Courtesy http://www.livefistdefence.com/2013/08/video-drone-footage-of-iafs-c-130j.html
Thursday, 22 August 2013
Drone Footage OF IAF C-130J Landing At Daulat Beg Oldie
Courtesy http://www.livefistdefence.com/2013/08/video-drone-footage-of-iafs-c-130j.html
LCA Tejas Mk-II Prototype Hitting The Skies Near You By 2014
 |
| Courtsey Idrw.org |
At present HAL is looking to install a solid dependable line for various units of this craft. The following statement gives us a hint of their goal.
“HAL-ARDC is taking up for development and qualification of certain LRUs required for catering to LCA-Mark 2 version. The first prototype aircraft is slated for built during 2013-14, while series production(s) are planned for induction to fleet which is stated to be taken up in two phases commencing from 2016 onwards.”
Even though work seems to have begun on a war footing by getting a metal mockup ready and they have also floated numerous contracts for various plane parts like composites etc yet the author is a bit skeptical about the HAL's capability to stick to the time line. Not only that but 2014 is also the year in which MK-I is supposed to get operational clearance. Looking at HAL's previous abysmal record this project looks like another one for the history books.
Chinese Troops Come 20 km Inside India. Is India Heading For 1962 Again
Are the chinese sending troops inside Indian territories at various places for probing our preparedness or lack of it. Are these troops part of reconosaince mission of the larger invading force lying behind? These are some of the questions being asked by Indian public. Sadly though no answer is forthcoming from a Government which has been bogged down by corruption and nepotism. The opposition is completely fractured most of them are in the Governments pocket due to pending court cases and investigations. To top it all the Indian economy is in a free fall with the Central bank and the finance minister unable to do anything but to watch helplessly as the dream of a strong economy burns.
Under these circumstances China has chosen an opportune moment to turn the screws. Slowly it is becoming clear that there is a method to these seemingly unconnected events of Chinese troops coming inside Indian territories and camping for few days or weeks.Some people suggest that these are pressure tactics, while that may be true to some extent, it is belief of the author that these movements are part of a plan by the Chinese army to access the ground realities and map the geographical terrain behind the enemy lines. This move can only one thing that they are preparing for an assault which will carry their troops deep inside Indian territory. Instead of being surprised by some unforeseen circumstances the Chinese Generals are finding out what kind of situation their forces will face once inside India.
The second target may be to gauge the extent of Indian Armies preparedness to fight back.
Once all the pieces fall into place then the Chinese will make their move. One of the pieces being Pakistan, last time around they did not have support of the Pakistani's when they invaded but this time around they want to give their ally enough time for preparing a strong attack on the western borders of India.
In Jammu,Kashmir and Ladakh region Indian army will be caught in a pincer movement by the Chinese and the Pakistanis due to the connecting highway. Only sticking point for them is the Indian army posted at Siachen.
Another problem could be Daulat Beg Oldie landing strip thus they have tried to push some men and find out the situation in that area too. The audacious intrusion into the Depsang Bulge, a table-top plateau, threatened to cut off India's access to some 750 sq km area in northern Ladakh: an area roughly half the size of Delhi. The face-off site was just about 35km south of the strategic Karakoram Pass, which is at the tri-junction of China-Pakistan-India borders, and overlooks the Siachen Glacier-Saltoro Ridge to the west and the Indian observation post in the Chumar sector to the east.
Indian Army and ITBP sends patrols to Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO) and the Karakoram Pass. These patrols start from a place called Sasoma aound 80 km from Leh and then move on foot across the Saser and Depsang passes which are situated at a height of in excess of 16,000 feet. Thus loss of the Depsang Bulge would have cut off access to the areas north of the passes.
Indian Army Officers who were posted there say that this area is the only good staging area in the entire region from where Indian army may gather its men and machine to launch an offensive. This is because the bulge is the only wide open land in the region which is full of high jagged ridges of the Karakoram range in the north and Ladakh range in the south.
