had stated in the concluding ple-
nary of the Final Conference on an ATT
on 28 March, the draft treaty text sought
to be adopted through this resolution falls
short of our expectations and a number of
other key stakeholders in producing a text
that is clear, balanced and implementable
and able to attract universal adherence.
From the beginning of the ATT pro-
cess, India has maintained that such a
treaty should make a real impact on illicit
trafcking in conventional arms and their
illicit use especially by terrorists and other
unauthorised and unlawful non-state ac-
tors. India has also stressed consistently
that the ATT should ensure a balance of
obligations between exporting and im-
porting states. However, the draft treaty
that is annexed to the resolution is weak
on terrorism and non-state actors and
these concerns nd no mention in the
specic prohibitions of the Treaty. Fur-
ther, India cannot accept that the Treaty
be used as an instrument in the hands of
exporting states to take unilateral force
majeure measures against importing
states parties without consequences. The
relevant provisions in the nal text do not
meet our requirements.
India has been an active participant in
the ATT negotiations. Underlying our par-
ticipation in these extended negotiations
was the principle that member states
have a legitimate right to self-defence and
our belief that there is no conict between
the pursuit of national security objectives
and the aspiration that the Arms Trade
Treaty be strong, balanced and effective.
This is consistent with the strong and ef-
fective national export controls that India
already has in place with respect to export
of defence items.
My Government will undertake a full
and thorough assessment of the ATT from
the perspective of our defence, security
and foreign policy interests. At this stage
we are not in a position to endorse the
text contained as annexure to document
A/67/L.58. Therefore, India has abstained
on the resolution. I would request that
this statement be reected in full in the
records of this Session.
Excerpts of the speech on the Arms Trade Treaty
given by Sujata Mehta, Indias representative
to the Conference of Disarmament in Geneva
during the UNGA Session.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA STAND
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DIPLOMACY
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interventions and statements by Indian
representatives on this score and even
the last statement had just one paragraph
dedicated to this. At no point did India of-
fer any constructive alternatives either in
terms of ideas or wording.
The bulk of Indias suggestions were
in fact reserved for avoiding transpar-
ency, detail, reporting, criminalisation
and verication. How this translates into
better balancing of rights and obligations
between importer and exporter is anyones
guess since no causal link was made out.
Media reports, therefore, are in com-
plete contrast with Indian statements at
the Conference on Disarmament. These
reports played up Indias moral and real-
politik objections, but the reality is that In-
dias objections were procedural aimed at
avoiding transparency. Garbed under na-
tional security, the most telling point was
the deliberate leniency sought for brokers
at one stage.
This is particularly disheartening, be-
cause in this authors reading, the loop-
holes in the ATT were so vast and prone
to bureaucratic manoeuvre that Indias
concerns of force majeure being invoked
seemed comical at best. In fact, in its very
rst negotiating statement, India expressly
supported the need to link arms transfers
to human rights and avoidance of secu-
rity excesses. At no other point did India
express any reservations as to the human
rights, gender equality and war crimes
clauses, all of which are nowin the me-
dia being bandied about as the basis of
Indias opposition. The main aim, then it
seems, was to protect the unaccountabili-
ty, incompetence and deliberate deception
that has led to India pumping vast sums of
money into indigenous defence R&D with-
out result and also to shield its inability to
absorb transferred technology.
Indias defence apathy
Reading between the lines of SIPRIs re-
port, one sees the symptoms of the dis-
ease that plagues Indias defence industry.
If one goes through governments state-
ments in Geneva, one realises that Indias
objections to the ATT were never guided
by Indian interest, but rather, by the need
to protect the interests of entrenched mil-
itary-bureaucratic-scientic lobbies that
have brought us to this sad state of affairs.
The author is with Observer Research
Foundation, New Delhi
Tejas and Arjun are indicative of the un-
accountability and the lack of any form
of correlation between research and out-
put. Indias import plan, though extracted
from other sources (Ernst and Young Eye
on Defence 2013), are telling. Despite
having the blueprints for the Bofors FH-
77B, as well as the domestically produced
TATA SED155 self-propelled howitzer, the
eld artillery rationalisation plan now
envisages procurement of ve separate
155mm guns across ve spate categories.
