A Look At India`s Armed Forces

Photo from Defence Forum India

The Trials and Tribulations of India’s Armed Forces -- The Diplomat

While spending billions of dollars on defense equipment, India's military faces a number of challenges in its quest to enter the 21st century.

The old saying that a developing country is at a crossroads, whether it’s India or Indonesia, is especially tempting when it comes to India’s armed forces. Decades of underinvestment, corruption, bureaucratic ineptitude and hazy strategic thinking have left the country with a decidedly mixed bag of military capabilities.

The old saying that a developing country is at a crossroads, whether it’s India or Indonesia, is especially tempting when it comes to India’s armed forces. Decades of underinvestment, corruption, bureaucratic ineptitude and hazy strategic thinking have left the country with a decidedly mixed bag of military capabilities.

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My Comment: An informative review of India`s military. In short .... they still have a long way to go.

China Comments On India's ICBM Test

Photo: The Agni 5 missile was launched from Wheeler Island off the eastern coast of India on Thursday. Reuters

China Warns India Of Arrogance Over Missile Launch -- The Telegraph

India has been warned against arrogance in its relations with Beijing following its successful launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of striking any city in China.

It has spent heavily on military expansion despite its poverty on an arms race it cannot win, according to an editorial in China's state-controlled Global Times newspaper.

The editorial was published after India claimed its successful test of the Agni V meant it had joined the elite group of countries with intercontinental ballistic missile capabilities. The missile can hit any city within 3000 miles with a nuclear war head.

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More News On India's ICBM Test

Chinese media mock India's 'dwarf' missile -- BBC
India downplayed Agni-V's capacity: Chinese experts -- Hindustan Times
Agni-V will be operational in 2 years -- Times of India/AFP
Signs of an Asian Arms Buildup in India’s Missile Test -- New York Times
The 'missile woman' behind India's new ICBM -- BBC
An Arms Race at Arm’s Length -- Daniel Politi, IHTimes

After Today's Successful ICBM Test, India Declares Itself A Major Missile Power

India Declares Itself Major Missile Power -- Voice of America

India Thursday said it successfully test-fired a new missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead as far as Beijing - announcing itself as a major "missile power."

Indian media showed video of the long-range Agni-V missile in-flight after its launch from a test range in the eastern state of Orissa.

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Previous Post: India Successfully Test Launches It's First ICBM

More News On India's Missile Program

India tests missile that can reach China -- Christian Science Monitor
Mixed views over missile success -- Sydney Morning Herald
India missile test has few critics, unlike NKorea -- AP
India's Fire God: A new ballistic missile puts China - and Europe - within striking distance -- Daily Mail
Agni-V: U.S. says “exercise restraint” -- The Hindu

What Happened To India's Military?

Headquarters of the Ministry of Defence in New Delhi. Rediff

Once A Beacon Of Integrity, India's Military Is In Disarray -- Globe and Mail

Indians wearied by a litany of corruption scandals and failures of government in recent years have been able to take comfort in the fact that one national institution – the armed forces – remained unbesmirched, its reputation for efficiency and integrity intact.

No longer. Leaked secret memos, million-dollar bribe allegations, a “near-coup experience” and a bizarre dispute over the army chief’s birthday have badly tarnished the image of the 1.3 million-member fighting force that controls nuclear weapons in a volatile region.

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My Comment: I (and everyone else) should be covering this story more extensively. India is one of our critical allies, and it is in a region of the world that will play a critical role in shaping policy for our own national security.

Rediff has a must read piece article on the shocking state of India's military forces .... the link is here.

Update: India Successfully Test Launches It's First ICBM

India Successfully Test Launches It's First ICBM

India Test-Fires Longest-Range Missile to Counter Neighbor China -- Bloomberg

India test-fired its longest-range missile for the first time, a weapon with the potential to target parts of northern China.

The 50-ton, 17.5-meter Agni-V missile that is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead and traveling 5,000 kilometers was launched at about 8:05 a.m. local time from Wheeler Island in the eastern state of Odisha today, according to CNN-IBN television channel. Ravi Kumar Gupta, a spokesman for the state- run Defence Research & Development Organisation, which makes the missile, did not answer two calls to his mobile phone.