India armed forces hold the airstrip dear as it can be used for deploying mean and material in the region to cut off Karakoram highway between China and Pakistan. This was demonstrated by the 90 minute flight by IAF's C-130J aircraft from Hindon airbase.(Read details Times Of India News Site )
It is a well known fact that China has taken over the Gilgit-Baltistan area and now are the masters enslaving the local population. Exploiting their natural resources, putting the men and women of that area to work as their slaves basically like a horde of locust they are just devouring the land. To these new masters of Gilgit-Baltistan Daulat Beg Oldie presents a real challenge. Which in turn will put their Gwadar and Karakoram highway connection plan in jeopardy too. China wants a port on Arabian sea and Gwadar is already leased out to them.
At times of emergency this air strip can be used to support Indian troops on the Siachen glacier too.
Now the latest provocation has come in the Arunanchal Pradesh border. It is the fervent hope of the author that Indian Government should put all its effort in war preparedness. This task should be taken up as a national emergency with all non-essential resources being directed toward that area.
Primarily all the environmental or political or monetary block should be removed for building roads in this area in a war footing. The mountain corp should be raised and activated as soon as possible. Though the navy mandarins have a counter view. They believe that India can cripple China and Pakistan completely if given opportunity.
Read The Counter point here
Unfortunately the situation in India is very similar to that of 1962, just like Nehru PM singh lives in a dream world of peace and panchasheel, refuses to look at the reality and has completely destroyed the war making capability of the nation as a whole. Example being mumbai attack which had the whole country up in arms but the pacifist did not let the army do anything thereby destroying the morale of the army. Next attack on the army was forced ouster and the mud slinging on the capable General called Gen(retd) V.K Singh. The same thing happened pre-1962 with Gen Thimaiyya and Nehru. Just like 1962 we have a good but incapable/unsuitable man as defense minister who is firmly a party man not a strategist. Thus the winds are blowing in favor of the Chinese once again.
Under these circumstances China has chosen an opportune moment to turn the screws. Slowly it is becoming clear that there is a method to these seemingly unconnected events of Chinese troops coming inside Indian territories and camping for few days or weeks.Some people suggest that these are pressure tactics, while that may be true to some extent, it is belief of the author that these movements are part of a plan by the Chinese army to access the ground realities and map the geographical terrain behind the enemy lines. This move can only one thing that they are preparing for an assault which will carry their troops deep inside Indian territory. Instead of being surprised by some unforeseen circumstances the Chinese Generals are finding out what kind of situation their forces will face once inside India.
The second target may be to gauge the extent of Indian Armies preparedness to fight back.
Once all the pieces fall into place then the Chinese will make their move. One of the pieces being Pakistan, last time around they did not have support of the Pakistani's when they invaded but this time around they want to give their ally enough time for preparing a strong attack on the western borders of India.
In Jammu,Kashmir and Ladakh region Indian army will be caught in a pincer movement by the Chinese and the Pakistanis due to the connecting highway. Only sticking point for them is the Indian army posted at Siachen.
Another problem could be Daulat Beg Oldie landing strip thus they have tried to push some men and find out the situation in that area too. The audacious intrusion into the Depsang Bulge, a table-top plateau, threatened to cut off India's access to some 750 sq km area in northern Ladakh: an area roughly half the size of Delhi. The face-off site was just about 35km south of the strategic Karakoram Pass, which is at the tri-junction of China-Pakistan-India borders, and overlooks the Siachen Glacier-Saltoro Ridge to the west and the Indian observation post in the Chumar sector to the east.
Indian Army and ITBP sends patrols to Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO) and the Karakoram Pass. These patrols start from a place called Sasoma aound 80 km from Leh and then move on foot across the Saser and Depsang passes which are situated at a height of in excess of 16,000 feet. Thus loss of the Depsang Bulge would have cut off access to the areas north of the passes.
Indian Army Officers who were posted there say that this area is the only good staging area in the entire region from where Indian army may gather its men and machine to launch an offensive. This is because the bulge is the only wide open land in the region which is full of high jagged ridges of the Karakoram range in the north and Ladakh range in the south.