By no stretch of grammar, logic or com-
mon sense can it be considered rationali-
sation. Far from consolidating the order
to one barrel spread over ve platforms
depending on mobility and deployment
requirements, India is heading towards
ve barrels over ve platforms requiring
ve different logistics and supply chain
while not creating sufcient quantity to
extract ToT and with no economies of
scale accruing to domestic production.
The consequent failure of indigenisation
and absorption, therefore, are rendered
totally unviable in political, scientic and
economic terms.
India at ATT
In light of the above, Indias objections to
the arms trade treaty merit much closer
scrutiny. Indian statements at the various
conferences shaping the nal document
can be split in three parts:
First is lengthy preambular language
congratulating the chairman on his/
her election and then congratulating
itself on its total export failure refer-
ring to this euphemistically as hav-
ing exercised the highest degree of
responsibility.
The second is the harping on the
need to target illicit transfers to non
state actors. Here India repeatedly de-
mands clarity and greater detail.
The third were the recommendations.
Curiously, having claimed to be a
country gravely affected by illicit arms
transfers to non-state actors, India, on
the one hand, asks for greater detail in
the formulation of these paragraphs
while, on the other hand, saying that
criminalisation procedures in case of
being caught in the act should not be
detailed.
Bizarrely, on one hand claiming de-
tail and clarity translate to effectiveness,
as far as treaty implementation on non-
state actors goes, it wants to do away with
any form of detail, clarity or transparency
with regards to weapons transfer between
states.
The clearest counter proposals that
India came up with were during the July
2012 session. Around 70 per cent of these
by printed word deal with procedural is-
suesavoiding transparency and veri-
cation mechanismsdeeming these too
burdensome and intrusive.
Contrast the extraordinarily detailed
bureaucratic and procedural objections
to the reporting and verication clauses,
with the one line objection better bal-
ance the obligations of importers and
exporters. At no point is this statement
claried or elaborated on, nor are counter
proposals or alternates suggested. In fact,
at no point is causality on how verica-
tion and reporting affect such balance
proven or attempted to be proven.
It is, therefore, surprising that most
press coverage in India focussed on In-
dias disappointment on the non-state
actors section, when India was in fact at
the forefront of keeping wording and de-
tail to a minimum and specically leaving
criminalisation ambiguous at best. Scan-
dalously enough, it specically wanted
details of broker (middlemen) registra-
tion left outhis in a country supposedly
obsessed with keeping brokers out post-
Bofors!
The second most reported fact in the
Indian media was the need to better bal-
ance the rights and obligations of import-
ers and exporters. Yet again, this was no
more than one sentence in each of the
INDIA
$78.9 BN
GERMANY
$46.7 BN
200
180
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
FRANCE
$62.5 BN
UK
$62.7 BN
EUROPE ASIA
CHINA
$106.4 BN
Source: SIPRI Arms Transfers Database
COMPARISION OF
DEFENCE BUDGETS
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DIPLOMACY
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KOREAWILL IT BE
North Korean dictator Kim
Jong-Uns latest threat to
attack South Korea and the
United States may be seen
as another example of the
young leaders erratic blus-
ter. Nobody, however, can
be sure, comments AJAY
SINGH
its one and only ally, China. Beijing con-
tinued to supply its long time ally with oil
and essential commodities across its land
border, enough to keep it aoat. This time
North Korea may have gone too far. Its
petulant actions have angered even Chi-
na, which has now not only helped draft
T
he two Koreas are at war. Yes,
they are. In fact, they have
been in a state of war since
1950, when the Korean War
began. That three-year war
which claimed 1.3 million lives ended in
1953 with an armistice, not a ceasere and
technically, the two Koreas are still at war
with each other. Skirmishes and incidents
occur with dangerous frequency along
the border and the numerous disputed
islands along the 38th Parallel, but fortu-
itously, none has plunged the peninsula
into an all out warat least not yet. But
now, as North Korea ups the ante and the
dangerous game of I Dare approaches fe-
ver pitch, the Korean Peninsula is closer to
an all out war than it has ever been since
1953.
