Wednesday 30 November 2011

Russia Rubbishes Claims Of Fraud In T-90 Dealings With India

Moscow is puzzled over Indian media rumors claiming that Russia refuses to fulfill a decade-old contract on licensed production of T-90S main battle tanks in India, a Russian defense industry source said.

“The Russian side is timely and completely fulfilling all agreements with India on the licensed production of T-90 tanks, including the delivery of all necessary components and the transfer of technical documentation,” the source said on Tuesday.

India’s Business Standard said on November 28 that the licensed production of T-90 tanks was “hamstrung by Moscow’s obstruction in transferring technology and the Russian-built assemblies needed even for the India-built tanks.”

“It is difficult to say why these allegations have emerged,” the Russian source said, adding that all controversial issues on the arms contracts with India are promptly resolved by the Russian-Indian intergovernmental commission on military-technical cooperation.

Russian diplomatic sources in India believe that the media rumors reflect the attempts by the Indian side to shift the responsibility for its own inability to manage the production of sophisticated military equipment.

India ordered 310 T-90s in 2001 following delays in the manufacturing of the indigenous Arjun main battle tank and Pakistan's decision to purchase the T-80 from Ukraine. A contract was also signed for the licensed production of another 1,000 T-90s.

Initial disagreements with Russia over transfer of technology were resolved at the end of 2008, according to official statements on both sides.

Only 150 T-90S have been built so far at the Heavy Vehicle Factory (HVF) in Avadi, Chennai.

Russian Duplicity At Its Best Or Clear Case Of Swindling

The following report was published in one of the defense blogs and now I know why India went for Arjun tanks and not T-90. This report clearly shows why slowly but surely Russia is loosing defense market of India to the French,Americans and The Israeli's

Saturday 26 November 2011

Pakistan Stops NATO Supplies In Response To Murder Of 25 Pak Soldiers By NATO

Pakistani authorities blocked the vital supply route for Nato troops fighting in Afghanistan on Saturday after a cross-border air strike killed 25 Pakistani troops, local officials said.

Trucks and fuel tankers were stopped at Jamrud town in the Khyber tribal region near the city of Peshawar, hours after the raid, officials said.

“We have halted the supplies and some 40 tankers and trucks have been returned from the check post in Jamrud,” Mutahir Zeb, a senior government official, told Reuters.

Another official said the supplies had been stopped for security reasons.

Nato helicopters from Afghanistan intruded into northwest Pakistan and attacked a military check post near the border, killing up to 25 troops and wounding 14, Pakistani military officials said.

A senior Pakistani military officer said efforts were under way to bring the bodies to the headquarters of Mohmand tribal region from their post.

The attack would have serious repercussions as they without any reason attacked on our post and killed soldiers asleep, a senior military officer said.

The attack took place around 2 a.m. in the Baizai area of Mohmand, where Pakistani troops are fighting Taliban militants.

Pakistani security and military officials in Mohmand said an army major was among the dead.

A spokesman for the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force in Kabul said the coalition there was aware of “an incident” and was gathering more information.

The incident occurred a day after US General John Allen met Pakistani Army Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani to discuss border control and enhanced cooperation.

The Afghanistan-Pakistan border is often poorly marked, and differs from maps by up to five miles in some places.

A similar incident on September 30, 2010, which killed two Pakistani troops, led to the closure of one of Nato’s supply routes through Pakistan for 10 days.

Nato apologised for that incident, which it said happened when Nato gunships mistook warning shots by the Pakistani forces for a militant attack.

Pakistan is a vital land route for 49 per cent of Nato’s supplies to its troops in Afghanistan, a Nato spokesman said.

Thursday 24 November 2011

Watch Out This New Year Deadlier Arjun MK-II Will Be Unleashed.

It is official by Jan-2012 Arjun MK-II will go for trials and once it passes those trials it will be inducted into the Indian Army.

Readers of this blog might remember the controversy generated by Arjun Mk-I. After long delays it was sabotaged during trials forcing DRDO to put a black box. Once it was given a level playing field, it not only out-performed T-90's but gave it a good spanking. Army was so impressed they immediately ordered 124 of these tanks. Follow up order was in pipeline if some improvements were made to the original. So started the story of Arjun MK-II. 93 modifications had to be made with 19 major ones.

One of the heavy criticism of Arjun MK-I was its weight which came to somewhere in the range of 62-63 tons yet the surprising aspect of the major modifications is that Arjun MK-II is now 3-4 tonnes heavier. Historically Army has been complaining about the unsuitability of Arjuns to the road and railways infrastructure of India yet it has accepted the increased weight due to the comparative benefits.

CVRDE chief, Dr P Sivakumar, an award-winning transmission specialist, is jubilant. “Earlier the army was criticising my Arjun [for weighing too much]. But, after seeing its cross-country performance, even compared with a lighter 40-tonne tank like the T-90, they realise that the Arjun moves like a Ferrari. Even at 65-66 tonnes, it will beat any MBT in the desert,” he promises.

The first major modification is the addition of ERA plates to give it more protection increasing the weight by 1.5 tonnes then comes the mine plough fitted at the front of the tank which churns up the ground infront of the tank while moving blowing up deadly mines which otherwise had blown up the tank.

In 2004 it was proven that LAHAT missiles can be fired from Arjun now the sighting and control systems are being integrated into the gunner’s sight by its vendors, OIP Sensor Systems (Belgium) and SAGEM (France).

Next big improvement is the tank commander’s thermal imaging (TI) night sight, which will replace the outdated ay only sight of Arjun MK-I. Giving this monster the ability to hunt at night. This feature has been aptly named as “hunter-killer” mode --- the commander as hunter; and the gunner as killer. The commander scans the battlefield through his new TI sight; targets that he spots are electronically allocated to the gunner to destroy, while he returns to hunting for more targets.

The Mark II also equips the driver with a new night vision device based on “un-cooled thermal imaging”, allowing him to clearly see 300-500 metres, even on a pitch-dark night. The “image intensifier” device in the Mark I required some ambient light. A DRDO laboratory, Instrument R&D Establishment (IRDE), Dehradun, has built the new driver’s sight.

Tank's hydro-pneumatic suspension have been changed which is now capable of handling a 70-tonne load. This also incorporates some newly-developed technologies to overcome occasional problems that the Arjun Mark I has grappled with during its development period: grease leakage and track shedding.

Israel Military Industries (IMI), designers of the renowned Merkava tank, talking to Indian Army generals after a “third-party evaluation” of the Arjun declared that the Arjun, especially ruggedised for Indian conditions, would outrun any competition.

The big modification to be incorporated later in 2012 is laser counter measure. This system detects the laser which an enemy missile is following and within a split second it creates a smokescreen around the tank thereby making the enemy missile gunner blind.

Unfortunately there is one drawback while the MK-I can achieve top speed of 70kmph this giant can go upto only 60mph.Even though it is slower yet army believes that a tank needs agility and firepower, it is seldom used for sustained cross--country top speed.

Next big problem is the cost which is a whopping 37 crore each.

RAF Tests Typhoon Tranche 2 Aircraft's in War Games With Malaysia

Pilots and ground crew from Number 6 Squadron have gained priceless experience in operating the Tranche 2 Typhoon aircraft in unfamiliar conditions during Exercise Bersama Lima in Malaysia.

This was the first overseas deployment of Tranche 2 Typhoon aircraft and the first deployment of 6 Squadron since it reformed at RAF Leuchars in September 2010.

During the exercise, four 6 Squadron Typhoons, representing the Royal Air Force, flew mock combat sorties alongside Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) F/A-18s, Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) MiG-29s and F/A-18s, and Republic of Singapore Air Force F-15SGs and F-16s.

6 Squadron successfully completed more than 70 sorties during the detachment, amounting to 164 flying hours. Moreover, the squadron delivered 100 per cent of the sorties it planned during the exercise itself.

Severe thunderstorms and the effect of the extremely long distance on the supply chain provided engineering challenges, but the overall assessment is one of resounding success for the squadron.

Officer Commanding 6 Squadron, Wing Commander Roddy Dennis, said:

"From my perspective as a Squadron Commander, Exercise Bersama Lima provided an excellent opportunity to prove Tranche 2 Typhoon's expeditionary capabilities and its ability to not only operate in tropical weather conditions and high humidity, which it did without impact, but also to conduct air operations with nations that we do not routinely train with.

"In addition, the opportunity to 'fight' against the RMAF MiG-29 Fulcrum was first class and saw Typhoon very well-placed, allowing the 6 Squadron pilots to take great confidence in the performance of Typhoon and it's [its] weapon system.

