Indian Military

LONDON: Senior British army figures on Wednesday warned David Cameron not to "fall into the trap" of a hasty Afghan troop drawdown, a day after the premier scolded the military for claiming it was overstretched.
Head of the British army General Peter Wall cast doubt on Prime Minister Cameron's 2015 deadline for the withdrawal of combat troops during an interview for a BBC documentary due to be aired Wednesday.
"Whether or not it turns out to be an absolute timeline or more conditions-based approach nearer the time, we shall find out," Chief of the General Staff Wall told the "Afghanistan: War Without End?" programme.
Meanwhile, former army chief Richard Dannatt urged Cameron not to be tempted to accelerate the withdrawal by US President Barack Obama's expected announcement that 10,000 US soldiers are to be brought home.
"Obama may wish to withdraw troops for his domestic political purposes but I am quite sure our prime minister will not fall into the same trap," the former soldier told The Times.

[Stratpost]

 

The BAE Systems-developed Eurofighter Typhoon Helmet Mounted Symbology System.

The European Eurofighter Typhoon consortium is offering its almost science fiction-evoking helmet to the Indian Air Force (IAF) as part of its bid to win the 126 Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) tender, according to company sources. The helmet can enable a pilot to lock-on target and shoot by voice command, merely after looking at the target.

Company sources confirmed to StratPost that the Eurofighter Typhoon Helmet Mounted Symbology System, developed by BAE Systems and released last July, was part of its offering to the IAF. BAE Systems had issued a press release on the helmet earlier this month, calling it something out of Star Wars, in a reference to its seemingly filmy capabilities, where it said the helmet ‘lets the pilot see through the body of the aircraft’.

[PIB] The thirty member Indian Air Force Brass and Jazz Band played live for the general public at India Gate, New Delhi today. The gathered people were treated to the soulful tunes ranging from an overture to ‘Mozart’s Symphony 40’ to ‘Ae Mere Watan Ke Logon’, from ‘Havana’ to the sensational ‘Waka Waka’ concluding in ‘Vande Mataram’. Besides the music, that held the audience completely rapt, the Air Warrior Drill Team also performed during the show.

From the earliest times, music has been a soul stirring accompaniment to the men of arms, acting as a catalyst of exciting passion and inspiring them to go forth and conquer. Military bands enliven the spirit, strengthen the mood and help in promoting pride and camaraderie.

The first Air Force Band was raised in the year 1944 at the Royal Air Force Station, Kohat, in North Western Frontier Province. Today there are eight bands in the Indian Air Force. Progressing from the delightful martial music, successive conductors of the bands enhanced the range of its repertoire to include arrangements of symphonies, overtures and concertos as well as other forms of contemporary music including the Indian Classical.

New Delhi – A host of joint military exercises or ‘wargames’ have been envisaged by the Indian Armed Forces in the coming months with various countries including Asian nations, European nations as well as the US.

Currently, two major exercises are taking place in India including the “Indra” wargames between India and Russia in Uttarakhand and ‘Indra-Dhanush’ air combat wargames between the Indian Air Force (IAF) and British Royal Air Force (RAF) in West Bengal. The former has crack troops from the Indian 99 Mountain Brigade and Russian 34 Independent Mountain Infantry Brigade as participants and for the latter, the British RAF has deployed its Eurofighter Typhoon fighters, E-3D AWACS (airborne warning and control systems) and VC-10 mid-air refuellers. As for the IAF, it is participating with Sukhoi-30MKIs, Mirage-2000s, MiG-27s and the Phalcon AWACS.

Apart from these ongoing joint military exercises, the near future will unfold greater military exercises between India and other countries that will not only heighten multi-national military operations but also prove beneficial to India in terms of national security.