The reasons for this round of sabre-
rattling are the missile and nuclear tests
conducted by North Korea. In December
2012, it successfully launched the Unha III
rocket, hurling a Kwayunyongsong satel-
lite into space. The rocket was more than
a satellite launch vehicle. With just a few
renements to its terminal guidance and
re-entry systems, it can be modied into
an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile with
a potential range of over 10.000 kilome-
treswhich enables it to strike mainland
USA, Japan, Eastern Europe and all of
Asia. It followed it up with a nuclear test
its thirdon February 12, 2013, deep in
its remote North Eastern mountains at
the test site of Punggye. This detonation,
measuring 4.9 on the Richter scale had an
estimated yield of 6-7 kilotonsfar more
than what was attained in its two previous
tests. Although this test is a signicant im-
provement in terms of explosive yield and
miniaturisation attained, North Korea is
still many years and a few more tests away
from attaining the capability required to
mount a nuclear warhead on a missile.
If North Koreas missile and nuclear
tests took the world by surprise, its subse-
quent belligerence shocked it even more.
Initially, North Korea had agreed to sus-
pend its nuclear and missile programme
in return for international aid, in what
seemed to be a step towards rationality. Its
previous nuclear and missile tests had in-
vited four rounds of sanctions since 2006,
which had imposed crippling restrictions
on the inow of technology, trade and
commodities. These sanctions had led to
a virtual collapse of its already imploding
economy making it solely dependent on
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DIPLOMACY
B
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T
T
M
A
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P
H
O
T
O
S
T
R
E
A
M
TURBULENT
PENINSULA: (Right)
Kim Jong-Un, leader
of DPRK and (below)
North Koreas show
of strength
May 2013
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www.geopolitics.in
a fresh round of sanctions, but also agreed
to support it fully. These UN-supported
sanctions effectively block all of North
Koreas nancial transactions, impose re-
strictions on travel by its diplomats and
reduce import of any kind of technology
into the hermit kingdom. But sanctions
are a blunt instrument and need time to
work. As of now, the North Korean leader-
ship has shown no inclination of bowing
to them.
Tensions have been considerably
heightened with the conduct of joint ex-
ercises by US and South Korean forces
this April. These exercises are a regular
feature and invariably evoke howls of pro-
test from North Korea. The scale of these
exercises was higher this time, perhaps
as an expression of US solidarity with its
long-time ally. A US nuclear submarine
was deployed close to the Korean coast.
An additional destroyer and minesweeper
were inducted. The USAF also ew two
B-2 Spirit stealth bombers, ying non-
stop from their bases in mainland USA,
to drop inert munitions at the exercise
locations, 6500 kilometres away. These
measures were partly designed to demon-
strate unwavering support to their ally,
but it evoked a ballistic reaction. North
Korea, which was subjected to three years
of carpet bombing by US aircraft during
the Korean War, and is sensitive to US
bombers, responded angrily. Kim Jong-Un
warned that the US mainland and their
bases in Guam (home to 6000 US troops)
and Okinawa (their submarine base) were
within striking range of North Korean mis-
siles. He also ordered all missile units to be
placed on the highest alert, and for good
measure, shifted two long range Musadan
missile units to their launch pads on the
east coast, where its range could be opti-
mally exploited.
In fact, just a few hours after the ight
of the US B-2 bombers, the North Korean
media released photographseither by
accident or designof a pensive Kim
Jong-Un sitting in the Operations Room,
being briefed by senior generals. In the
background was a map with the unam-
biguous title, Strategic Force US Main-
land Strike Plan on which were marked
the ight paths of missiles striking
targets in USA. It has also de-
clared a state of war with
South Korea and that
further provocation
will not be limited to
local war, but develop
into all-out war, a nu-
clear war.
That is not all.
North Korea has
scrapped the cease-
re pact and non-
aggression agreement
with South Korea, cut the
military hotlines and has
put its forces on Status One, the
highest state of alert. It also shut down
the Koesong Industrial Complex, func-
tioning for years on cheap North Korean
labour and advanced South Korean tech-
nology, which is a prime source of much
needed currency and employment. As a
sign of increasing hostilities, a wave of
cyber attacks has been unleashed by both
sides. South Korean internet, banking and
television networks were blanked out for
hours. Computer screens went blank,
skulls popped up. On the other side, pho-
tos of Kim Jong with a pigs snout and
mouthing obscenities were released to
ofcial North Korean websites. A video
also emerged on YouTube, showing Wash-
ington and President Obama in the ames
of a nuclear holocaust. This is not exactly
logical behaviour, but it is precisely this ir-
rationality which is worrying.