"It was also extremely useful to operate closely with the deployed RAAF F/A-18s from 75 Squadron who use similar operating procedures and tactics."

Exercise Bersama Lima marked the 40th anniversary of the Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA) between the UK, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand.

Established in 1971, the FPDA is a commitment undertaken by the five nations to consult in the event of an attack on Singapore or Malaysia. It is the only multilateral defence agreement in South East Asia with an operational element.

The joint exercise saw the participation of around 4,000 troops, 68 aircraft, 18 ships, two submarines and various support elements from the FPDA member nations.

The four RAF Typhoon aircraft from 6 Squadron flew to the Royal Malaysian Air Force base in Butterworth, Malaysia, from their base at RAF Leuchars in Fife, Scotland, to take part in Exercise Bersama Lima.

The 7,000-mile (11,265km) trip took the pilots four days with stops in Jordan, Oman and Sri Lanka, supported throughout by engineers and ground crews as well as a VC10 aircraft of 101 Squadron based at RAF Brize Norton.

War Games Center To Be Set Up By Indian Air Force

India is setting up a war gaming centre for its Air Force to enable the aerospace power train for warfare anywhere in the world by simulating scenarios at the strategic and operational levels.

The Delhi-based War Gaming Centre (WGC), as the Indian Air Force (IAF) would call it, will be up and functioning in about three years from now and will be more advanced than the Gwalior-based Tactics and Air Combat Development Establishment (TACDE), a top IAF officer said here.

The WGC will be modelled on the Indian Army's Delhi-based WARDEC or War Gaming Development Centre, but would go much beyond the latter's role to develop warfare doctrines for strategic reach, he said.

"The system will be able to generate scenario and simulation at strategic and operational levels in collaboration with other agencies, both military and civil, at the national level," the officer said.

"The facility will have the capability to play the war game in coordination with or independently from varied locations across the country," he said.

"The centre will paint scenarios anywhere in the world," he added.

Air Chief Marshal Norman Anil Kumar Browne had, in his first press conference as IAF Chief on October 3, pointed out that his force's area of responsibility is beyond the Indian Ocean region and wherever India's strategic interests lie.

Apart from taking into account the current fleet of aircraft, helicopters and infrastructure of the IAF, the centre will also cater to future inductions of aircraft and systems.

The WGC will be capable of playing out scenarios of being a neutral power, apart from planning for high number of contingencies and missions, and address issues like application of air power.

"Most importantly, the centre will provide and incorporate out-of-area contingencies, and include Army and naval forces deployment in the overall simulation models, to help in planning and execution of joint operations," the officer said.

The WGC will carry out strategic and operational doctrinal selection, integrate aerospace elements in the planning, and allow for execution of the war game in "real and turbo" time.

With a seamless integration of existing tactical war gaming tools and packages in the IAF, the centre, once established, will undertake creation of a bank of scenarios and objectives, including secondary ones, of various types for use in all planned exercises of the IAF.

Wednesday 23 November 2011

India Welcomes Israeli Air Force Chief

Even though Israel is looking for military solution to end Iran's ambition for nuclear weapon and India is looking for a diplomatic way out, yet India and Israel continue to silently expand their already expansive ties in the fields of defence and homeland security.

Israeli Air Force commander-in-chief, Major-General Ido Nehushtan, is the latest in the series of high-level visits to India, which are kept under the radar due to political sensitivities, to further bolster the "bilateral strategic partnership''. This comes close on the heels of the visit by Israeli Minister of public safety to expand counter-terrorism and intelligence sharing mechanism with India.

Maj-Gen Nehushtan, on his part, discussed military cooperation with IAF chief Air Chief Marshal N A K Browne on Monday, and is slated to meet his naval and army counterparts and other MoD officials on Tuesday.

Interestingly, India is all set to order another two advanced Israeli Phalcon AWACS (airborne warning and control systems), capable of detecting hostile aircraft, cruise missiles and other incoming aerial threats far before ground-based radars, at a cost of over $800 million.

Israel has steadily become the second-largest defence supplier to India after Russia. Recently it has bagged many big ticket orders. Most of the UAV's and drones used by the Indians are being supplied by the Israeli's. If total is calculated then Israel easily sells more than !billion worth of defense goods to India every year. As reported earlier DRDO and IAI are going to field Barak 8 pretty soon too. Plus Israel is very wary of Pakistani nukes too, it believes that Pakistan is the main black marketeer of nuclear weapons. It has urged India many times in the past to take decisive action against Pakistan.

Short Bio of Israeli Air Chief

"Major General Ido Nehushtan, the sixteenth Commander in Chief of the Israeli Air Force, enlisted in the IDF in July 1975. He volunteered for pilot training, and graduated as a combat pilot with honors. Following the course, he served as a pilot in a Skyhawk Squadron, and in 1978 he was transferred to fly Phantom aircraft, in the "Knights of the Orange Tail" Squadron.


In 1979, he was appointed as a Flight School instructor, and was a member of the school's aerobatic staff.


In 1983, he was retrained to fly the F-16 "Netz" and was placed in the "Negev" Squadron, where he became second-in-command.


In 1989, Nehushtan was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel, and was appointed as commander of the "Golden Eagle" Squadron. In 1991 he commanded the "Scorpion" Squadron.


In 1993, he was appointed as head of the Armament Branch of the Weaponry Department in IAF headquarters, and in 1994 he was promoted to the rank of colonel and appointed head of the IAF Planning and Organization Department. In 1997 he was appointed commander of the Hatzor Airbase.


In 2000, he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general, and appointed head of the Intelligence Group, in 2002 he was appointed head of the Air Group and in 2004 he was appointed head of Air Force Headquarters.


In August 2006 Nehushtan was promoted to the rank of major general and served as head of Planning Directorate in IDF General Headquarters.


In May 2008 he was appointed Commander in Chief of the Israeli Air Force.


Major General Nehushtan graduated with honours from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he studied Mathematics and Computer Science and earned an MBA from the Kellogg-Recanati International Executive MBA Program, a joint program of Tel Aviv University, and Northwestern University, Chicago. He is also a graduate of Harvard University's Advanced Management Program."

Monday 21 November 2011

Two Big Ticket Projects Cleared For IAF

Two important defense deals will get a final nod within a week or so. Both the deals are worth nearly 5000cr and are meant to beef up IAF. First one pertains to acquiring 75 Swiss turbo-prop aircraft to train novice pilots and second one is for 450 advanced French missiles to arm upgraded Mirage-2000 multi-role fighters.

Defence ministry sources say the two deals have now been "sent" to the Cabinet Committee on Security for the "final nod" after "clarifying all objections" of finance ministry. "The contracts will be inked after the CCS clears within a week or so," said a source.

IAF wants to induct trainers before the induction of MMRCA to train new pilots. The situation has been aggravated by the fact that IAF's 114 HPT-32 jet trainers have been grounded since 2009 due to repeated engine failure.

"We want to begin our first course on the Pilatus trainers from July 2013," said a senior officer. IAF, of course, is already inducting 123 British Hawk AJTs (advanced jet trainers), at a cost of around Rs 16,000 crore, but they are meant for "advanced'' combat training. The contract for the around 450 fire-and-forget, all-weather MICA (interception and aerial combat missiles) systems with French company MBDA, too, has been in the pipeline for quite some time.

You might recall that earlier this year it was agreed that Mirage-2000s will be upgraded by Dassault costing a whopping 10,947 Cr Rs.

First two fighters are being sent to France next month for the upgrade, the remaining 49 will later be "souped up" with new avionics, radars, mission computers, glass cockpits, helmet-mounted displays, electronic warfare suites, weapon delivery and precision-targeting systems by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd in India. The overall upgrade project cost will go beyond Rs 15,000 crore over the decade it will take to be completed. Down to just 33-34 fighter squadrons (each has 16 to 18 jets) from a 'sanctioned strength' of 39.5

mica_ds

For an interactive presentation click here or visit http://www.mbda-systems.com/e-catalogue/#/solutions/air/27/introduction

Some of the new deals being done by IAF are
1) 63 MiG-29s are to be upgraded under a $964 million deal inked with Russia in March 2008.
2) 126 MMRCA
3) IAF is also inducting 272 Sukhoi-30MKIs contracted from Russia for around $12 billion.
4) The first batch of the around 120 indigenous Tejas Light Combat Aircraft will join IAF from end-2013 onwards.
5) India plans to induct 250-300 stealth fifth-generation fighter aircraft co-developed with Russia from 2020 onwards, in what will be its biggest-ever defence project at around $35 billion.

