After R Madhavan, Chairman and Managing Director of Government-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) confirmed that India’s first 5.5 Generation Stealth will be built in Partnership with a Private company, it now has been confirmed that at least 4-5 companies have expressed their interests in tieing up with ADA and HAL for the new company which will exclusively manufacture 100+ AMCA fighter jets in an upcoming facility at Defense Production Corridors to be set up in Tamil Nadu.
Responding to ADA’s Expression of Interest (EOI) initial transaction documents issued some time back for the new Joint venture company, Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL), Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T), Boeing India Inc, Lakshmi Machine Works Limited (LMW) and Vem Technologies Private Limited are some of the companies which have come forward and sent their proposals for the new proposed joint venture company as informed to idrw.org.
In the previous report, idrw.org had informed that HAL will be lead integrator in the AMCA program but as per new information provided which is yet to verified, it won’t be. Selected Private company in the new Jv will run the whole operation and production floor while HAL will only be providing, guidance and training in setting up the new facility which will be majorly owned by the new company.
idrw.org for the first time can confirm that the new facility might also be used for manufacturing of TEDBF for Navy and ORCA for IAF from 2030 onwards since HAL facilities will be busy manufacturing MWF-AF for the IAF during that period but the final decision is yet to be made on that. The facility is almost ready and as per the information provided, ADA will transfer the design details to the new company and which will set up the supply chain for the AMCA production and will be in charge of TD and Prototypes.
Once a Private sector company is selected and a new company is registered and formed, the almost ready facility will be used to assemble the first TD of AMCA by 2025 which will have its first flight by 2027, AMCA will enter production by 2035 onwards in Mk1 configuration for 40 jets and Mk2 configuration in 2039 for 80+ jets. IAF has expressed interests in 100+ AMCA jets some reports hinting at 120 jets with Two engine options of F414-GE-INS6 and locally manufactured K10+ engine for Mk2.
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Ilya Tarasenko, CEO, MiG Corporation has confirmed that talks to sell 21 unused airframes to India is underway and has been fast-tracked under request from India recently, as both sides work to conclude a contract for the sale of currently under storage airframes of the Mig-29s and UPG Upgrade Kits to make them same as the current upgraded fleet of MiG-29UPG in Indian Air Force.
Airframes manufactured for a certain export customer were put on cold storage at various facilities of the MiG Corporation after the deal collapsed nearly 20 years ago. Complete fuselage along with wings and other airframes have been inspected by IAF Team last year and was reported back that indeed airframes have been unused and can be used to integrate into a new fighter jet back home.
HAL which was in charge of upgrading Mig-29A into Mig-29UPG Standards for the entire fleet of 60 odd jets with IAF, which included new engines and radars along with Multi-Role capabilities for the jets. Tarasenko has confirmed that airframes will be shipped to India and UPG upgrade kit will be used to integrate them in to brand new aircraft with Zero airframe hours which can serve with IAF for the next 30 years.
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According to Chairman and Managing Director of HAL, R Madhavan, the prototypes of India’s three new indigenous fighters jets prototype to be ready in the next four years.India’s is currently working on three indigenous fighter jets — Tejas Mk2, Twin Engine Deck Based Fighter derived from the naval version of the LCA, and the fifth-generation Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA).
“So first the LCA Mk2 will come out, and then the TEDBF and then AMCA. Prototypes of all three will be out within 3-4 years,” Madhavan said in the interview, adding that HAL was looking at a seven to eight year time-frame for ‘each of these aircraft getting airborne’. It is not yet clear how the private partner in the AMCA project will be chosen, though it is clear that HAL and DRDO are keen to progress the proposed structure and create a special purpose vehicle (SPV) as quickly as possible. The decision to include a private partner as an equal stakeholder in a joint venture is groundbreaking in Indian aerospace projects, with private firms so far confined to being tier-level suppliers of systems and subsystems. If the proposal goes through, it will be the first time a private firm will be on equal financial and work terms with HAL and DRDO on a military armament project.