The war of words is intensifying, but
will it lead to actual war? Most military
analysts agree that in case of any mili-
tary confrontation the North will come
out second best. In spite of their numeri-
cal superiority, the Norths antiquated
weaponry and ill-equipped troops are no
match for the Souths better armed
and better trained forces. The
South has invested heavily
in quality and its defence
budget of $30.8 billion
(approx `1,70,000 crore)
is almost four times
more than its cash-
strapped counterpart.
It is also bolstered by a
defence treaty with the
USA and the permanent
presence of 28,000 US
troops on its soil. Any at-
tack on South Korea, will in-
variably draw the USA in to the
fray with the full force of the most
powerful arsenal on earth.
Even the Norths much vaunted nucle-
ar and missiles forces are primitive to say
the least. Although it is estimated to have
around 10-12 nuclear bombs, they have
not reached the levels of miniaturisation
required to effectively mount them on
missiles or launch them from submarines.
Their nuclear strike capability would thus
be largely restricted to aircraft. The ef-
cacy of their Scud, Rodong and Musadan
missiles is also doubtful. Its short and
medium range Scud and Rodong missiles
can cover most of South Korea, but its long
range Musadan missiles, (which can tar-
get US bases in Guam and Okinawa) are
unproven. Even if pinch comes to shove,
and the missiles are launched in a pique,
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DIPLOMACY
1950 - 1969
After World War II, Japanese occupation of
Korea ends with Soviet troops occupying
the north, and US troops the south. In 1950,
South declared independence, sparking
North Korean invasion. In 1953, Armistice
ended the three year Korean War, which
cost two million lives. This was followed
by a period of Rapid industrial growth, with
only incident being a US reconnaissance
plane being shot down.
1970 - 1999
This period saw Kim il-Sungs son, Kim
Jong-il, move up political ladder. Both,
North and South Korea joined the United
Nations. Later, Kim Jong-il became leader
after his fathers death. The same period
also had Pyongyang announce, it will no
longer abide by the armistice and it sent
troops into the demilitarised zone. South
Korea, also captured a North Korean mini-
submarine in its waters.
2000 - 2009
While the period marked events such
as South Korea giving amnesty to more
than 3,500 prisoners and a EU delegation
headed by Swedish Prime Minister Goran
Persson (highest level western delegation
to visit North Korea) visiting to help shore
up the fragile reconciliation process with
South Korea, it also witnessed then US
President George W Bush calling North
Korea part of an axis of evil, along with
KOREAN CRISIS
At the
moment, the world is
trying to evaluate the
psychology of the North
Korean leadership. North
Korea has traditionally
resorted to acts of mili-
tary adventurism during
periods of
internal unrest.
May 2013
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www.geopolitics.in
it is unlikely that they would have the ac-
curacy or precision to cause signicant
damage.
But even then, North Koreas nuclear
and missile capability is not a threat that
can be discounted. The USA has already
announced that it will deploy 14 new
anti-missile interceptors in Alaska and
establish a missile defence radar in Japan
as part of its National Missile Defence. It
would also deploy ground based THAAD
missile interceptor batteries in Guam and
Okinawa. The intensication of its Na-
tional and Theatre Missile Defence is in it-
self in a contravention of the Anti Ballistic
Missile Treaty of 1972, and is likely to raise
hackles in both Russia and China.
At the moment, the world is trying to
evaluate the psychology of the North Ko-
rean leadership. North Korea has tradi-
tionally resorted to acts of military adven-
turism during periods of internal unrest.
In 1983, a bombing attack killed 17 South
Korean ofcers near the Demilitarised
Zone; in 1987, a South Korean commercial
aircraft was downed by a missile over the
South China Sea, killing 112 passengers
and crew. On March 26, 2012, the South
Korea Corvette; Cheonan was struck by
a torpedo (later proved to be North Ko-
rean) and sank carrying 46 crewmen with
it. On November 23, 2010 they shelled the
island of Yonangpyang killing ve. Each of
these actions has come at a time when the
North Korean leadership was trying to re-
establish its ascendancy over its people.
Now, at a time of transition in leadership
is a similar trend being followed?