Sunday 20 November 2011

Indian Army Has No Stomach For A Fight With China

Bharat Karnard in one of his articles criticized the Indian Army as being completely clueless when it comes to China and he believes they have become more like the Government Of India weak in the mind and knees. Do you agree with his viewpoint or is the Indian Army trying to survive and do its best because Delhi is being ruled by weak dreaming incompetent impotent government. LEave your comment with your take on it.

Isolation Ends For Myanmar

Good article about the prospects for India with Myanmar emerging from its isolation. Will it herald a better future for our people living on the border states and how can we leverage the situation to our advantage.

Friday 18 November 2011

Mahindra And Telephonic plan joint venture for radars, surveillance systems

Indian transport vehicles major Mahindra & Mahindra on Thursday announced a joint venture (JV) with US aviation communications equipment major Telephonics Corporation to produce radars, surveillance systems, and communications solutions for the Indian defence ministry and civilian sector.

The JV was announced at a press conference here by Mahindra Defence Systems chief executive Brig. (retd.) Khutub Hai and Telephonics Corporation CEO and president Joseph Battaglia.

Khutub Hai said the US firm will bring in 26 per cent investment for the JV, while his company will bring the rest 74 per cent.

Apart from the radars, surveillance systems and friend-or-foe identification systems, the joint venture will manufacture air traffic management services, and equipment for homeland security and other emerging surveillance requirements.

Tuesday 15 November 2011

Pakistani Sub-Standard JF-17 Crashes Killing A Squadron Leader


Pakistan’s ambitions to sell JF-17 fighter jets to prospective buyers suffered a setback on Monday when one of the aircraft in the ‘Thunder’ fleet crashed in Attock district during a routine flight, killing the pilot.

The tragic incident took place a day after Pakistan Air Force (PAF) exhibited the jets for sale at the Dubai Air Show, at a price almost one third of conventional F-16 fighter jets.
The jet crashed near Mansar Town after taking off from Kamra Airbase.
Although PAF officials did not offer any comments on the crash, several media reports highlighted that the jet was a frontline JF-17 Thunder combat manufactured with cooperation of China.

An official statement released by PAF authorities, however, did not mention the make of the plane. “A PAF jet aircraft, while on a routine training mission, crashed due to technical malfunction,” it said.

The PAF is in process to equip itself with two squadrons of JF-17 jets at present and planning to raise another squadron by early next year.

Media reports suggested that the pilot, Squadron Leader Muhammad Hussain, was killed as his parachute did not open after he bailed out of the aircraft. The pilot’s body was found about two kilometers from the site of the crash.

“The pilot was fatally injured. No loss of civilian life or property has been reported on ground,” added the statement.

The law enforcement agencies cordoned off the area after the incident. PAF rescue teams have launched an operation to clear the debris after dispatching helicopters and rescue teams to the crash site.

Air Chief Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman has ordered an inquiry into the mishap, a PAF official told The Express Tribune. JF-17 Thunder was jointly manufactured by Pakistan Aeronautical Complex, Kamra and China Aero-technology Import Export Corporation.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 15th, 2011.

Dirty Game Of Pakistan in Afghanistan: A Look From Inside

Author Amir Khan Maseed
The ISI, the Intelligence agency of Pakistan, has played a very dangerous role in Afghanistan, from arming unsavoury figures to flooding the country with weapons during the civil war. The ISI has done all it can through any means to keep Afghanistan weak and on its knees. The ISI is the main obstacle in the way of progression in the region; it has interfered, meddled and forced its way into Afghan affairs right from the beginning. The author will discuss the role of the ISI in Afghanistan in more detail.

The ISI has always favoured the Islamists in Afghanistan over any other dissident faction or group because Pakistan was founded on Islamist ideals; having political Islamists running Afghanistan would allow the ISI to meddle more easily in Afghanistan under the pretext of the Muslim brotherhood.

Since the 1970s, Pakistan has protected the Islamists in Afghanistan and provided them with shelter, training and weapons. At that time, Afghanistan was slowly changing into a modern progressive society; women were beginning to show their faces, there was more equality between the genders and cities were being modernised through development. The ISI on the other hand, were planning new tactics to counter this progression, and so the “Peshawar Seven” were born.

The Peshawar Seven, aided by the ISI and the Islamic Middle East, started to promote the “Islam is in danger” war cry just as Afghanistan was leaving behind the backwardness and tribalism that had plagued its society since its creation as a state. The ISI knew very well that a radical form of Islam could counter a strong Afghanistan so they worked on people’s emotions and spread propaganda such as “Afghan women are wearing skirts and not wearing the Burqa” through radio, mosques and loudspeakers all over the refugee camps in Pakistan.

While Pakistan enjoyed a secular lifestyle with a moderate Islamic law system, under which women were permitted to sing songs about Pakistan and promote Punjabi Pakistani culture and arts, the ISI had other plans for the people of Afghanistan; these plans were not nice and were extremely two faced.

On 27th November, 1979 a call for jihad was made by the ISI-led “resistance parties”. The ISI had run out of patience, and wanted to start the war quickly while there were no Soviet soldiers in Afghanistan. The ISI wanted to start some form of rebellion in the name of Islamic Jihad because they knew full well the Afghan government would call upon Soviet assistance, as it had done in the past, especially when Pakistan blockaded Afghan trade routes.

Pakistan sidelined any groups opposed to the Socialist Government of Afghanistan that did not hold or follow an Islamist belief; and that is how the Peshawar Seven came into being. All the members of this group were chosen by ISI/Islamabad. The groups within the Peshawar Seven were all radical Islamists; they were as follows:-

· Hizbul-Islami-Afghanistan led by Hekmatyar
· Hizbul-e-islami Afghanistan led by Maulvi Younas Khalis
· Jamiet-e-Islami Afghanistan led by Prof Burhan Ud Din Rabbani
· Ittehad-e-Islami Afghanistan led by Abdul Rabb Rasool Sayaf
· Mahaz-e-Millie e Islami Afghanistan led by Syed Ahmed Gilani
· Jabha De Nijat e Milli-e-Afghanistan led by Prof Sibghatullah Mujaddidi
· Harkat-e-Inqilab e Afghanistan led by Maulvi Muhammad Nabi Muhammadi
The Peshawar Seven were opportunists who were looking for any opportunity to enter Afghan politics, and they were assisted by the ISI who felt it would benefit them. Take the example of Daud’s coup in 1973; at the time, Burhan ud Rabbani offered Daud assistance from the Islamic movement on the condition that he left his communist comrades. Daud knew that this was an attempt by Pakistan to place their proxies in the Afghan government; Daud refused and many Islamists were arrested.

Afghanistan was constantly attacked by a revolution that was started in Pakistan and funded by the ISI. The Arab world also wanted a piece of the pie, and found the idea of an Afghanistan under Islamists quite attractive; that’s why the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood leader, Umar Salasani, visited Peshawar in October 1982 to show his support for the likes of Hekmatyar and for the Islamic revolution in Afghanistan.

The Islamists, had always turned to the Pakistanis for help and assistance; even during the rule of Sardar Daud, Younis Khalis, the leader of the Khalis group, would visit ISI-led Islamic Madrassahs such as the Darol Ul Haqqania in Akora Khattak, Nowshera district, to seek knowledge and education in implementing what the author would refer to as “Arabisation through radical Islamic doctrine”. In addition Younis Khalis formed a group that was against obscenity that went the name of “Hebz-Tawabin” in Ningrahar and Kabul. Younis Khalis also had a weekly magazine entitled “Gaheez” in 1968, which was used to produce materials in support of a radical Islamic system. Again, he was funded by and linked with the Aala-Al Maudoodi, then the Chief of Jama at-e-Islami in Pakistan.

The ISI knew very well, that if other Islamist groups were to emerge, they would find it very difficult to control and organise them, so they gave ultimatums that a failure to join one of the recognised Peshawar Seven groups would mean no weapons, and, without weapons and funding, the Islamists would be powerless in their Jihad against Afghanistan. The ISI developed a special cell by the name of the Afghan Bureau, which assisted and helped Islamist fighters in Afghanistan, provided those arms and weapons, and forged links with warehouses to provide constant supplies to bring about a radical Islamist revolution in Afghanistan.