India armed forces hold the airstrip dear as it can be used for deploying mean and material in the region to cut off Karakoram highway between China and Pakistan. This was demonstrated by the 90 minute flight by IAF's C-130J aircraft from Hindon airbase.(Read details Times Of India News Site )
It is a well known fact that China has taken over the Gilgit-Baltistan area and now are the masters enslaving the local population. Exploiting their natural resources, putting the men and women of that area to work as their slaves basically like a horde of locust they are just devouring the land. To these new masters of Gilgit-Baltistan Daulat Beg Oldie presents a real challenge. Which in turn will put their Gwadar and Karakoram highway connection plan in jeopardy too. China wants a port on Arabian sea and Gwadar is already leased out to them.
At times of emergency this air strip can be used to support Indian troops on the Siachen glacier too.
Now the latest provocation has come in the Arunanchal Pradesh border. It is the fervent hope of the author that Indian Government should put all its effort in war preparedness. This task should be taken up as a national emergency with all non-essential resources being directed toward that area.
Primarily all the environmental or political or monetary block should be removed for building roads in this area in a war footing. The mountain corp should be raised and activated as soon as possible. Though the navy mandarins have a counter view. They believe that India can cripple China and Pakistan completely if given opportunity.
Read The Counter point here
Unfortunately the situation in India is very similar to that of 1962, just like Nehru PM singh lives in a dream world of peace and panchasheel, refuses to look at the reality and has completely destroyed the war making capability of the nation as a whole. Example being mumbai attack which had the whole country up in arms but the pacifist did not let the army do anything thereby destroying the morale of the army. Next attack on the army was forced ouster and the mud slinging on the capable General called Gen(retd) V.K Singh. The same thing happened pre-1962 with Gen Thimaiyya and Nehru. Just like 1962 we have a good but incapable/unsuitable man as defense minister who is firmly a party man not a strategist. Thus the winds are blowing in favor of the Chinese once again.
Wednesday, 21 August 2013
Why is Daulat Beg Oldie So Important?
Daulat Beg Oldie Standoff: An Assessment
V. Mahalingam
The logic of Chinese encroachment
Legally speaking China has no business to be in areas beyond its borders. Its border ends at Xinjiang, which was incorporated into the Chinese empire when it was conquered by the Mongol leader Genghis Khan in the 13th century. Known to the Chinese as Xiyu (“Western Regions”) for centuries, the area became Xinjiang (“New Borders”) upon its annexation under the Qing (Manchu) dynasty in the 18th century.1 The then borders did not include areas of present Chinese claims.
V. Mahalingam
The logic of Chinese encroachment
Legally speaking China has no business to be in areas beyond its borders. Its border ends at Xinjiang, which was incorporated into the Chinese empire when it was conquered by the Mongol leader Genghis Khan in the 13th century. Known to the Chinese as Xiyu (“Western Regions”) for centuries, the area became Xinjiang (“New Borders”) upon its annexation under the Qing (Manchu) dynasty in the 18th century.1 The then borders did not include areas of present Chinese claims.
Tuesday, 20 August 2013
LOC Skirmishes What is the real story?
For the past few weeks India and Pakistan have been trading heavy fire on the Line of Control(LOC) yet nobody knows what are the actual reasons for Pakistan challenging India for a firing match which it knows it cannot win. It tried to instigate a reaction by beheading Indian soldiers and ambushing an Indian patrol.Why?
On the Indian side most citizens are up in arms for what is perceived as Government apathy towards the casualties and cold blooded murder of soldiers on LOC. There is a mob frenzy which seeks bloody retribution.
My question is a bit more involved than just joining the Pakistani's in a duel. Why would Pakistan escalate tensions on LOC for what purpose and why now?
Lets look at the simplistic answer,
- Pakistanis are an evil race which lives, drinks and dreams of war with Indian republic.
- Pakistan wants to push in more infiltrators under the cover of heavy firing.
- Pakistan Government has lost control over its commander who are driven by jihadi mentality.
All these explanations though plausible are not probable. Let's look at point no 2 infiltrators are pushed through specific paths and firing or shelling there makes sense but this is more wide spread and acts by the Pakistani Border Action Team defies logic because they know this will push the lackadaisical Indian Government into taking action. So there must be a more sinister plot afoot.
