Indian Military

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's elected government will complete its tenure as there is no threat to democracy and the army has no intention of coming to power, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has said.

"The army neither intends to come to power nor will it come to power. The judiciary is independent and pro-democratic," he told journalists at his official residence yesterday.

There is no threat to democracy as the civilian government came to power after making numerous sacrifices and winning the 2008 election, he said.

The army is part of the civilian government and is taking part in flood relief activities at the government's request, he added.

"Despite this if some people are engaged in a debate (about a threat to the government and the army coming to power), they are wasting their time," Gilani said.

He said those who consider the army and the civilian government as two separate entities are living in a "fool's paradise".

NEW DELHI: Aiming to strengthen its medium-lift helicopter fleet, the IAF is planning to procure 59 more Mi-17 IV choppers in addition to the 80 ordered earlier from Russia.

The 80 choppers ordered in 2008 will be for enhancing the medium-lift helicopter fleet of the IAF whereas the next 59 would be used for replacing the older ones in the existing fleet which will be phased out in coming years, defence ministry officials said here.

The proposal for acquiring the 59 choppers has already been cleared by the defence acquisition council and will be put up for cabinet committee on security clearance soon, they said.

India will start receiving the first of 80 Mi-17 transport helicopters from Russia by the end of this year which will help in augmenting its capability to carry out missions in high-altitude areas and relief operations.

The remaining choppers are likely to be inducted in phased manner in next four years.

In 2008, India had signed a deal with Russia to supply 80 Mi-17s to augment its existing fleet of around 150 Mi-8 and Mi-17 medium-lift choppers, which have over five tonne load carrying capability and are also used to ferry troops and VIPs.

WASHINGTON: Military bases across the US have banned the sale of a new video game that lets a player pretend to be a Taliban fighter and "shoot" US troops in Afghanistan.

Gamers are scoffing at the decision, saying that advanced technology has made it commonplace in the gaming world to let players switch sides and play the bad guy.

"Medal of Honor" by Electronic Arts, a major game developer based in California, hits stores Oct. 12.

After public protests, including by British defense secretary Liam Fox, US military officials decided not to stock the game in any of the nearly 300 base exchange shops.

Fox said last month that he was "disgusted and angry" by what was a "tasteless product." Fox called on retailers to show their support for the troops by not selling it.

"At the hands of the Taliban, children have lost fathers and wives have lost husbands," Fox said. "It's shocking that someone would think it acceptable to recreate the acts of the Taliban against British soldiers.

A copy of the first page of the letter that six industry associations have joined hands to write to India's Ministry of Defence, suggesting policy reforms
By Ajai ShuklaBusiness Standard, 9th Sept 10
Frustrated by the Ministry of Defence’s cold-shouldering of suggestions and requests from overseas arms companies, a large chunk of the international defence industry --- usually fiercely competitive --- has joined hands to demand from Defence Minister AK Antony a better structured and more supplier-friendly defence procurement policy. Amongst the demands: an enhanced FDI ceiling of 74%; allowing dual-use technologies as offsets; and the creation of an offsets authority to bring in predictability and transparency.
The letter to Antony, which Business Standard has reviewed, was signed on 25th August by the heads of six defence and aerospace bodies that represent almost every major US, British, German, French and Canadian arms corporation.

New Delhi — The training programme for new pilots in the Indian Air Force (IAF) has been adversely affected ever since the grounding of the fleet of HPT-32 “Deepak” aircraft, after a mishap that claimed the lives of two IAF pilots in 2009.

However, things have started looking up for the IAF as it is about to begin trials for the new trainer aircraft wherein six competitors will showcase their trainer aircraft. The flight trials will begin this month in the western state of Gujarat.

The six competitors and their respective aircraft in the fray include GROB 120 TP of Germany, Embraer EMB 312 ‘Super Tucano’ of Brazil, Korean Aerospace Industries KT-1, Finmeccanica M-311 of Italy and Pilatus PC-7 of Switzerland. The Indian government has cleared an off-the-shelf acquisition of 75 and 106 will be built by state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). The main contractor will have to deliver the first 12 aircraft within 24 months of the contract and the remaining trainers will follow in batches.

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka's detained former Army chief Gen Sarath Fonseka today described as "last nail in the coffin of democracy" the constitutional reforms enabling President Mahinda Rajapaksa to seek a third term and cautioned that this could pave way for a military rule in the country.

Fonseka, the 'war hero' who led the country's forces to victory against the Tamil Tiger rebels in May 2009, said the Democratic National Alliance led by him will continue its struggle against the amendments.

The government was opening "the door for a military coup in the country by introducing the 18th Amendment to the constitution", Fonseka, now a Parliamentarian, was quoted as saying by the 'Daily Mirror'.

The bill that will enable the President to seek a third term in office is likely to be passed by Parliament late tonight, where the ruling coalition has a two-thirds majority.

Whenever the bill is passed, that will be a "dark day for democracy".

[PIB] Next week, the Indian Air Force (IAF) would usher in a modern, state-of-the-art digital information grid by dedicating Air Force Network (AFNET), a fully secure and reliable network to the nation making it a true net-centric combat force. The AFNET replaces the IAF’s old communication network set-up using the tropo-scatter technology of the 1950s.

This monumental achievement also marks the successful clearance of one milestone for release of radio spectrum, a very valuable but finite resource. Defence Minister, Shri AK Antony will launch the AFNET services of the IAF at a special function to be held at New Delhi, on Tuesday. Union Telecom Minister, Shri A Raja will also be present at the function.

The IAF project is part of the overall mission to network all three services. The mission comes in the backdrop of an IT Roadmap document of the Defence Ministry stipulating automation, simulated training and mandatory computer proficiency in the services.

IAF has taken up a mandate to create and maintain an assured, dedicated, secure and inter-operable communication network along with associated services to provide real time, instantaneous transfer of information between Sensors, Command and Control (C2) centres and Shooters.