Adding detail to timelines on the AMCA, Madhavan said, “It’s on the drawing board. Preliminary design is completed. First prototype will be out (flying) by 2026-27. Secondly, as far as 4th Generation and 5th generation fighters, the latter loses out in terms of aerodynamics owing to stealth requirements, so not a good idea to put everything in one aircraft. With LCA Mk.2 and AMCA, we will be having both varieties — 4+ generation and 5th generation. One doesn’t replace the other. If you look at the US, they too are buying fourth generation jets in addition to the F-35.”
India pulled out of the Su-57 fifth generation fighter program with Russia in 2018 after a committee warned that the IAF and HAL were headed the ‘Su-30’ way with the crucial FGFA, and would likely end up as bankrollers to the program in the short term, and nothing more than license-builders in the long term. A concerted view was taken with the IAF to walk away from the Indo-Russian project, despite moneys already sunk.
In related remarks that make for the most ambitious promise in Indian military aviation, Madhavan also said that the first prototypes of three separate new Indian fighter concepts, including the AMCA, will be rolled out in four years. He said that HAL and its partner, the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) are working to unveil prototypes of the Light Combat Aircraft Mk.2, a new twin-engine LCA derived deck based fighter and the AMCA, in the next 3-4 years.
Answering a question on the twin-engine deck based fighter that HAL & DRDO have embarked on with government clearance earlier this month, Madhavan said, “So first the LCA Mk.2 will come out, and then the TEDBF and then AMCA. Prototypes of all three within 3-4 years. So 7-8 years is what we’re looking at for each of these aircraft getting airborne, which is a very short time in terms of aeronautical design.”
Here are details about India’s Three New Indigenous Fighters Jets Prototype
1. LCA Tejas Mk2
Contrary to what its name suggests, LCA Mk2, a significantly modified version of LCA Mk1, will actually be a medium-weight fighter aircraft.
Among other changes, the GE F404 engine in LCA Mk1 will be replaced with the more powerful F414 turbofan, and canards will be added behind the cockpit. While the new F414 turbofan engine will provide the fighter more thrust, canards will improve its manoeuvrability significantly.
As a result of the modifications being made by the Aeronautical Development Agency, the Mk2 variant will have higher payload capacities, giving it more weapon delivery options, and will carry more fuel, which will increase its range.
IAF may induct 12 LCA Mk2 squadrons (around 200 aircraft). LCA Mk1 is already in squadron service with the Indian Air Force (IAF). The second Tejas squadron, Number 18 Squadron ‘Flying Bullets’, was operationalised in May. The first LCAs were inducted into Number 45 Squadron ‘Flying Daggers’ in 2016. 16 LCAs of the first order of 40 have been delivered to the IAF and a new order of 83 Mk.1A fighters is likely to be signed with HAL by the end of this year. HAL has improved the rate of production — a second assembly line has been set up.
“Our target rate is 16 [LCA fighters] per year, for which a second line has already been set up now. We can easily ramp up to 16-20 per year as and when we receive the 83 LCA order,” Madhavan has been quoted as saying.
2. Twin Engine Deck Based Fighter
Twin Engine Deck Based Fighter
TEDBF will be derived from the naval version of the LCA developed as a technology demonstrator. The naval variant of the LCA has undergone a series of tests, including a series of arrested landings on the deck of aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya in January this year to demonstrate the capability of its landing gear among other things. Earlier, ADA was to develop a new version of the naval LCA.
However, due to design limitations, which were further complicated by the need for a heavy landing gear to bring a high-speed aircraft to a stop on the deck of the aircraft, the Navy and ADA were forced to ditch the plan. A twin-engine fighter, which will have increased fuel and weapons carrying capability, is being developed now.
“The single engine LCA is not the aircraft for the navy. It cannot meet the requirements. What the navy needs is a twin-engine aircraft, because then only it can carry armaments, because the landing gear itself is quite heavy. So a Twin Engined Deck Based Fighter is what we’re looking at for the navy,” Madhavan said, adding that the “ADA has started the project, and this month they have got the clearance, and they are expecting it to be in service in 6-7 years”.