Pakistan has two faces and suffers from self-denial; there have been countless times that Pakistan has denied any link or connection with Islamists in Afghanistan but then has been exposed. Pakistan would always deny it was arming Afghan refugees, and state that the fighters were in the tribal areas just to prevent it being seen to break any UN rules; however, everyone knew the Pakistanis were arming the Islamists, recruiting and brainwashing them in refugee camps through scare mongering tactics, and funding Islamists to spread propaganda. However, according to Brigadier Mohammed Yousaf of the Pakistani Army:

“During my four years some 80,000 Mujahedeen were trained, hundreds of thousands of arms and ammunition were distributed, several billion dollars were spent on this immense logistic exercise and ISI teams regularly entered Afghanistan alongside the Mujahedeen”. [1]

Pakistan remains a corrupt double dealer and two-faced hypocrite to this day. It is double dealing its own allies, on one hand taking dollars from the Americans, but on the other hand using those dollars to train suicide bombers to kill innocent Afghans through the Haqqani network and so to get even with India on Afghan soil.

Pakistan’s main goal in Afghanistan was to create a Pan Islamist entity, and a federation for which Pakistan’s Punjab would be the capital. US representative Wilson stated that the Pakistanis were committed to Hekmatyar as they predicted, just like Zia ul haq did, a world conflict between Muslims and Hindus. However, what makes the author astonished but not surprised is Zia Ul Haq’s plans to turn Afghanistan into another province. Wilson recalls Zia Ul Haq giving him a map “in which overlays indicated the goal of a confederation embracing first Pakistan and Afghanistan and eventually Central Asia and Kashmir”. [2]

The ISI was instrumental in forming these plans for a Pakistani-led confederation that would imperialise other countries in the region and radically Islamize their societies as a counter-strike against any rebellion against Pakistani control. Pakistan has a very long record of using Islam as a shield for its strategic interests in the region, and Afghanistan is a very good example of this.

The whole anti-Soviet war was not a war for the liberation of the Afghan people, but a war for ISI/Pakistan’s Islamic interests. Dr Marwat recalled an Islamist Afghan refugee leader stating the following:-

“We will try to make Pakistan and Afghanistan one country with a new name of Islamistan, and if not possible, then we will make a confederation of the two countries”[3]

Pakistan used radical Islamic beliefs and teachings to turn Afghanistan into a province so that if an attack by India occurred the Pakistanis would have easy access to station its troops and citizens in Afghanistan. The author feels that another reason why Pakistan required a defenceless Afghanistan to exploit was so that it could use the terrain and the people as proxies, or allow the establishment of militant groups for the liberation of Kashmir from India.

The traitorous and backward-minded sell-out Mullahs, not only supported taking anti-progressive measures, but also sold Afghanistan piece by piece to the Pakistanis. Even in May 1991 when the UN produced a five point peace plan for Afghanistan that promoted a ceasefire, fair elections and an end to all arms supplies, the bickering Mullahs and their Islamist supporters rejected the plan, and Hekmatyar requested the Pakistani government to formulate a new plan to satisfy the Mujahedeen. As usual, the Islamists begged Pakistan to defend them and their criminal ways.

To save its Islamist assets and secure Pakistan’s dominance over a future Afghanistan, in April 1992 Nawaz Sharif made the Peshawar Seven sign an accord to create a Mujahedeen government in Kabul. Nawaz Sharif, ISI general Nasir Ahmed, Army Chief of Staff General Asif Nawaz Janjuwa and Saudi Prince Turki Al Faisal all came to show their support to this interim government.

The real reason for this interim government was to secure both Pakistani and Radical Wahabist Arab interests in Afghanistan. The ISI knew that uniting the factions under a pan-Islamist ideology with allegiance to Pakistan would prevent the bickering Mullahs from fighting one another. However, as usual, the author feels the Mullahs were only interested in money, as Nawaz Sharif gave President Mujaddedi a cheque for 250 million rupees.

As time progressed, the accord failed due to infighting and constant bickering on who should be involved in sharing power; the Islamists had no idea nor knowledge of how to run a country, in the same way the Taliban had no understanding nor knowledge of how to run Afghanistan during the 90s. Due to this disturbance, on 7th March 1993 the Pakistanis, Saudis and Iranians brought all the Mujahedeen leaders to Islamabad, Pakistan to sign a power sharing plan called the Islamabad accord.

The Peshawar Seven/Islamists proved to be useless leaders and men of no value with regard to making Afghanistan stable and strong. The Afghan people, especially the refugees, were mistreated and forced to join the Peshawar Seven. People in most camps were required to become a member of one of the Peshawar Seven groups to be entitled to an identity and ration card from the Afghan refugee’s commissionrate. These were later called the “ration card parties” and they were led by Maliks/Mullahs who made money on the miseries of the Afghan people.

Pakistan’s intentions towards Afghanistan have always been cruel and self-centred. According to Dr Qaudir Amiryar, a professor at George Washington University, Pakistan supported the radical islamization of Afghanistan and favoured the Islamists, while rejecting the Secularist/Nationalists; they resorted to rejecting their visas and even denied a visa to King Zahir Shah.

The ISI could not see Kabul in peace or modernised. Most of the American aid destined for the Islamists went straight into the pockets of the Punjab/ISI elite in Islamabad/Rawalpindi. Zia Ul Haq made it quite clear, that all American assistance to the Mujahedeen/Islamists should go directly through Pakistan alone. Pakistan used the aid first to modernise and strengthen its army along the Indian-Pakistani border and secondly to provide a share of the aid to its most favoured Islamist elements in Afghanistan.

The ISI was never an organisation that wanted to see Afghanistan in peace; in fact the same General Akhtar Abdur Rahman of the ISI stated that “Kabul must burn”.[4] The ISI’s intention was to secure a future Islamist Afghanistan that would be recruited to serve the interests of Pakistan in the name of Islam and Al Jihad, even though most of Pakistan was living a different lifestyle to the one proposed and promoted by the ISI in Afghanistan. The ISI needed its Islamist assets to counterattack Secularism/Pashtun Nationalism in Afghanistan. It supported Islamist culture, such as suicide bombing camps, public lashings for minor crimes and the abolishment of indigenous culture and music, while Pakistan itself promoted a different kind of lifestyle on its own soil, with hardly any rebellion or objection from the Islamist parties, such as JUI which was more focused on destroying the well-being of Afghans than Pakistanis.

More years went by and peace was never brought to the land of Afghanistan. The same Mujahedeen, which had claimed at the start that is was bringing liberty to the Afghan people, started fighting one another for power. The ISI and other agencies were the main orchestrators of the mess, especially during the civil war. Pakistan’s Afghan policy started to face many problems, one being unaccomplished missions and another being the expense of funding particular under-performing proxies.

Hekmatyar and Dostum failed to capture Kabul and it eventually became too expensive for the Pakistanis to fund their activities. Rabbani become difficult to overthrow in Kabul and had sided with the Iranians, Russians and India. With the Kashmir front also being fought for by the ISI and the Pakistanis, the ISI found it difficult to organise its proxies and keep them intact due to the fact that most of the aid from the West stopped after the end of the Cold War. Pakistan had successfully destroyed Afghanistan, dismantled its infrastructure and turned its people into its “Jihadis of fortune”.

With the on-going dispute between Ahmed Shah Masood and Pakistan over aid and arms, the Pakistanis were in desperate need to formulate a new strategy to keep its influence intact in Afghanistan. This new strategy was the Taliban. The ISI, with the assistance of the JUI party, started to recruit young boys from well-known Islamist Madrassahs all over Pakistan; Darol ul Haqqani/Binori Masjid being one of the main recruiting centres.

Pakistan also started creating divisions by ethnicity and couldn’t resist turning the conflict into a Pashtun vs. Tajik war. The author can recall how Pakistanis used false propaganda and scare mongering tactics about a decline in Pashto usage in Afghanistan and the country being ruled by minorities. This spread into the minds of gullible Pashtuns all over the Pashtun region, but in fact it was Pakistan that had reduced Pushto’s importance by replacing it with Urdu in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. This is the same Pakistan that armed the non-Pashtuns under Rabbani and Ahmad Shah Masood to counter Pashtun Nationalism. Now the tides had turned in a different direction and the ISI took full advantage of it.

The Taliban followed a radical Islamist ideology that brought Afghanistan back into Pakistan’s sphere of influence. Most of the Northern Alliance realised, regardless of its Islamist past, that Pakistan was a double dealer and an untrustworthy friend. Former assets of Pakistan within the Peshawar Seven started to turn their guns on Pakistani interests, which led to Pakistan’s ISI trying to find some way to take control once again. The Taliban, under the pretext of “bringing peace and order”, was assigned the likes of Col Imam and Col Faizan by the ISIS to assist Taliban military gains and to take control of the Afghan capital of Kabul.

