Indian Military

New Delhi — Indo-Russian military ties are set to grow stronger as India will soon order an additional 59 Russian Mi-17 helicopters from Russia. This decision to acquire 59 helicopters on top of the 80 helicopters ordered earlier has been taken by the Indian Air Force (IAF). The defence acquisition council has cleared the proposal and the request will be forwarded to the cabinet committee on security clearance soon.

The IAF has been trying to augment its fleet of medium-lift helicopters and the acquisition of an additional 59 Mi-17 helicopters aims to fulfil that mission. The existing fleet of medium-lift helicopters will be phased out soon. The Mi-17 helicopters will enhance the IAFs capability to carry out missions in high-altitude areas and relief operations. India had signed a deal with Russia in 2008 to supply 80 Mi-17s to augment its existing fleet of around 150 Mi-8 and Mi-17 medium-lift choppers. These helicopters have over five tonne load carrying capability and are also used to ferry troops.

New Delhi – The recent visit by the US President to India has paved the way for greater defence cooperation and is expected to boost military ties to a high level. With greater freedom in technology exchange and defence import/export and relaxation on controls, it is likely that Indo-US co-development of high tech weaponry will reach the maximum possible level.

Due to US sanctions and other US government restrictions, the Indian Defence Ministry and its Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has never joined hands with the US defence industry to produce critical weaponry or big-ticket projects.

On the other hand, India is doing joint development contracts like the $12 billion Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) project with Russia which will be signed next month and there is the $2-billion partnership between the DRDO and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) to co-develop an anti-aircraft missile. The US has not come close to any projects of such magnitude because of government policies and sanctions.

New Delhi – Indo-US military ties are expected to be heightened as the Indian Army Chief General VK Singh’s six-day long visit to the US is currently underway. The US visit comes two years after former Indian Army Chief had visited the country. The current Indian delegation includes the Defence Secretary Pradeep Kumar.

Among the main highlights of this US visit will be a discussion regarding the procurement of 145 ultra light howitzers (ULHs) which India intends to buy from the US through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) route. It may be noted that since the infamous Bofors scam in the 1980s, Indian artillery has not seen the induction of a new gun in the last two decades. Currently, BAE Systems of US is making the M-777 ULH but the process has been disrupted again as trial reports of the howitzer were leaked prompting the Army Headquarters to order a court of inquiry.

During the current visit, the Indian Army Chief General VK Singh would also be discussing the acquisition of ten C-17 heavy lift transport aircraft and the procurement of the Javelin missile system which India plans to acquire through the FMS route as well.

TOKYO: Japan's defence minister said his country needs stronger military ties with the US and South Korea to balance China's growing might, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.
In an interview with the paper, defence minister Toshimi Kitazawa said relations with the United States were strengthened by the help its military provided in the aftermath of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
He said Japan was particularly concerned about China's increasing naval capabilities.
"Our priority is to make our bilateral relationship with the US rock solid," he told the paper.
"In order to maintain the right balance in our relationship with China, we need to also solidify the ties between Japan, the US and South Korea," said Kitazawa, of the centre-left Democratic Party of Japan.
Kitazawa earlier this month tearfully thanked US forces for their help in the round-the-clock relief effort in the aftermath of the quake and tsunami.
His comments appear to show a change of attitude in the ruling party, whose previous premier, Yukio Hatoyama, had vowed a less subservient relationship with Washington.

ISLAMABAD: In a sign of changing dynamics in US-Pak military ties post-Osama bin Laden, Pakistan's powerful army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani has laid down conditions for intelligence sharing with the Americans.
He also brushed aside possibility of a full scale military operation in North Waziristan at this stage under pressure from the US.
A meeting of the Pakistan Army's Corps Commanders chaired by army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani yesterday decided to share intelligence with the US "strictly on the basis of reciprocity and complete transparency".
"It has been clearly put across to US intelligence officials that no intelligence agency can be allowed to carry out independent operation on our soil," said an unusually detailed statement issued by the military after the meeting of the army's top commanders yesterday.
Kayani informed his commanders that military to military relationship with the US has to be viewed within the larger ambit of bilateral relations between the two countries.