The experience gained from the development and testing of the LCA’s naval variant and the designing of AMCA will feed into the TEDBF programme, although the fighter will not have stealth features like the latter. The experience gained from the development and testing of the LCA’s naval variant and the designing of AMCA will feed into the TEDBF programme, although the fighter will not have stealth features like the latter.
ADA, reports say, “is studying at least 3 variations of the design of the fighter. It’s still unclear whether the new fighter will be a tail-less delta platform, similar to the IAF’s LCA Tejas fighter or, for that matter, feature canards, a small forewing placed ahead of the main wing of the aircraft to aid manoeuvrability”.
3. Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft
Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (Twitter)
AMCA, India’s fifth-generation stealth fighter, is no new news. It has been in development for some years now, and latest reports say that the fighter jet will be built in partnership with a private player. Madhavan has said that HAL and DRDO are looking to form a joint venture with a private-sector firm to execute this project.
“HAL and ADA are together in the design of AMCA. We are also looking at productionisation already — we want to create a special vehicle, a joint venture between HAL, DRDO and a private partner,” he has been quoted as saying.
According to a news report, the process of finding the private sector partner is all set to being and includes Larsen & Toubro, Lakshmi Machine Works Advanced Technology Centre, Tata Advanced Systems and at least three defence firms.
“Workshare, financials and other terms of reference are to be drawn up this year ahead of the decision on the private sector company,” the report says.
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Amid tensions with China, sources have told India Today TV that India is going to acquire more SPICE-2000 bombs, which were earlier used in the airstrikes in Balakot, Pakistan. The weapons will be procured from Israel. “The SPICE-2000 bombs will give us the capability to take out ground targets from a stand-off distance and also to take out bunkers and buildings,” government sources told India Today TV. The bombs would be in addition to the ones acquired last year from Israel, the sources said.
The Indian Air Force had used the Israeli-developed SPICE-2000 to attack targets in Balakot, about 60 kilometers from Line of Control, in 2019. SPICE stands for Smart, Precise Impact, Cost Effective. The bomb comes from a family of standoff air-to-ground weapon systems.
SPICE-2000 is used on French-origin Mirage-2000 jets and has been acquired by IAF for use against fortified and underground command centres.
With tensions brewing between India and China, the Narendra Modi government has granted emergency financial powers to defence forces under which they can buy any weapon systems under Rs 500 crore. The procurement would be done under the emergency powers of the vice chief of air staff.
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Multiple media agencies have reported in recent days that France has agreed to send “additional” Rafale jets to India even as the first couple of aircraft ordered by the Indian Air Force touch down on July 27. PTI reported on Monday that at least six Rafale jets will arrive in July. The Print on Monday reported that consignments of weaponry for the Rafale have already begun arriving in India following a request from the Indian Air Force. The Print noted that “These missiles include the beyond-visual range (BVR) air-to-air missile, Meteor, which has the capability to hit targets over 120 km away…”
The Meteor is a radar-guided air-to-air missile like the US-made AIM-120 AMRAAM, which was fired by Pakistani F-16s in the aerial skirmish with India in February last year. At the time, it was reported the Indian Air Force lacked an air-to-air missile that could match the AMRAAM, which is believed to have a range of around 100km.
The common perception is that the Meteor’s capability is linked to its long range, which is estimated to be well over 120km. However, this is not the only reason why the Meteor is unique. The US Navy developed an air-to-air missile called the AIM-154 ‘Phoenix’ in the 1960s, which had a range of close to 200km. The Phoenix would become the primary armament of the iconic F-14 Tomcat fighter, the aircraft that featured in the movie Top Gun. However, the Phoenix missile weighed nearly 500kg, which meant it never served on any other aircraft until its retirement at the turn of the century.
The Soviet Union and Russia developed long-range, radar-guided air-to-air missiles like the R-33 and R-37, both of which were carried on the MiG-31 Foxhound interceptor and had ranges varying from 150km to 300km. These Russian weapons, like the Phoenix, were bulky and were not carried by smaller fighters. The Phoenix, R-33 and R-37 were primarily meant to shoot down bombers and surveillance aircraft.