It does seem so. Since the crown
prince, Kim Jung-Un, The Great Succes-
sor, came into power after the much la-
mented death of his father, he has tried to
establish his credentials and assert him-
self in the eyes of his people and military.
Much had been expected from him, but
his cherubic looks belie an even greater ir-
rationality. The only thing he has to offer
his impoverished citizens is their countrys
military prowess and these grandiose ac-
tions and announcements could be large-
ly for effect. His deliberate deance of the
US seems to be designed to show him as
a strong and fearless leader. Yet, in his in-
experience, he may just play one card too
many. Whether for public consumption or
otherwise, one of these actions may just
go spiralling out of control and precipitate
the peninsula into a calamitous war.
Then there is the question of their
new-found nuclear capabilities. In many
ways, their nuclear programme is akin to
that of Pakistan. It is the only beacon of
success in an otherwise dismal record and
needs to be aunted. And aunting is what
they are doing. North Korea is the only na-
tion on earth that has endorsed its nuclear
status in the Preamble to its constitution
(calling itself A nuclear power that is a
military power and is indomitable). It is
unlikely that it will curtail its programme
now, in spite of the sweeteners that are
offered, as that will be seen as a sign of
weakness. In fact they would merely get
more belligerent till they attain something
that can be projected as a symbol of vic-
tory. In fact, it has even announced the
restarting of the Yonghang nuclear reac-
tor which was shut down since 2007 in an
aid-for-disarmament accord. This reactor
can provide enriched plutonium for one
bomb every year and will boost its pro-
gramme signicantly. Capping its nuclear
programme is a precondition for interna-
tional aid and for normalcy to return to
the Peninsula, but now it seems more dif-
cult and yet even more vital.
Perhaps, the only nation which can af-
fect some kind of control over it is China.
The Chinese leadership is reportedly furi-
ous at its recalcitrant ally for conducting
the tests. In spite of its disapproval of its
allys actions, there is only so much that
China can do. North Korea banks on Chi-
na to bail it out should a situation go out of
control and China may be forced to do just
that. The last thing that Chinas delicately
balanced economy needs now is a war in
the neighbourhood. Also, it realises that a
war will hasten the collapse of North Ko-
rea and send millions of refugees stream-
ing into China. Worse, with Korea reuni-
ed on terms and conditions set out by
a victorious South, China will come into
direct control with a staunch US ally with
US troops on its soil. China too does not
want a war in the peninsula, but its ally is
inching towards it in a dangerous game of
brinkmanship that threatens to go out of
control.
Having gone so far down this road,
Kim Jong-Un is unlikely to pull back un-
less he has some tangible result to show to
his people. He needs a symbol to bolster
his image. And in his quest for a symbol
of victory he may go too far. One of the
actions could just go out of control; the
military may just decide to take matters in
its own hands. A trawler could be sunk, a
disputed island bombed, a naval engage-
ment could take place at sea, an enclave
occupied, or a missile test could go awry.
Any of these actions could precipitate the
already tense situation and lead to an all-
out war. Then the Korean Peninsula may
once again erupt into conict - a conict
which will draw world powers towards it
and perhaps be fought under the dark and
looming shadow of a nuclear cloud.
Ajay Singh is the author of The Battles that
Shaped Indian History and A Spectrum of
Modern Warfare.
gg
DIPLOMACY
states such as Iraq and Iran. For Pyong-
yang, Bush had not stopped far short of
declaring war. It also saw North and South
Korean naval vessels wage a gun battle in
the Yellow Sea.
North Korea also withdrew from the
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
Pyongyang claimed it built nuclear weap-
ons for self-defence. North Korea also
carried out nuclear test, drawing protests
from the US, China and Russia.
2010 - PRESENT DAY
Sinking of South Korean ship Cheonan,
allegedly by the North, raised tensions to
new heights with the United States an-
nouncing new sanctions on North Korea.
Kim Jong-Un took over after his fathers
death as chairman of the National Defence
Commission. In December 2012, a North
Korean rocket launch put a satellite into
orbit. The UN including China regarded this
as a violation of a ban on North Korean bal-
listic missile tests, as the rocket technol-
ogy is the same. In early 2013, North Korea
carried out a third nuclear test, which invit-
ed UN Security Council sanctions, target-
ing cash transfers and travel for diplomats.