However, the author feels, there was another reason why the ISI and the Pakistanis invented the Taliban that the media and most readers never discuss; to show this, the author would like to point out the events that took place after Kandahar was taken by the Taliban. During the Zia Ul Haq government, Zia himself had always dreamed of an Islamist union with Pakistan as the leader, as mentioned earlier. Zia ul Haq really wanted to provide Pakistan with access to Central Asia, especially through the trade that goes through Afghanistan. The author feels the purpose of the Taliban was to secure this trade route through Afghanistan, as well as bringing order and preventing attacks from rivals or enemies of Pakistani interests.

General Babar, who was a Pakistani commander in the frontier corps, was the man who developed the Afghan trade development cell that had the task of facilitating a trade route to Central Asia. However, the author feels that Pakistan favoured its own economic interests over the so called peace they claim to have brought to Afghanistan through the Taliban. Pakistan was very much involved in projects in Afghanistan such as Pakistani Telecom setting up a microwave telephone network for the Taliban in Kandahar, which then became part of the Pakistani telephone grid.

Civilian Pakistani engineers from the Public Works Department and the water/power development authority worked on making road repairs and supplying electricity to Kandahar. Pakistan was once again, working to integrate Kandahar as a Pakistani city by providing development packages; however, the Pakistan Army was also involved, and was tasked to help the Taliban set up an internal wireless network for its commanders in the field. The PIA (Pakistani International Airlines) and the PAF (Pakistani Air Force) sent technicians to Kandahar airport to repair it along with the MIG fighter jets and helicopters captured by the Taliban.

When the Taliban captured Herat, the Pakistanis became joyful and decided to send a ten-man team led by the Director-General of the Afghan Trade Development Cell by road from Quetta to Turkmenistan. Those with him included men from the civil aviation, Pakistan Telecom, PIA, Pakistan Railways, Radio Pakistan and the National Bank of Pakistan. The individuals and their ministries were encouraged to fund and support the Taliban from their budgets.

The author feels the Pakistanis used the Taliban to extend their influence into Central Asia through an Islamist ideology. The Pakistanis knew very well that the society would become weak due to religious conflict, and with a Pakistani presence in the region they could somehow enter the politics and social life of the inhabitants through the name of the Muslim Brotherhood. However, the Pakistanis have their own interests, and couldn’t care less whose lives they destroy. Pakistan aimed to imperialise Afghanistan, and make Afghanistan dependent on its projects and development packages, and sooner or later planned to fully integrate it as a province led by Islamists.

Those vile and gullible supporters of Taliban must realise the Taliban were/are proxies of the Pakistani ISI and government. If NATO had not disrupted the Taliban network and operations in the region, the whole of Afghanistan would have become another province of Pakistan flooded by Islamist elements from abroad.

Pakistan armed, supported and provided assistance to the Taliban from its creation and throughout its time ruling Afghanistan; now one must ask what if NATO had not attacked the Taliban? What would the policy of the Taliban towards Pakistan be? Pakistan infected the fabric of Afghan society with the poisonous Islamist Ideology and anti progressive militancy. The Taliban supporters can use all the justifications they can come up with, but the fact remains that it was due to Pakistan that the Taliban become what they are today.


By

Amir Khan Maseed

References

Dr Fazal-Ur-Rahim Marwat. (2005). The Illusory "Peshawar Seven" Tanzimat (Parties). In: Dr Marwat From Muhajir to Mujahid. Peshawar: University of Peshawar. 59-99.

M. Hassan Kakar, Mohammed Kakar (1997). Afghanistan: The Soviet Invasion and the Afghan Response, 1979-1982. USA: University of California Press. 291.

William Maley (2001). Fundamentalism reborn?Afghanistan and the Taliban. UK: C. Hurst and Co Ltd. 84-86.


[1] Dr Fazal-Ur-Rahim Marwat. (2005). The Illusory "Peshawar Seven" Tanzimat (Parties). In: Dr Marwat From Muhajir to Mujahid. Peshawar: University of Peshawar. 59-99.


[2] Dr Fazal-Ur-Rahim Marwat. (2005). The Illusory "Peshawar Seven" Tanzimat (Parties). In: Dr Marwat From Muhajir to Mujahid. Peshawar: University of Peshawar. 59-99.


[3] Dr Fazal-Ur-Rahim Marwat. (2005). The Illusory "Peshawar Seven" Tanzimat (Parties). In: Dr Marwat From Muhajir to Mujahid. Peshawar: University of Peshawar. 59-99.


[4] M. Hassan Kakar, Mohammed Kakar (1997). Afghanistan: The Soviet Invasion and the Afghan Response, 1979-1982. USA: University of California Press . 291.

Video Of Indian Agni-IV Ballistic Missile

The DRDO has announced the successful launch this morning of the Agni IV missile, which has a range of 3,500 km. The DRDO says the test met all the mission parameters, and was fired out to a range of 3,000 km.

The missile was launched from a Road Mobile System at 9.00AM from Wheelers’ Island off the coast of Odisha. The missile followed its trajectory, in a text book fashion, attained a height of about 900kms and reached the pre-designated target in the international waters of Bay of Bengal. All mission objectives were fully met. All the systems functioned perfectly till the end encountering the re-entry temperatures of more than 3000⁰C.

Agni-II Prime Missile Test Fired Successfully

Adding teeth to its nuclear deterrence, India today successfully test-fired an advanced variant of nuclear-capable Agni-II ballistic missile with a strike range of 3,000 km from an island off Orissa coast.

"The surface-to-surface intermediate range missile was test-fired from a mobile launcher" at 09:00 hours from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Wheeler Island, about 100 kiloemtres from here, defence sources said.

Christened "Agni-II Prime", the new missile is a two-stage weapon system powered by solid propellant. It is 20 metres long and launch weight is 17 tonnes. It can carry a one tonne pay-load.

A Defence Ministry spokesman said in Delhi that from now on, the missile will be called 'Agni-IV'.

Describing the test-firing as "successful", defence sources said the missiles exact performances will be known after all data was collected and analysed from different telemetry and tracking stations as well as naval ships positioned near the terminal point.

"The indigenously developed new variant of 'Agni-II' series missile would have better accuracy and improved range", sources said.

"While the Agni-II missile has a strike range of 2,000 km and Agni-III can hit a target at a distance up to 3,500 km, this new variant with a strike range of 3,000 km will bridge the gap between Agni-II and Agni-III," they said.

In terms of accuracy, "some more improved features have been incorporated in it," a DRDO scientist said.

The first developmental trial of Agni-II Prime, conducted on December 10, 2010, had failed due to some technical problem in the control system. It deviated from its trajectory within seconds of its lift off from the same base and had plunged into the sea.

Sunday 13 November 2011

South Western Air Command To Hold MahaGujarat To Test NEw Concepts

Jaguars, MiG-29, MiG-27, Bison, Sukhoi-30 MKI and Mirage-2000 would be taking part in Exercise MahaGujarat to be conducted by South Western Air Command (SWAC) in Gujarat and Rajasthan from November 20 to December 13 to test new concepts in warfare.

Latest acquisitions like the Airborne Warning & Control System (AWACS), Flight Refueller Aircraft and some new radars with networking systems will also be used during the annual exercise which aims to impart a realistic training in sub-conventional and conventional operations to air warriors, a defence release said here.

Most of the operational units of South Western Air Command would be participating in the exercise which will include various facets of air operations. Joint operations with Southern Command, Army will also be carried out. The phase of the exercise with the Army will be held in Rajasthan sector and will include fighter, transport and helicopter operations.

Wednesday 9 November 2011

New Report Increases Concerns Over Iranian Nuclear Weapon Program

A new report on Iran's nuclear drive "seriously aggravates existing concerns," said a spokeswoman for the European Union's top diplomat, Catherine Ashton.

The United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) issued a report on Tuesday that Maja Kocijancic said "indicate the existence of a full-fledged nuclear weapons program in Iran."

"The new report confirms the continuous expansion of the Iranian enrichment activities, in violation to UN Security Council and IAEA board resolutions, where the increase of capacity to enrich uranium to 20 percent is of particular concern."

Berlin echoed the EU's concern.

"The German government has been concerned for a long time about the progress of Iran's atomic program and its possible true character," said government spokesman Steffen Seibert. "The content of the report natually reinforces these worries considerably."

Most of the report consisted of summarized findings that had already been partially revealed by the agency. There was new information as well, however, for example evidence of a large metal chamber at a military site for nuclear-related explosives testing.