The Meteor missile was developed by a consortium of six European nations: UK, Germany, Italy, France, Spain and Sweden. The project that resulted in the Meteor missile began in the 1990s and was primarily driven by the need to counter the then new generation of highly-agile Russian fighter jets like the MiG-29 and Sukhoi Su-27. The Sukhoi Su-27 is the design from which the Indian Air Force’s Su-30MKI fighter is derived. The Su-27 and Su-30 fighters were purchased from Russia by China in the 1990s and the Su-27 has also been adapted into multiple local versions such as the J-11 and J-16. According to media reports, China operates at least 500 units of the Su-27 and its local derivatives.
The Meteor missile’s USP is not its range, but its unique propulsion system. The Phoenix, R-33 and AMRAAM all have rocket engines. In such air-to-air missiles, the rocket engine delivers a uniform amount of thrust over certain duration of flight after which the motor burns out. The missile then ‘coasts’, or glides at high speed, to its target, which it tracks through radar. US defence website The Drive explains the longer the distance a rocket-powered missile has to travel to its target, “the less energy the missile will have for its critical terminal phase of flight, and that is not a good thing”. As an air-to-air missile approaches, a target aircraft will engage in steep manoeuvring and deploy countermeasures to confuse the incoming missile.
Interestingly, Su-30MKI fighters of the Indian Air Force were able to dodge the AMRAAM missiles fired by Pakistan’s F-16s last February.
The Meteor missile has a miniature supersonic jet engine, called a ramjet. Explaining the aerodynamic advantage of the Meteor, The Drive notes, “Instead of burning off all its fuel right after launch, it [Meteor] can throttle its engine back during cruise, thus saving fuel. As it approaches its target it can throttle up, eventually making its terminal attack while at its highest possible energy state, around mach 4.5, even when fired over long ranges.” This helps the Meteor missile engage rapidly manoeuvring targets like China’s Su-30 and J-11 jets.
MBDA, the pan-European consortium that builds the Meteor, claims the weapon has the “largest no-escape zone of any air-to-air missile”. No-escape zone is the zone in which an aircraft cannot rely on mere agility to evade a incoming missile. Former Indian Air Force chief A.Y. Tipnis estimates the NEZ of the Meteor “is thrice that of the current AIM-120 AMRAAM missile”. A major advantage of the Meteor is that its relatively low weight of 190kg means a single Rafale can carry four or more missiles at a time.
The Meteor first entered service with the Swedish Air Force’s fleet of Gripen fighters in 2016 and is being adopted by France for its Rafale fleet and by nations using the Eurofighter jets. The Meteor is also integrated on the US F-35 Lightning stealth fighter. Both Russia and China have been reported to be pursuing research into air-to-air missiles powered by ramjet engines. However, there is little evidence to suggest these countries have inducted such weapons yet.
In 2019, Chinese state-run media reported the country’s air force had begun deploying a new air-to-air missile on its fleet of J-11 fighters. The weapon, called the PL-15, is estimated to have a range over 200km. The PL-15 employs a rocket motor. Military experts in China and overseas have claimed the primary role of the PL-15 may be to destroy ‘high-value’ targets such as airborne early-warning aircraft and aerial refuelling aircraft.
In a recent research paper, retired Indian Air Force air vice marshal Arjun Subramanian estimated China could have around 1,000 fourth-generation fighter aircraft by 2050. The majority of these are expected to be derivatives of the Su-27 fighter. Hence, the Indian Air Force would be counting on the Meteor missile to retain its tenuous edge in the event of conflict with China.
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Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan told parliament on Tuesday he had no doubt that India was behind an attack on the stock exchange building in the southern city of Karachi. Four gunmen armed with grenades attacked the Pakistan Stock Exchange on Monday, killing two guards and a policeman before security forces killed the attackers.