North Korea also threatened the US with
a pre-emptive nuclear attack and issued
threats to South Korea over nearby islands
and non-aggression pacts. Recently, North
Korea withdrew its workers from the Kae-
song joint industrial park.
May 2013
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www.geopolitics.in
BOOKREVIEW
INDIAS
VICTORIA CROSS GENERAL
Lieutenant General Premindra Singh
Bhagat was an iconic gure in our Army.
Not only was he triumphant in winning
the Victoria Cross in World War II, in a
military career spanning more than three
decades, he held with distinction many
an ace assignment in olive green rising to
command both the Central and Northern
Army Commands, in itself a unique dis-
tinction. In 1974, he was seen as the se-
nior-most Army Commander earmarked
to step into the shoes of the retiring Army
Chief, General G G Bewoor, but destiny
had other plans. The government of In-
dira Gandhi under bureaucratic misad-
vise and wary of an independent-minded
Chief of Staff, gave an extension of service
to General Bewoor denying Bhagat the
top slot as he would have retired in the
interregnum. Sadly, Bewoor played ball
with the government and accepted the
extension of service.
This volume written by Prem Bhagats
daughter Ashali Verma brings out the var-
ious remarkable aspects of the late Gen-
erals life providing us a fairly authentic
picture of the man behind the personage.
Prem Bhagat was born on October 14,
1918. His father, Surendra Singh Bhagat,
was an executive engineer in the govern-
ment of the Northern Provinces (present
day Uttar Pradesh). Unfortunately, he lost
both parents at a young age, and by the
time he was 20, Prem was an orphan, with
only his siblings and step-mother to buoy
him upwhich he described in the book,
they did very well. He had been admitted
to the Prince of Wales Royal Indian Mili-
tary College at Dehradun, and upon n-
ishing his training at the Indian Military
Academy, was commissioned into the
Royal Bombay Sappers and Miners (pres-
ently known as the Bombay Engineer
Group of the Corps of Engineers). Posted
in Pune, Prem met the love of his life, the
beautiful Mohini Bhandari. An interesting
courtship followed ultimately to a happy
ending with both of them tying the knot,
but that was after he returned with the
Victoria Cross.
After being posted on the war front
in Ethiopia, 2nd Lieutenant Bhagats 21
Field Company of the Royal Bombay Sap-
pers and Miners was deployed to clear
mineelds during the Allied offensive on
the road to Gondar in Abyssinia against
the Italian forces. For 96 hours from Janu-
ary 31, 1941, he worked tirelessly clearing
up 55 miles of 15 mineelds from dawn
to dusk. On two occasions his Personal
Carrier was blown up with casualties all
around and on a third occasion he was
ambushed. Despite being under close en-
emy re he carried on with his task unde-
terred. As a result of an explosion one of
his ear-drums was punctured. He showed
Author: Ashali Verma
Publishers: Pearson
Pages: 243
Price: `375
Lieutenant General Premindra Singh Bhagat was one of those army generals who was not afraid
to speak his mind out. His biography, penned by his daughter, manages to give us an insight
into the mind of the man, writes ARVINDAR SINGH
May 2013
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www.geopolitics.in
gg
BOOKREVIEW
gallantry of the highest order in hastening
the Allied advance. It was while he was
recuperating at the Military Hospital at
Khartoum that the award of the Victoria
Cross was announced and he was given a
heros welcome on his return to India.
Bhagat now went on to the Staff Col-
lege at Camberley (UK) and got high
grades in the institution. At the time of the
partition of India, he wrote a lengthy es-
say, My Land Divided for which the gov-
ernment denied him the right to publish.
In the piece, he bemoaned the fact that
the nation was being divided on religious
lines when there was an essential oneness
in our existence. His plea was that Parti-
tion was avoidable. As Commandant of
the Bombay Sappers Centre at Pune he
spruced up the Centre and built the rm
foundation of the unit. Bhagat went on
to command an Infantry Brigade and the
Indian Military Academy at Dehradun. He
was also Director of Military Intelligence
when it was rumoured in some quarters
that he and the Army Chief, K S Thimayya,
were planning a coup. This was mainly
the handiwork of Defence Minister V K
Krishna Menon and his protg Lieuten-
ant General B M Kaul. However, the storm
soon blew over, but not after Prime Minis-
ter Nehru once asked Bhagat when he and
Thimayya were taking over the country!
