Gunners Shot

I am honoured that this article was originally published by  India Today    as part of a special DEFENDING INDIA edition @   https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/defence/story/20210621-retooling-for-war-in-super-high-altitudes-lt-gen-p-ravi-shankar-retd-1813375-2021-06-   Retooling for war in super-high altitudes  by Lt Gen. P. Ravi Shankar (Retd) The Indian Army has been on top of the threat from the plains. But it needs new technologies for operations at super-high altitudes Lt Gen. P. Ravi Shankar (Retd) June 11, 2021  ISSUE DATE: June 21, 2021 UPDATED: June 11, 2021 18:17 IST The Indian armed forces are rebalancing along the northern borders. The total number of troops in super-high altitudes (over 12,000 feet) will increase manifold. Rebalancing additional forces into super high altitudes has implications on operational efficiency, financial impact and logistic viability. Our experience of last year’s confrontation with the People’s Liberation Army of China in eastern Ladakh, more t

  Recently an article appeared with the headline  China Turns On Nuclear-Powered 'Artificial Sun'  . It describes how China has successfully powered up its " artificial sun " nuclear fusion reactor for the first time. It is reported as China's largest and most advanced nuclear fusion experimental research device. The article makes it appears as if China has broken through and is powering ahead  technologically. All part of the ‘Halo’ being created through Chinese public opinion and influence operations. There is no denying the fact that the effort is a significant  technological advancement. However, this effort is a part of the I nternational Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project based in France.    Fusion energy must be seen and understood in the larger context of global energy requirement and security. Fusion energy is also relevant to India. It also has a connection with space exploration. It is futuristic. From a military and security point of vie

Had an interesting conversation with Snehesh Alex Phillip of Print on Indigenous Development of UAVs  in India and issues involved with them . You can watch the conversation on You Tube @    DRDO ensured funding for IIT Chennai drone ... - YouTube     www.youtube.com  › watch › v=vkMNwPhnNyQ https://youtu.be/vkMNwPhnNyQ

This is an article I wrote two years back. After reading through all the literature about the Armenia- Azerbaijan conflict and the on going standoff with China in Eastern Ladakh, I am convinced that we need to expand our horizon of thinking in using the atmosphere for surveillance purposes. This is a new dimension which needs to be considered. I have put across issues as simplistically as possible. This could be the future. We need to strike out on our own. We have the capability to do so. Do we have the will to do so?  The advent and proliferation of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles(UAV) enabled commanders to “Look Over the Hill” and kindled “Precision” in firepower delivery. UAVs with their ability to carry out surveillance, acquire targets and direct/deliver firepower accurately heralded a new trend of “One Warhead One Target”. From this trend, the“Hunter Killer” UAV concept came into being. However, the efficacy of sub-stratospheric UAVs is bound by their footprint; which in turn is dictat

THIS ANALYSIS IS A SORT OF ' MICROWAVE WEAPONS FOR DUMMIES' KIND. EASY TO GRASP FOR THOSE WHO HAVE NO CLUE ABOUT TECHNOLOGY BEYOND A POINT                              The Chinese Claim Jin Canrong, a professor of international relations at Beijing’s Renmin University claimed that China had used a “microwave weapon” to retake land that had been occupied by the Indian Army on the southern bank of the  Pangong Tso  . He claimed that Chinese forces had turned two strategic hilltops occupied by Indian soldiers “into a microwave oven”, forcing them to retreat, and allowing the positions to be retaken without an exchange of conventional fire. “Within 15 minutes of the weapons being deployed, those occupying the hilltops all began to vomit. They couldn’t stand up, so they fled. This was how we retook the ground,” the professor (does he really exist?) reportedly told his students during a lecture. This report was filed by the ‘The Times’ in UK and in ‘The Australian’. The Indian Army