“There is no doubt that India is behind the attack,” Khan said in his address to parliament – a charge that India had denied a day earlier. Khna offered no evidence for his allegation, but he said there had been intelligence reports warning of attacks in Pakistan and he had informed his cabinet about the threat.
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), a separatist insurgent group from the southwestern province of Balochistan, claimed responsibility for the attack in a message on Twitter.
Khan said Pakistan’s intelligence agencies had successfully preempted at least four major attacks in the country, two of which targeted Islamabad – but he said it was not possible to stop all such attacks.
The gunmen carried a heavy supply of arms and equipment and security officials believe they planned to storm the stock exchange building and take hostages.
Khan termed their failure to do so and the rapid response by security forces, as a “big victory”.
Separatists have been fighting for years in Balochistan, complaining its mineral wealth is unfairly exploited by Pakistan’s richer, more powerful provinces.
Pakistan has regularly blamed India for supporting Baloch separatists – a charge Delhi has repeatedly continuously denied.
The BLA also took responsibility for an attack on the Chinese consulate in Karachi in 2018.
Several projects linked to China’s Belt and Road initiative are in Balochistan.
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The Indian Air Force (IAF) has war gamed how it can successfully launch air operations in case China deployed its S-300 and S-400 air defence systems, as it has reportedly done in the Tibet region adjoining Ladakh amid the current stand-off. India has pushed in more air defence and radar systems in Ladakh since 20 May, giving it a full view of the deployment and activities across the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
“The IAF has war gamed the scenario of operating amid Chinese air defence systems which includes the S 400, S 300, LY 80 and others. All I can say is that the high altitude and the mountains work to our advantage,” a source told ThePrint.
Corps commanders level talks tomorrow .China not got Back an inch From its Galwan and Pongong tso positions .It has Brought in its 4th motor rifle division from Xinjiang . it has deployed ultra modern Russian S-400 Missiles there. India is expediting Rafales delivery.
Sources in the defence and security establishment say that from a pure air-to-air combat, the Indians have an edge over China in the high altitude Ladakh sector. However, what China has an edge over with India is its air defence systems.
Sources underlined that the air power comes into play only when there is a war, and engagement of any aircraft flying in Indian territory by China would be an act of war.
India’s tactical advantages
One of the biggest handicaps for China’s People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) is that all their bases in Ladakh are far away from the LAC and are at high altitudes.
“Because of high altitudes, the fighters cannot take off with full fuel or weapons packages. High altitude means that it effectively saps the energy of the fighters,” another source explained.
India on the other hand has a number of bases close to Ladakh and it has activated all the bases in Punjab, Haryana, Kashmir, Leh and rest.
Other elements that work in India’s favour are the long range stand-off weapons with extreme precision, such as the Indo-Russian joint venture missile BrahMos, European manufacturer MBDA’s Scalp and even the Israeli Spice 2000 among others.
The Scalp is the latest addition to India’s inventory and has already arrived ahead of the Rafale fighter aircraft.
These missiles were originally meant for the French Air Force but have been diverted to meet India’s immediate requirement, as reported by ThePrint Monday.
“All these have an over 300 km range, except Spice, and some even more with high precision,” another source said.
The sources said there are other missiles and resources available with India to take on any kind of defensive or offensive systems of enemy besides pounding their positions.
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The India-China border tension has been spilling on Twitter for a while now with taunts and provocations flowing thick and fast. Things got interesting a while back the chairman of Mahindra Group, Anand Mahindra responded to one such tweet by Hu Xijin the editor-in-chief of Global Times.
The Global Times editor while reacting to India banning 59 Chinese apps had taken a dig at India by tweeting, “Well, even if Chinese people want to boycott Indian products, they can’t really find many Indian goods. Indian friends, you need to have some things that are more important than nationalism.”
The M&M chief in a reply has called it a “motivating rallying cry for India Inc.” to respond.
“I suspect this comment might well be the most effective & motivating rallying cry that India Inc. has ever received. Thank you for the provocation. We will rise to the occasion,” Mahindra tweeted.