In the aftermath of the Sino-Indian
conict of 1962, Bhagat was asked to be
a member of the Henderson Brooks Com-
mittee which went into the causes of this
rather humiliating rout which our army
suffered and suggest remedial action. It
is one of those tragedies of independent
India that the reportbelieved to be a se-
vere indictment of the then government
is still under wraps half a century after
it was written, under the rather lame pre-
text of being a sensitive document under
the Ofcial Secrets Act.
In the years that followed, he was to
Command the 9th Infantry Division at
Ranchi and the 11th Corps at Jalandhar.
Bhagat also became Colonel Comman-
dant of the Sikh Light Infantry. Interest-
ingly, one of the soldiers of this Regiment
who had heard of his Victoria Cross, when
asked to name him, said his name was
Bhagat Singh Victoria!
As Army Commander of the Central
Command in Lucknow, Bhagat played a
crucial role during the devastating oods
in the city in 1971 and was given charge of
holding the 90000 prisoners of war taken
45 MW to 700 MW within two months. After
eight months at the Corporation, he urged
the West Bengal Government to use more
power. He was also a much loved gure and
in a short period of 10 months endeared
himself to all his staff in the organisation.
The author covers his tragic death at the
fairly young age of 56, in May 1975, which
she alleges took place due to medical ne-
glect. The book also highlights the charm-
ing personality of Mohini Bhagat, who was
elegant and had a zest for life.
The work is a daughters tribute to her
father. However, Verma has unfortunately
allowed it to become a hagiography. The
book is also not chronologically arranged
and accounts of her mothers latter years
of life appear in parts of the paperback vol-
ume. Somehow the editing leaves much
to be desired and it seems at parts to be a
gushing teenagers account of an illustri-
ous gure. Her brother, Dubby Bhagat, also
does not feature as much as he should in an
account of this nature.
On the whole it can be described as a
fairly interesting read, despite the short-
comings.
into custody after the Pakistani Army sur-
rendered in 1971.
When the new Northern Command
was established in 1972, to meet the op-
erational requirements of Jammu and
Kashmir as well as Ladakh, Bhagat was
asked to be its head. This Command
came into existencefollowing the ex-
perience of 1971as it was felt that the
Western Command at Shimla was too
large to man the Punjab as well as the
Jammu and Kashmir border.
After successful completion of the
delineation talks with Pakistan, post the
Shimla Agreement, Bhagat was to devote
his time to two of his pet projects in the
Northern Command: road building and
troop welfare. He had the road over Khar-
dungla pass at the height of 18300 ft built
in record time. The Army now expected
Bhagat to be its Chief, but alas, it was not
to be. Post-retirement Bhagat was re-em-
ployed as Chairman of the Damodar Valley
Corporation at Kolkata which looked after
power generation plants as a multi-state
project. He turned around the power gen-
erating body by bringing up its output from
1962 AFTERMATH: The debacle of the 1962 war led to the Henderon-Brookes-Bhagat report, a severe
indictment of the then government and till date classified under the Official Secrets Act
D
P
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M
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D
I
n this issue we have carried a feature on cyber security. It
is usually believed that cyber security is ensured if we pro-
vide adequate protection to the Internet and its content. But
that is a half-truth. Real cyber security should also involve the
undersea cables that transfer critical data and communications
around the world. Unfortunately, enough attention is not being
paid to this aspect of cyber security, particularly when undersea
cables, better known as submarine cables, are increasingly be-
coming vulnerable to terrorist attacks.
In March this year, Egyptian naval forces arrested three scu-
ba divers who they say were trying to cut an undersea Internet
cable off the port of Alexandria that provides one-third of all the
Internet capacity between Europe and a greater part of Africa
and Asia, including India. In fact, Egypt is a crucial
link in global cyber security. The cable that the ac-
cused scuba divers were trying to cut is known as the
South East Asia-Middle East-West Europe 4 (SMW4).
It is an 18,800-km communications line connecting
Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Bangladesh, India,
Sri Lanka, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates (UAE),
Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Egypt, Italy, Tunisia, Algeria and
France.