More sanctions?

The UN Security Council has passed four sets of damaging sanctions against Iran over the issue, but on Wednesday veto-wielding Russia ruled out support for more.

"Any additional sanctions against Iran will be interpreted by the international community as a means of changing the regime in Tehran," Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency.

"That approach is unacceptable to us, and the Russian side does not intend to consider such proposals."

Moscow even expressed anger over the publication of the report, saying it could damage efforts to restart stalled talks with Iran. The foreign ministry said it was "gravely disappointed and bewildered."

France and the US, on the other hand, showed a willingness to ratchet up the pressure. French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said his country would push for "unprecedented sanctions" if Iran does not answer new questions about its nuclear program.

Israeli officials have remained tight-lipped on the report's findings and Israeli's military radio reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had ordered his cabinet not to comment.

Over the weekend and ahead of the report's release, however, Israeli leaders appeared on domestic and international media outlets and campaigned for increased international pressure on Tehran to halt its nuclear program while the country debated whether it should carry out an airstrike on Iran's nuclear facilities.

"Iran is the greatest danger, both for Israel and for the entire world," Israeli President Shimon Peres said on Sunday.


Iran dismisses report

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the country won't retreat "one iota" from its nuclear program, which he maintains is for civilian purposes.

In a speech broadcast by state television, he said the IAEA was discrediting itself by siding with "absurd" US accusations.

"The Iranian nation is wise. It won't build two bombs against the 20,000 you have," he said in comments apparently directed at the West. "But it builds something you can't respond to: ethics, decency, monotheism and justice."

The EU's Ashton represents six world powers - Britain, China, Germany, Russia and the US - in the frozen negotiations with Iran. Ashton has sent Iran a letter offering to resume negotiations if Tehran comes to the table without pre-conditions. Talks have been suspended since the beginning of the year over Iranian demands that broader nuclear disarmament in the Middle East and economic cooperation be discussed.

First Batch Of Mil Mi-17-V5 Delivered To Indian Air Force

As a part of the deal that India signed to acquire around 80 of these transport choppers, the first batch was delivered to IAF on 8th of November by Russians.Manufactured by Kazan Helicopters, a subsidiary of Russian Helicopters, the medium twin aircraft are equipped with a KNEI-8 avionics suite.

The Klimov VK2500-powered aircraft have strengthened gearboxes to enable high-altitude operations, addressing a key requirement that emerged following performance inadequacies with India's current Mi-17s.The Mi-17V-5 is the most up-to-date modification of the Mi-17. The helicopters being delivered are manufactured to the customer’s specification and are unique in their configuration. Each helicopter is equipped with a KNEI-8 avionics suite. It replaced a number of systems indicators, resulting in a very clear and intuitive cockpit with four large multi-functional displays that are easy to read and help reduce pilot fatigue. This avionics suite also helps cut down pre-flight inspection time, displaying all systems data and alerting crew when necessary.

India's air force operates more than 200 Mi-8/17-type rotorcraft.

NATO Scrambles F-16's To Intercept Russian Air Force Planes Over Baltic

4 NATO F-16 fighters jets were scrambled Nov. 7 as four Russian air force planes came perilously close to the territory of the Baltic states.

Defense ministry spokeswoman Ugne Naujokaityte said that four Danish F-16 fighters, which currently police the skies of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, took to the air twice to escort the Russian planes.

This area experiences very low frequency of Russian Air Force activity thus it was a bit of a shock to see this happening. Two AN26 transport aircraft and a TU134 bomber flew in succession from Russia's Baltic territory of Kaliningrad to Russia itself, and an IL20 intelligence-gathering plane flew in the opposite direction.

Baltic states that broke away from their communist masters have a professional army but lack a potent Air Force thus NATO countries agreed to police their skies in rotation. Denmark took over from France last month to patrol the skies of Lithuania.

The line between navigational error and Russian "buzzing" of the Baltics can be hazy, experts say. While the planes involved in Monday's incident did not actually cross into the Baltic states' airspace, it comes amid growing disquiet about a Russian build-up in the region.

This news becomes more significant in the light of the fact that Russian have bolstered the Kaliningrad defense structure by deploying a brigade of marines, and deployed a new anti-aircraft missile system sweeping the Baltic states and Poland.

USA Looking For Potent Weapons To Wage Cyber War On China

Pentagon plans to increase its research into offensive cyber warfare to counter the growing threat of Chinese in the cyber battle field. It is a perception growing in some quarters of the US Government that the Chinese have stolen the march over the Americans in the Cyber land and the frequency with which they have hacked into sensitive areas of the defense industry goes on to prove that theory.

The U.S. government needed "more and better options" to safeguard the country from assaults on sensitive computer networks and had to invest in both offensive and defensive tools, said Regina Dugan, director of the Pentagon's research arm, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

"Malicious cyberattacks are not merely an existential threat to our bits and bytes. They are a real threat to our physical systems, including our military systems," Dugan told a conference.

"To this end, in the coming years we will focus an increasing portion of our cyber research on the investigation of offensive capabilities to address military-specific needs," she said.

DARPA has proposed boosting funding in cyber research in the proposed 2012 budget from $120 million to $208 million and the Defense Department leadership has called for $500 million in funding for cybersecurity over the next five years, she said.

With other countries pursuing cyberwarfare capabilities and the danger from digital attacks growing by the day, the United States had to look at developing "offensive" arms to protect national security, said Dugan, without specifying what weapons could be employed.

"Our first goal must be to prevent war. We do so in part by being prepared for it. Failing prevention, however, we must accept our responsibility to be prepared to respond," she said.

To this end the first test of trans-Atlantic responses to cyber incidents, including cyber-attacks, took place in Brussels on the 8th of this month. Experts from the US Government joined counterparts from EU Member States to simulate how cyber security authorities on both sides of the Atlantic would cooperate in response to attacks.

Two hypothetical scenarios were tested: a cyber-attack which attempts to extract and publish online sensitive information from the EU's national cyber security agencies, and an attack on supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems in EU power generation equipment.

Neelie Kroes, European Commission Vice-President for the Digital Agenda said: "Recent high profile cyber-attacks show that global threats need global action. Today's exercise provides valuable lessons for specialists on both sides of the Atlantic."

Sony Playstation, the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, European Commission and European External Action Service have all been subject to cyber-attacks in recent months.

In practical terms, the EU contribution to Cyber Atlantic 2011 has been enabled by the European Commission, with key support from ENISA, the European Network and Information Security Agency, which has facilitated the exercise with the vital technical contributions provided by EU member states. The Department of Homeland Security has been in the lead for the US. The EU CERT (IP/11/694) also participated as an observer.

The Cyber Atlantic 2011 exercise was based on two hypothetical scenarios.

In the first scenario, various EU National Cyber Security Agencies (NCSAs) were confronted with what is known as an Advanced Persistence Threat (APT). Under this scenario, a hacker group, active for several years, launched a sophisticated and targeted cyber-attack to extract sensitive information from the victims, and publish this data online. Several cyber security agencies had been monitoring the group closely for more than a year. This surveillance led to cooperation between some European countries which succeeded in fighting off the attack. The US followed this incident and cooperated with the affected countries fearing that it may also be targeted.

The second scenario was based on (SCADA) system failure in an EU wind turbine. SCADA systems monitor and control processes in essential systems like water treatment and distribution, oil and gas pipelines, electrical power transmission and distribution, wind farms, civil defence siren systems, and large communications systems. This infrastructure failure, and the fact that US companies provide a significant percentage of SCADA equipment and software to Europe, led the EU to request coordination with American partners.

A recent DARPA analysis of cybersecurity over several months concluded that the U.S. government had to rethink how it defends cyberspace to keep up with a threat evolving at lightning speed.

"Why is it that despite billions of dollars in investment and the concerted efforts of many dedicated individuals, it feels like we are losing ground?" she asked.

The DARPA study found that security software had grown more and more complex over the past two decades - involving up to 10 million lines of code- while various viruses and other digital assaults required an average of 125 lines of code for malware, according to Dugan.

DARPA organized the "cyber colloquium" in the Washington suburb of Arlington to help find better ways to address the digital threat, inviting members of industry, government and academia - including "white hat" hackers, she said.

At the same event, the head of the National Security Agency, the secretive intelligence agency that carries out eavesdropping on foreign communications, and the U.S. military's newly created cyber command, Gen. Keith Alexander, proposed one way to improve the country's cyber defenses - cloud computing.

