Category — Defense/ Security

India celebrated its 63rd Republic Day on January  showing off its latest weapons at a military parade in the capital, Delhi. According to the BBC, thousands of people turned up at Rajpath (King’s Avenue) to watch the parade amid tight security. More than 25,000 policemen and paramilitary forces guarded the streets of Delhi and snipers were deployed on high-rise buildings.

The president, Pratibha Patil and the Prime Minster Dr. Manmohan Singh attended the show with the chief guest, Thailand’s  Prime Minister Ms. Yingluck Shinawatra.  Security was tight across India and thousands of policemen have been deployed in major cities and towns.

Yingluck Shinawatra, Thailand's Prime Minister (on left, in skirt) with Pratibha Patil, India's President (on right)

Today in California,  I am attending a celebration of Republic Day in San Francisco, hosted by Consul General Parthasarthi and his wife.

More photos from the parade in Delhi, hot off the press courtesy of India’s information bureau

ALH or Advanced Light Helicopters operated by India's Army

India's BSF or Border Security Force, shows off their motorbike skills

India's Defense R&D lab has designed and built this Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, Rustom 1

According to the annual review of the news of 2011, Foreign Policy, ranked India at #1 in its list of Top Ten Stories you may have missed.

Comparing to China, the magazine said, India isn’t the only Asian giant investing heavily in new military hardware. India has kept pace with its neighbor to the north and, in some areas, is actually exceeding it — a development that, though much less noted, is a sign of the growing militarization of the region as a new generation of emerging powers with global ambitions jockeys for regional supremacy.

The publication chose to highlight India’s maritime power push. “India is focusing on sea power, a crucial new area of competition. The country is planning to spend almost $45 billion over the next 20 years on 103 new warships, including destroyers and nuclear submarines. By comparison, China’s investment over the same period is projected to be around $25 billion for 135 vessels.”  And it went to point out to its readers that for now, the United States seems much more comfortable with India’s military ambitions than China’s.

What this means

Even among the readership of an elite international publication, the awareness of India’s changing role in both the global strategic arena and the defense procurement landscape is not fully appreciated.

Number six of the six C-130J Super Hercules ordered by India, under the US Foreign Military Sales (FMS)  program, departed Lockheed’s Marietta,Georgia facility  on December 15. This aircraft, like its five predecessors, was delivered ahead of schedule and under budget, according to the supplier. Lockheed’s win was  the first large order placed on an American OEM by India’s Ministry of Defence in decades.

Lockheed is hopeful of a follow-on order of another six planes that would put the overall value of the two deals at close to two billion dollars.

According to NewKerala.com, in the aftermath of the 6.8 magnitude earthquake last September, a C-130J was the first of the planes to fly to the nearest air base in Baghdogra in West Bengal, carrying relief supplies and National Disaster Management Force members, within a flying time of under three hours. It also did several more sorties to carry relief material for the victims of the earthquake.

The U.S. Congress was officially notified of the potential sale of Mk-54 Lightweight Torpedoes to the Indian Navy. The Mk-54 is the most advanced lightweight torpedo in the U.S. Navy inventory and is intended to be deployed with the Boeing P-8I maritime patrol aircraft, eight of which are currently being built for India. The P-8I, equipped with Mk-54 torpedoes, will provide long-range anti-submarine warfare capabilities for the Indian Navy.

The MK54 torpedo in mid air

According to the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency, the Government of India has requested a possible sale of  of All-Up-Round Lightweight Torpedoes, 3 recoverable exercise torpedoes, 1 training shape, containers, spare and repair parts, support and test equipment, publications and technical documentation, personnel training and training equipment, transportation, U.S. Government and contractor representatives’ technical assistance, engineering and logistics support services, and other related elements of logistics support. The estimated cost is $86 million.

The Mk-54 torpedo is currently in service with the Royal Australian Navy. Taiwan is also reportedly considering a purchase.

During the coming Fall, the Indian Army will hold a massive  war game exercise in winter featuring one of its three potent strike corps in the desert along the western border with Pakistan. The Bhopal-based 21 Corps will work in the Rajasthan desert,  aimed at building the capacities of the strike formation in delivering deadly blows to the enemy forces in a short offensive by breaching the hostile army’s defenses and capturing important strategic assets deep inside enemy territory.

The war game will enable the 21 ‘Sudarshan Chakra’ Corps to showcase its firepower through battle tanks and artillery guns, supported by Indian Air Force fighter jets, attack helicopters and transport aircraft, with 20,000 troops involved in the exercise. A report in the Mangalorean newspaper said, “In simple terms, it involves replacing a lumbering elephant with a racehorse.”

What this means:

India wants to make a statement to its neighbors that it stands ready to defend itself. It is also looking to showcase its new hardware each year, hardware from France, Russia, USA , UK and others.