BEIJING: An eight-member Indian military delegation arrived in Beijing on Sunday on a week-long goodwill visit to China, marking the resumption of defence ties between the two Asian giants that were frozen for a year.
The multi-command delegation is headed by Maj Gen Gurmeet Singh of the Northern Command.
During the tour, the delegation will visit Chinese military units and hold talks with their counterparts in Beijing, Xinjiang and Shanghai, official sources in Beijing said.
This is the first Indian military delegation to visit China in about an year as an earlier delegation to be headed by the then Northern Command chief Lt Gen BS Jaswal cancelled its tour last year after China declined to provide regular visa to him.
This prompted India to put off the military exchanges until China changed its policy of issuing visas on stapled paper to residents from Jammu and Kashmir, being followed from 2008 on the ground that it was a disputed territory.
The issue, however, was resolved after China started issuing regular visas to several Jammu and Kashmir residents including some journalists who covered Sanya in China this year to report on the BRICS summit.

NEW DELHI: From just a couple of joint exercises annually a decade ago, Indian Army is really cranking up its engagement with foreign armies now. The 1.13-million force will undertake as many as 16 combat exercises with friendly forces in 2011-2012.
The flurry of exercises constitute an effective diplomatic tool to enhance overall strategic ties and military-to-military cooperation with countries in India's "immediate" and "strategic neighbourhood" as well as "priority nations'' far away.
From US, UK, France, Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan to Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, Maldives, Seychelles, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand, the response has been "simply overwhelming", say Army officers.
"Other armies are very keen to exercise with us since we have six decades of combat experience across the entire spectrum of conflict. One of the main focus areas in the exercises has been counter-terrorism/counter-insurgency in rural, semi-urban and urban terrains," said a senior officer.

ABOARD THE USS GEORGE WASHINGTON (AP): Cold War enemies the United States and Vietnam demonstrated their blossoming military relations Sunday as a US nuclear supercarrier floated in waters off the Southeast Asian nation's coast - sending a message that China is not the region's only big player.

The visit comes 35 years after the Vietnam War as the US and Vietnam are cozying up in a number of areas, from negotiating a controversial deal to share civilian nuclear fuel and technology to agreeing that China needs to work with its neighbors to resolve territorial claims in the South China Sea.

The USS George Washington's stop is officially billed as a commemoration of last month's 15th anniversary of normalized diplomatic relations between the former foes. But the timing also reflects Washington's heightened interest in maintaining security and stability in the Asia-Pacific amid tensions following the sinking of a South Korean warship in March, which killed 46 sailors.

WASHINGTON: Ahead of his meeting with Indian counterpart A K Antony, US defence secretary Robert Gates has said the Pentagon wants to strengthen and expand its military to military ties with India.

"We are looking to expand this relationship in ways that are mutually beneficial," Gates told reporters at a Pentagon briefing ahead of the crucial Antony visit next week.

"They (India) have a big competition going on for a new modern fighter. We'll probably have some conversations about that," Gates.

The defence secretary said he had a very good visit to India last year wherein he met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and defence minister A K Antony.

Responding to a question on the India's concerns about restriction on export of high-technology items, Gates acknowledged that this is high on the agenda and he would like to see those restrictions removed.

"I think that that is certainly high on our list, particularly in the context of export-import, or export controls, and my view of the importance of changing those export controls in ways that better protect the things that are really important and open up trade and allow US companies to sell abroad those things that technologies that are not critical," Gates said.

WASHINGTON: The United States and China are to resume military contacts cut off since early 2010 with initial meetings planned for next month in Hawaii, a Pentagon official said on Wednesday.

Both sides had agreed in talks with Beijing that military maritime talks would be held from October 14-15 in Hawaii, followed by defence talks in Washington later in the year, spokesman Colonel Dave Lapan said.

"Both sides agreed that dialogue is essential to build mutual trust and reduce the chances of misunderstanding and miscalculation," he added in a statement.

Military ties between the two countries have been repeatedly stalled, with Beijing calling off scheduled visits or exchanges as a way of protesting Washington's policies, particularly US arms sales to Taiwan.

China cut off the dialogue in January after the US administration unveiled plans to sell 6.4 billion dollars in weapons and military hardware to Taiwan.