By shifting to a "cloud architecture," the United States would save money and be better placed to protect vital computer networks, Alexander said.

The current complex web of government and military networks is unwieldy and intelligence agencies cannot easily monitor for intrusions or attacks, he said.

How the Indian Army Salvaged Quake-Struck Sikkim

It is now over a month since rescue and evacuation efforts began following the September 18 earthquake in north Sikkim. Relief and reconstruction work by the Indian Army, Indian Air Force (IAF), Border Roads Organisation (BRO), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), in tandem with the local administration, continues unabated despite many adversities of weather and inhospitable terrain conditions.

Electromagnetic Bomb To Numb Enemies Command And Control Structure

In the not too distant future, Indian armed forces would be equipped with "e-bomb", courtesy Terminal Ballistic and Research Laboratory (TBRL), one of the top defence research and development laboratories in the country.

Stated to be most lethal weapon after nuclear bombs, the TBRL is expected to finish the R&D work on the project within the 12th plan period.

Located on the outskirts of Chandigarh, the lone ballistic laboratory of Defence Research and Development Organisation ( DRDO), TBRL has developed the technology and is working on a weapon, which would be capable of neutralising the command, control and communication systems of the enemy. Confirming the development, TBRL director Dr Manjit Singh told TOI that such weapon would be capable of causing huge destruction, without affecting humans.

"It would be equally capable of damaging the communication system and other technologies ensuring maximum and sudden setback to the enemy," Singh added.

He said that the technology of 'e-bomb' or 'electromagnetic bomb' would be based on explosive-driven high-energy pulse power technology and can be deployed against enemy's other establishments like civil utility networks and power generation networks, to name a few.

A P S Sodhi, senior scientist of TBRL working on the project, said that to develop electromagnetic bombs, they are using explosive-driven high-energy pulse power technology, which can produce a pulse current of peak value 1.4 mega ampere from chemical energy released by 2.8 kg of high explosives.

The information about the 'e-bomb' was shared by TBRL scientists on Monday on the sidelines of a gathering called to apprise about an international conference which the organization is holding from November 10 to 12 at its field laboratory in Ramgarh near Panchkula. Leading global experts from India, USA, Israel UK, Russia, Germany, Australia, Ukraine, Czech Republic and Poland, among other countries, who will be sharing their expertise and knowledge on the latest technologies now in use in the world as well as the latest trends in research on a host of sensitive subjects.

The conference has been organised by High Energy Materials Society of India (HEMSI) with a view to help in strengthening country's defence, space and internal security system.

More Eyes In The Sky For Indian Air Force

India is close to purchase two additional Russian-Israeli airborne warning and control system (AWACS) aircraft, the Times of India newspaper reported.

India ordered three A-50EI variants, developed on the basis of the Russian Il-76MD military transport plane and fitted with the Israeli-made Phalcon radar system, in 2004. They are already in service with the Indian air force (IAF).

The Times of India cited on Tuesday defense ministry sources as saying that an $800-mln draft contract “is now…in the final stages of being examined” before being signed as a follow-on order to the previous $1.1-bln contract.

According to the paper, India needs to strengthen its early-warning radar capability as the neighboring rival Pakistan has purchased at least four Swedish Saab-2000 AEW aircraft and is about to receive four Chinese ZDK-03 AWACS planes.

“The Phalcons significantly boost the effectiveness of both offensive and defensive operations. Their enhanced detection and interception capability, connected to fighters and surface-to-air missile systems, are tremendous force-multipliers,” the Times of India quoted an Indian military official.

In many aspects, the A-50 is comparable to the E-3 Sentry of the U.S. Air Force. It is fitted with an aerial refueling system and electronic warfare equipment, and can detect targets up to 400 km (250 miles) away.

India is also planning to integrate domestically developed AWACS systems into three Brazilian-made Embraer-145 aircraft to be later commissioned with the Indian Air Force. However, the completion of the project has been pushed back to 2014.

Monday 7 November 2011

Forgotten Volunteers On British Indian Army

Documentary shows the Indians who fought for the British and tries to throw a new light on them. Though I accept that they have been forgotten by both Indian and British Governments but who is to blame other than they themselves.

To the old Sikh soldier in the documentary who calls INA guys traitor for breaking the oath to King of Britain and forsaking their honor, I will ask what about your country-men and country, what about your oath to them. You had a blood oath to them and for few pieces of gold sold it to the British so do not grudge if those brothers look at you with scorn and contempt.

The best interview  I liked was the INA officer who when told that some of his relatives have joined British Army, took a bottle and smashed it on his relation's head and asked him to get lost to London and if he ever came to his house he will cut him up.

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Pakistan An Enemy Dressed As An Ally

Following interview shows what the US Commanders on the ground think about Pakistan, unfortunately due to various geo-political reasons, Obama keeps on singing the ally song and look the other way when it comes to Pakistan.

One more part which is missed is the role of Saudi Arabia, America will do well to look into the this players role which works behind the scene to undermine Americans in every steps.

Dragon's Fire On India's Western Border, Sino-Pak Joint Exercise On Rajasthan Border

To strengthen its desert warfare capability, China will once again hold a joint military exercise with Pakistan at the international border adjoining Jaisalmer, according to intelligence sources. This is the second joint desert war game in this area within three months. The exercise, named YOUVI-IV, will begin on November 16 and continue for two weeks.

China is believed to be once again trying to put pressure on India through the Pakistani border adjoining Rajasthan, the sources add.

According to the sources, China is extending strategic help to Pakistan in every way. China is not only providing arms but is also helping upgrade Pakistan's tank, weapons, UAV, ammunition etc.

For the second time, the Chinese forces have reached the border adjoining Rajasthan for such an exercise at places like Rahimiyar Khan, Islamgarh, Bijnaut in Pakistan. In this exercise, Pakistan's 2 corps and Multan's 5 corps will participate, while China's infantry engineering and armed regiment will take part. Along with desert war games, both countries would also exercise on anti terrorist activity, which will take place 30-40 km beyond the international border.

China during March had joint war practice with Pakistan's navy at Karachi, which was called YOUVI - III. Later in August, a joint war game was organised which was called Jiye China that took place opposite Bikaner and Jaisalmer border in Pakistan.

Sources said from October 23, a low level exercise of Pakistani troops is going on opposite the Barmer-Jaisalmer area. Due to this, the movement of Pak army has increased and there is mobilization of troops.

The presence of Chinese army was already there in the north-east and opposite Jammu and Kashmir and now they have reached the desert areas of opposite Rajasthan on the Pakistani border, which is dangerous for India. Some speculate it could be a far-sighted conspiracy of China to surround India from all the four sides.

It is to be noted that a large number of Chinese experts are in desert areas in name of oil and gas exploration in Pakistan. This area is just one to three kilometres from the international border.

Missing MiG-29 Fighter Pilot, Squadron Leader Dharmendra Singh Tomar's Remains Found

Burnt remains of the pilot of the ill-fated MiG-29 fighter aircraft have been found by IAF search teams, 19 days after the plane crashed in Lahaul Valley in Himachal Pradesh.

Some remains of 32-year-old Squadron Leader Dharmendra Singh Tomar, who hails from Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh, were found in the cockpit near the Gangstang glacier in Kherot village in the Chokhang hills at an altitude of 15,000-17,000 feet on Saturday, Western Air Command spokesman Wing Commander S K Mehta told.

“Some more parts of the engine, wings and cockpit, but smaller in size, have been recovered in the area. Now the search is on to locate the Flight Data Recorder (black box),” he said.

“The exact reasons of the crash would only be known only after the inquiry is over and ground search teams are looking for the Flight Data Recorder,” he said.

The last village on this route is Kherot after which the area is identified as Chokhang Hills, Mehta said.

The evidences have been sent for forensic examination and the family members of Tomar, who are camping at Adampur air base, have been informed about the development, he said.

Tomar is married to Neha, a housewife and they have a two-and-a-half year-old son, Veer.

“We are not believing the news. Our hopes are still alive. We are waiting for further information,” Tomar’s brother Shiloo told PTI from the Adampur air base. “The entire family is praying for my brother,” he said.

IAF’s Search and Rescue team had reached the accident site nine days after the MiG-29, which was on a routine training mission, crashed on the night of October 18.

The search and rescue mission was hampered due to bad weather and fresh snow fall in the area. Identification of the site where the plane had crashed and collection of the debris has been a very difficult task, he said.

The MiG-29 was on a night mission after taking off from Adampur for Jalandhar.