As to point 3 as much we would like to believe it to be true and give Nawaz Sharif the PM of Pakistan a clean chit the pretext to that point isn't true. While Nawaz may not control Pakistani army to the full extent yet its rank and file haven't been infiltrated to a large extent as of now. General Kayani remains in full control of his armies thus it cannot be a renegade general performing these acts.
Therefore what is the point behind all this?
As to point 3 as much we would like to believe it to be true and give Nawaz Sharif the PM of Pakistan a clean chit the pretext to that point isn't true. While Nawaz may not control Pakistani army to the full extent yet its rank and file haven't been infiltrated to a large extent as of now. General Kayani remains in full control of his armies thus it cannot be a renegade general performing these acts.
Therefore what is the point behind all this?
The answer may lie in many points and the Pakistanis may be trying to hedge their bets on multiple issues. We all know that the so called dove Nawaz Sharif has activated the dormant Kashmir Cell of the Pakistan Government as soon as he took oath of office. This cell's sole responsibility is to put Kashmir on the international forum and by overt or covert means force India to a discussion on Kashmir in UN or other places. His parties provincial government is bankrolling terrorist organisations responsible for countless attacks on Indian cities including Mumbai. Yet he talks of peace. What Nawaz Sharif has guessed and rightly so is the predisposition of Indian Government towards peace come what may and the romantic idea in PM Singhs mind that Nawaz Sharif and the people of Pakistan are basically a hostage of General Kayani. Thus they must do everything in its power to support Sharif against Kayani.
Keeping this in mind Pakistan wants to play good cop and bad cop routine by asking its military to kill as many Indian soldiers as it can and push infiltrators into India for jihad. If their guess is correct PM Singh will force the Indian military to give a token timid response to assuage the public. This will have two fold effect, firstly it will de-moralize the soldiers on the ground reducing their efficiency against the terrorist and make the international community jittery about a possible confrontation between nuclear powered nations. thirdly it will cement the theory in the minds of PM Singh and Foreign minister Khurshid of India that this is the handiwork of Kayani to embarrass poor helpless PM Sharif.
Due to the nervousness of International Community we have already seen noises being made by some western powers for talks between India and Pakistan while Mr Khurshid has categorically stated the Governments resolve to talk peace. They have successfully marginalized the Indian army into a glorified mall security guard. Emboldened the secessionist factions in India.
On the other hand if the Government of India thus react into doing something drastic then Pakistan will be ready for it and it will give excuse to China to jump into the fray. This is the ultimate goal of Pakistan is to involve China in Kashmir war thus paving the way for annexation of Kashmir to Pakistan.
Keeping this in mind Pakistan wants to play good cop and bad cop routine by asking its military to kill as many Indian soldiers as it can and push infiltrators into India for jihad. If their guess is correct PM Singh will force the Indian military to give a token timid response to assuage the public. This will have two fold effect, firstly it will de-moralize the soldiers on the ground reducing their efficiency against the terrorist and make the international community jittery about a possible confrontation between nuclear powered nations. thirdly it will cement the theory in the minds of PM Singh and Foreign minister Khurshid of India that this is the handiwork of Kayani to embarrass poor helpless PM Sharif.
Due to the nervousness of International Community we have already seen noises being made by some western powers for talks between India and Pakistan while Mr Khurshid has categorically stated the Governments resolve to talk peace. They have successfully marginalized the Indian army into a glorified mall security guard. Emboldened the secessionist factions in India.
On the other hand if the Government of India thus react into doing something drastic then Pakistan will be ready for it and it will give excuse to China to jump into the fray. This is the ultimate goal of Pakistan is to involve China in Kashmir war thus paving the way for annexation of Kashmir to Pakistan.
Instead of joining Pakistan in a gunbattle India should escalate the war on fronts where Pakistan is weak and a decisive move by the Indians will cause huge losses. this will make Pakistans forked tongue strategy too costly to maintain. Indians should get rid of their romantic notions about the Pakistani people and their establishment. Just like one Gandhi does not make every Indian a saint in the same way one Pakistani singer does not make every one of them sufi mystics.
Subscribe to:
Posts
(
Atom
)