The government of India yesterday announced the ban of 59 Chinese apps in the country under section 69A of the Information Technology Act. This list includes applications like TikTok which is easy on the most popular video-sharing app in India, file sharing app ShareIt, UC Browser and CamScanner.
The Chinese Embassy has called India’s move “discriminatory”. Ji Rong, spokesperson of Chinese Embassy, in a statement, said measure taken by India against Chinese apps “runs against fair and transparent procedure requirements, abuses national security exceptions, and suspects of violating the WTO rules”.
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Bipartisan support for India in its military standoff with China in Ladakh has been growing among US lawmakers. Mitch McConnell, the leader of the Republican-ruled US senate, kicked off floor debate on next year’s defense budget Monday by slamming China for “picking deadly fights” with India.
McConnell appealed for the chamber’s bipartisan support to pass the National Defense Authorization Act 2021with remarks highlighting recent threats from adversarial nationals China, Russia, North Korea and Iran. “China has resumed its submarine intrusions into Japanese contiguous zones and picked deadly fights with India at high altitude,” McConnell said.
In a floor speech on June 18, just days after the deadly slash in which 20 Indian soldiers had died, Leader McConnell had said the Chinese military had appeared to have “instigated the worst violent clash between China and India since those nations went to war way back in 1962.”
Also on Monday, another Republican senator, Marco Rubio, came out in India’s support. “Today I spoke to @SandhuTaranjitS to express our solidarity with the people of #India as they firmly confront unwarranted & lawless armed aggression by the Communist Party of #China.” He was referring to a conversation with Taranjit S Sandhu, the Indian ambassador to the United States.
“India has made it clear, they will not be bullied by Beijing.,” the senator added. He is a member of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, a powerful congressional panel with oversight of the State Department and the country’s foreign policy.
The State Department, it must be noted, has also been clear it holds Chinese aggression responsible for the borer clashes, and denounced in a statement echoed later by the White House. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has referred to the clashes several times. “The PLA has escalated border tensions – we see it today in India, the world’s most popular – populous democracy,” he said on June 18. He had also conveyed his condolences on the death of the Indian soldiers.
President Trump had offered to mediate May end, but was turned down by both countries.
In a TV interview past Sunday, Tom Cotton, a Republican senator who is a close ally of President Donald Trump, denounced China’s aggression on the border with India to illustrate the growing threat the Asian giant poses to the United States and its allies and partners around the world.
“The Chinese Communist Party is certainly using the pandemic to try to assert claims and take very aggressive action against almost all of its neighbors,” Cotton said, adding, “high up in the Himalayas, China has essentially invaded India, an ally of ours. And they have killed 20 Indian soldiers.”
The senator went on to draw attention to a proposed law that “violates” China’s international commitment regarding Hong Kong — the new national security law — and its aggression against Taiwan and the rim nations of the South China Sea, Vietnam, Philippines and Malaysia.
“China is becoming more aggressive than ever. That’s why it’s so important that we support all of our allies and partners,” he added.
There has been bipartisan support for India in this conflict. The Democratic-led House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman, Eliot Engel, had denounced Chinese aggression early June, before the June 15 clashes in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed. “I am extremely concerned by the ongoing Chinese aggression along the Line of Actual Control on the India-China border.,” Engel had said in a statement. “China is demonstrating once again that it is willing to bully its neighbors rather than resolve conflicts according to international law.”
“I am concerned by continued Chinese aggression along its border with India,” Ami Bera, the Indian-descent chair of the Asia subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, had written in a tweet.
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The Indian Air Force has indigenously modified two Mi-17 helicopters for atomised airborne spraying of pesticide to deal with locust attack, according to a statement issued by the IAF on Tuesday. Using all indigenous components, the atomised airborne spraying of pesticide has been successfully achieved in air through a configuration of nozzles mounted both sides on external trusses of a Mi-17 helicopters, the statement added.
The nozzles used for the purpose are a mix of commercially available as well as the ones developed by the Central Scientific Instruments Organisation (CSIO), Chandigarh. The pesticide malathion in appropriate concentration would be filled in the internal auxiliary tank of 800 litres capacity fitted inside the helicopter and pumped into the nozzles by using an electrical pump as well as compressed air, achieving nearly 40 minutes of spaying duration in the infected zone covering an area of approximately 750 hectares in each mission.