In order to locate the wreckage, IAF had launched a massive search operation and had flown different types of aircraft including Sukhoi-30 MKI, AN-32 transport plane and helicopters over the area.

Satellite imageries were also used to gain information of the aircraft as fresh snow fall and bad weather had slowed down the mission.

Saturday 5 November 2011

Army rolls out first Apache Block III aircraft

The first Apache Block III helicopter was delivered to the Army today during a ceremony at the Boeing plant here in which the aircraft was rolled out on stage under bright lights and a wisp of generated smoke.

Hundreds of industry, government and military officials attended the event in which two of the new AH-64 aircraft were actually delivered to the Army ahead of schedule. The first Block III helicopter was finished about a week early and the second about a month ahead of schedule, according to David Koopersmith, Boeing Attack Helicopter Programs vice president.

"It's an amazing game-changer," said Maj. Gen. Tim Crosby about the new Apache. Crosby, the Army's program executive officer for aviation, went on to say during a press conference that no other helicopter in the world could match the Apache Block III.

The new attack helicopter has a stronger engine, improved avionics, better computer-networking capability and increased maneuverability when compared to current Apaches, officials said.

The Block III Apache features a 701D engine, composite rotor blades, a "Rotorcraft Drive System of the 21st Century" known as RDS-21, Face Gear Transmission and High Performance Shock Strut advanced landing gear.

"It's like flying an Appaloosa stud," said Lt. Col. Dan Bailey, Apache Block III program manager, who said he had experience as a youth breaking horses.

"This aircraft is so much faster and stronger than anything we've had in the past," Bailey said.

Bailey said he used to compare the Block III to the older Apache models by saying it was like driving a sports car compared to a sedan. But after flying the newest aircraft configuration, he said it's much more than that.

"Flying the Block III is truly like trying to hold back that Appaloosa stud," Bailey said. "He always wants to go."

The first two Apache Block III aircraft will replace current prototypes and be flown by test pilots from the Redstone Test Center in Alabama. The helicopters will at first be kept at the Boeing complex in Mesa, Ariz., where pilots and engineers from Redstone will work with them. Then one of the two new helicopters may eventually be placed at Redstone Arsenal, officials said.

The next five helicopters are scheduled to be finished in March and will be fielded to the 1st Attack Reconnaissance Bn., 1st Aviation Regiment at Fort Riley, Kan. The unit is part of the 1st Infantry Division and is slated to be at initial operating capability with the Apache Block III helicopters by the first quarter of fiscal year 2013, officials said. They said it's likely the 1/1st will deploy to Afghanistan with the aircraft soon after that.

The 1st Battalion, 229th Aviation Regiment at Fort Hood, Texas, is the next unit tentatively scheduled to be fielded with the Apache Block III. But that could change, Army officials were quick to point out.

Overall, the Army plans to acquire 690 Block III Apaches between now and 2026 at a production rate of roughly two battalions per year, beginning in fiscal year 2013. Some of these will be re-manufactured aircraft and some built completely new. Crosby did add that the "constrained budget environment" over the next few years could affect the acquisition rate.

"We've got to think of this as part of the overall modernization strategy of the Army today," Crosby said of the Apache Block III.

Plans also exist to field the Apache Block III with U.S. allies such as Taiwan. The Taiwan government has a contract for 30 of the new aircraft to be fielded over a 12-month period. Officials added that other coalition nations have requested demonstrations of the new aircraft's capabilities.

source Army News Service

U.S.A Concerned Israel Will Not Warn Them Before Iran Attack

U.S. officials are concerned that Israel will not warn them before taking military action against Iran's nuclear facilities, a senior U.S. military official said Friday.

The official, who asked to remain anonymous, told the CNN network that although in the past, U.S. officials thought they would receive warning from Israel if it did take military action against Iran, "now that doesn't seem so ironclad."

The U.S. is "absolutley" concerned that Israel is preparing an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities, and this concern is increasing, CNN reported the official as saying.

The U.S. has increased its “watchfulness” of Iran and Israel over the past few weeks, U.S. Central and European Commands, which watch Iranian and Israeli developments respectively, are “increasingly vigilant” at this time, according to the official, and a second military official who also spoke with CNN.

The military official emphasized that the U.S is concerned about the risk a strike against Iran could pose for American troops in Iraq and in the Persian Gulf, according to the CNN report.

The official also said that the U.S. does not intend to follow a military action against Iran, CNN said.

This past week, reports have surfaced regarding Israeli military action against Iran. A senior Israeli official said Wednesday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak are trying to muster a majority in the cabinet in favor of military action against Iran.

On Friday, President Shimon Peres said that he believes Israel and the world may soon take military action against Iran. His comments followed

As the drumbeat of reports about possible military action against Iran's nuclear facilities intensified, an International Atomic Energy Agency report, to be released next week is expected to reveal intelligence suggesting Iran made computer models of a nuclear warhead and other previously undisclosed details on alleged secret work by Tehran on nuclear arms, diplomats told The Associated Press on Friday.

In Fear Of US Seals Pakistan Has Started Dispersing Its Nuclear Weapons

Pakistan in its latest effort to cock a snoot at USA has started moving its nuclear weapons to new locations in un-armed normal vans through congested and risky roads. This was done to evade the US spy agencies and their ever present eyes.

The Atlantic and National Journal, in a joint report citing unnamed sources, wrote that the U.S. raid on May 2 that killed al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden at his Pakistani compound reinforced Islamabad's longstanding fears that Washington could try to dismantle the country's nuclear arsenal.

This prompted the Pakistani Government to order Strategic Plans Division(SPD) to move its nuclear arsenal to locations hidden from the US.Khalid Kidwai who leads the SPD has used every bit of his agencies resources to do so as fast as possible.Unfortunately in his haste and the pressure to keep his movements hidden, Kidwai decided to take these weapons on delivery van through congested and dangerous roads. We must remember each of these weapons are capable of annihilating a large part of any city. The pace of the dispersal movements has increased, raising concerns at the Pentagon, it said.

U.S. Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) has for years trained for a potential "disablement campaign" that its forces would lead and that would require entering more than a dozen nuclear sites and seizing or defusing atomic weapons, it said.

The operation would use sensitive radiological detection devices that can pick up trace amounts of atomic material, and JSOC has even built mock Pashtun villages with hidden mock nuclear-storage depots at a site on the East Coast to train elite Navy SEAL and Delta Force commandos, the report said.

Although Pakistan has suggested it might shift towards China and forsake its ties to Washington, Chinese officials have reached an understanding in secret talks with U.S. representatives that Beijing would raise no objections if the United States opted to secure Pakistan's nuclear weapons, said the report, citing unnamed U.S. sources.

Friday 4 November 2011

Communist Media Obsessed With A Fictional Indian Monster


I just went to a very popular Chinese news site and .....

MAN THEY ARE OBSESSED WITH INDIA. People blame India for having panic attacks each time PLA moves a mule but you should see their reports and the conspiracy theories. Bollywood and Hollywood should start reading Chinese media for inspiration.


Some Gems That I Found


Japan And India with USA building a naval front against China to capture South China sea. Indian Navy is not concerned with Indian Ocean, they want a piece of Pacific too. Basically the writer claims that Japan and India form a wide defensive arc to block China because to enter Pacific they have to cross swords with Japan and to enter Indian Ocean and beyond they will have fight Indian Navy.


100,000 new Indian troops on the border in response to the peaceful "DEMILITARIZATION" of Tibet by China is basically a ploy by Indian Army to avenge 1962.Even though China has reduced most of its military presence to reach out to India a hand of friendship , India has responded by placing deadly cruise and ballistic missiles on Indo-China border.


India in illegal occupation of 100thousand square km of Chinese territory.


Long discourse on India Russia joint ventures and upcoming MMRCA deal.

Even before anybody knows about anything they have proclaimed that USA is going to give new F-35 to India and strengthen the Indian nuclear arsenal to counterbalance China.




View From The Dragon Land On Indo-Russia FGFA


Russia has announced its priorities for the export of arms where India is the key priority. Currently, Russia and India are jointly developing the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA). Recently, the Indian Air Force reported the plans to purchase more than 200 FGFA fighters. 

On October 8, the Indian Air Force organized an exhibition and demonstration flights at the base near New Delhi to celebrate the 79th anniversary of the national Air Force. It was announced that the Air Force would buy 214 FGFAs, including 166 single-seat and 48 twin-seat models. The twin-seat fighters will be manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL).

Chang Hu, the editor of a military magazine, and his colleague were invited to the studio of the Chinese television CCTV. They answered a number of questions.