Two other cable systems were also affected be-
cause of this incident. One was the 13000 kms long
India-Middle East-Western Europe (IMEWE) be-
tween India and France. It has cable landing stations at Mum-
bai, Karachi, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Lebanon, Italy and
France. The other was the Europe India Gateway (EIG) system,
the rst direct connection between India and the UK. It also con-
nects Portugal, Gibraltar, Monaco, France, Libya, Egypt, Saudi
Arabia, Djibouti, Oman and the UAE.
It may be noted that overseas satellite links account for 10
per cent of international trafc at the most, the remainder be-
ing carried by undersea bre optic cables. In that sense, these
cables constitute the backbone of every nations information in-
frastructure. There are many reasons behind the importance of
submarine cables, the most noteworthy among them being the
fact that they are more reliable as multiple paths are available in
the event of a cable breakdown. Besides, it is said that the total
carrying capacity of submarine cables is in terabits per second,
while satellites typically offer only megabits per second and dis-
play higher latency.
There are three ways the submarine cables could be disrupt-
ed. One is the general redundancy factor over a period of time.
The second is the common phenomenon of accidental breaks
caused by ships and shermen. When a ship drops anchor near
a submarine cable, it snags the cable and ruptures it. Fisher-
men often damage the cables when they drag them along with
the sh. The second major factor behind disruptions could be
natural disasters such as earthquakes and tsunami. For instance,
when the tsunami hit Fukushima, Japans communication sys-
tem was gravely affected for days. The third factor, however, is
the most worrisome. And that is the terrorist factor. If one really
wants to disrupt the Internet globally, then the best way of doing
this is messing with the biggest chokepoints of all: the undersea
bre-optic cables that move vast volumes of data from continent
to continent. And doing this is much easier and cheaper. Ordi-
nary shermen and scuba divers can be used by terrorists to do
the dirty job of damaging the bre-optic cables, the vehicles that
deliver cyberspace to the masses worldwide and also the conduit
for global nancial transactions.
It is not often realised that the Internet is responsible for -
nancial transactions to the order of $10 trillion daily. According
to Paul Saffo, a noted security expert, sabotaging the cables is not
exactly a new phenomenon. He points out how in 2007, a gang of
knucklehead pirates yanked up portions of two cable
systems off the coast of Vietnam in the mistaken be-
lief that the bre-optic lines held valuable copper,
which they hoped to resell on the scrap market. And
in 2010, terrorists cut a cable near Cagayan de Oro in
the Philippines.
In the last century, the US and Soviet Union
had multiple cable-related tangles, most famously
in 1959 when a Soviet trawler, the Novorossilsk,
caused 12 breaks in ve transatlantic cables off of
Newfoundland. But what makes Saffo more appre-
hensive now is rising Islamic fundamentalism. It is
easy to imagine anti-globalisation zealots concluding that cut-
ting a cable is just the way to stop decadent Western culture from
polluting the minds of locals in places like Egypt, Saudi Arabia
or Pakistan. Unfortunately, the cables they might cut also serve
countless other nations, so any disruption would have a regional
if not global impact, he writes.
If cyber security is critically dependent on the security of the
submarine cables, what exactly can India do? It is needless to
over-emphasise the importance of the subject for Indias national
security. But along with the challenges, there are huge opportu-
nities for India to emerge as one of the worlds cyber superpow-
ers. And these opportunities involve India entering the business
of protecting and repairing damaged submarine cables in a big
way. Many private companies have shown interest in this regard,
particularly taking up the job of security, management and repair
of the cables passing though the seas near India. But the govern-
ment is not developing a coherent system to rise up to the occa-
sion. There are inter-department tussles involving the Navy, im-
migration, Customs and environment. The Telecom Regulatory
Authority of India has proposed to the government to create a
one-stop window clearance so as to slash submarine cable re-
pair time from three to ve days as per international practices. At
present, repairing of an undersea cable takes at least three to ve
weeks. This is a pity because India otherwise boasts of its multi-
national software-based companies and outsourcing services.
prakashnanda@newsline.in
TOWARDS CYBER SUPER POWERHOOD
Prakash Nanda
RIGHTANGLE
May 2013
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www.geopolitics.in
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Publication Date: 1st of every month, Posting Date: 8-9th every month