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More News On India Successfully Test Launching It's First ICBM

Agni-V, India's first ICBM test-fired successfully -- Times of India
Agni V, India's first ICBM, successfully test-fired -- NDTV
Agni V successfully test-fired -- The Hindu
India launches long-range missile on test flight -- CNN
India tests long-range missile; capable of reaching China -- CNBC
Agni-V missile to take India into elite nuclear club -- BBC
Indian missile that could hit Beijing tested -- CBS/AP
India Launches Long-Range Missile -- Wall Street Journal
India tests nuclear missile that can hit Beijing -- USA Today/AP
India tests long-range nuclear-capable missile -- AFP
Top 10 facts about Agni-V -- NDTV

India Increases It's Defense Budget By 12%

Indian Defense Budget Gets 'Hefty' Rise -- UPI

NEW DELHI, March 3 (UPI) -- India raised its defense budget by more than 11 percent in the face of China's growing military might.

The increase to $36.5 billion for 2011-12, from $32.74 billion this year, includes a 12 percent boost in capital spending for equipment and services.

From next month, capital spending will rise from $13.33 billion this year to nearly $15.4 billion, Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said in his presentation of the budget to the country's Parliament, the Lok Sabha.

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More News On India's Defense Budget

India announces defence spending increase of 12 per cent -- Jane's Defense
With an eye on China, India steps up defence spending -- Reuters
India hikes defence spending by 12 percent -- Daily Times
India Boosts Defense Spending by 11% -- NTD Television
11 percent hike in defence budget to push modernisation -- Sify News
India plans to increase defense spending by 11 percent next year -- RIA Novosti
India hikes defense budget -- Xinhuanet
Defence Budget sees 11.6% increase -- Business Standard

India Is The Place To Be If You Are An Arms Merchant

Photo: Assorted military guns are on display at India's defense show in New Delhi, 15 Feb 2010. Photo from Voice of America

For The Arms Industry, India Is A Hot Market -- Time Magazine

The Indian Defense Minister, A.K. Antony, called this week's massive defense-industry trade show, Defexpo 2010, "an endeavor to showcase India's capabilities in land and naval systems as well as its emergence as an attractive destination for investment in the defense sector." His junior minister, M.M. Pallam Raju, was a little more blunt. He called the event, which attracted more than 600 companies from 35 countries, a "one-stop shop." India is emerging as one of the most important defense markets in the world, with billions of dollars to spend, and the global defense industry is only too happy to help it do so.

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More News On India's Growing Arms Purchases And Industries

India Increasing Defense Spending as Economy Grows -- Voice of America
Govt pushes "make Indian" policy at defence fair -- Reuters
Top defense firms vie to feed Indian arms appetite -- AP
Global firms vie for $31-bn Indian mkt at DefExpo -- Financial Express
Defense firms vie to feed India's arms appetite -- San Francisco Chronicle
India’s unending defence expenditure -- Pakistan Observer
Armament majors eye big, fat defence pie -- Deccan Herald
Growth opportunities in Defence -- Business Line
India speeds up $11 bln fighter jets purchase -- Reuters
New Indian defence production policy in two months -- The Hindu

India Successfully Tests Nuclear-Capable Missile

From Voice Of America:

The surface-to-surface Dhanush missile was fired Sunday from a ship in the Bay of Bengal.

India says it has successfully test fired a short range, nuclear-capable missile.

Officials fired the surface-to-surface Dhanush missile Sunday from a ship in the Bay of Bengal. The missile can hit a target up to 350 kilometers away.

India last tested the Dhanush missile in 2007.

India and neighboring Pakistan routinely test-fire missiles. The two countries have fought three wars since partition in 1947, and both countries conducted nuclear weapons tests in 1998.

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More News On This Indian Missile Test

N-capable missile Dhanush test-fired successfully -- Indian Express
India tests nuclear-capable ballistic missile -- AFP
India Test Fires Short-Range Missile -- Wall Street Journal
Dhanush missile test fired successfully -- The Hindu
India test fires ballistic missile off east coast -- Reuters

The Growth Of India's Military

U.S. Eyes Bigger Slice Of Indian Defense Pie -- Washington Post

New Delhi Boosting Military Budget in Modernization Mission

NEW DELHI -- In the ballroom of a five-star hotel here, executives from Bethesda-based Lockheed Martin, the world's biggest arms supplier, threw a candlelight reception one recent night to woo Indian defense experts as their country embarks on a major military shopping spree.

India plans to spend an estimated $100 billion on defense over the next decade to modernize its Soviet-era arsenal. With its growing military footprint, India is steering away from traditional ally Russia, its main weapons supplier, and looking toward the United States to help upgrade its weapons systems and troop gear.

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My Comment: This is still a fraction of what China is spending, but for India this is a start.