A team of test pilots and test engineers of aircraft and Systems Testing Establishment, Bangalore have successfully carried out ground and airborne trials of Airborne Locust Control System (ALCS) on a modified Mi-17 helicopter.
The system is being offered for use with malathion for deployment in the locust control operation.
Being an indigenously developed system, ALCS would offer inherent advantages of in-house maintenance, future upgradeability, saving of foreign exchange and help in making the country self-reliant in aviation-related technology.
Initially, anticipating locust attack, the Ministry of Agriculture signed a contract with M/s Micron, UK to modify two Mi-17 Helicopters for spraying atomised pesticide to arrest locust breeding in May.
However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the UK-based firm would be able to manufacture and supply the modification kit to the IAF only from September onwards for system integration and testing, the statement added.
Meanwhile, an unprecedented locust attack started manifesting from May last week and was fast spreading practically across many states.
“In view of envisaged delay in provisioning of modification kits by M/s Micron, the Indian Air Force tasked No. 3 Base Repair Depot located at Chandigarh to undertake the challenging task of indigenously designing and developing an airborne Locust Control System (ALCS) for Mi-17 helicopters,” the statement added.
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Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli’s recent anti-India remarks and claim that efforts are being made to oust him after his government redrew Nepal’s political map has backfired, with top leaders of the ruling Nepal Communist Party demanding his resignation on Tuesday.
As soon as the powerful Standing Committee meeting of the Nepal Communist Party started at the Prime Minister’s Official residence at Baluwatar on Tuesday, former prime minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ slammed Prime Minister Oli for the remarks he made on Sunday. “The Prime Minister’s remarks that India was conspiring to remove him was neither politically correct, nor diplomatically appropriate,” he said.
“Such a statement by the Prime Minister may damage our relations with the neighbour,” he warned.
Prime Minister Oli, 68, on Sunday claimed that there have been various kinds of activities in the “embassies and hotels” to remove him from power. He said some Nepalese leaders were also involved in the game.
Accusing the southern neighbour and leaders of his own party by the Prime Minister was not appropriate, a senior leader of the party quoted Prachanda as saying during the meeting. Prachanda told Oli that it was not India but him who had been seeking his resignation both as party chair and prime minister, the NCP leader said.
“Besides Prachanda, senior leaders Madhav Kumar Nepal, Jhalanath Khanal, Bamdev Gautam and Narayankaji Shrestha also asked Prime Minister Oli to provide evidence of his accusation and asked to quit the power,” he said. What the Prime Minister spoke was objectionable and inappropriate, they said. They also asked the Prime Minister to name the leaders who were behind the conspiracy to remove him.
They said the Prime Minister should resign on moral grounds as he spoke such “undiplomatic and nonpolitical remarks.” However, the Prime Minister who was also present at the meeting, did not make any comment. “It shows that the Prime Minister was reduced to a minority both in the 48-member Standing Committee and nine-member Central Secretariat,” the senior leader of the NCP party said.
Prachanda has time and again spoken about the lack of coordination between the government and the party and he was pressing for a one-man one position system to be followed by the NCP. “I did not commit any mistake by claiming our land, which has been snatched from us for the past 58 years after Nepal enjoyed the rights over these areas for 146 years,” Oli said on Sunday.
Nepal this month completed the process of redrawing the country’s political map through a Constitutional amendment, incorporating Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura areas which India maintains belong to it. India has termed as “untenable” the “artificial enlargement” of the territorial claims by Nepal.
The India-Nepal bilateral ties came under strain after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated a 80-km-long strategically crucial road connecting the Lipulekh pass with Dharchula in Uttarakhand on May 8.
Nepal reacted sharply to the inauguration of the road claiming that it passed through Nepalese territory. India rejected the claim asserting that the road lies completely within its territory. “In the past when I signed trade agreements with Beijing, my minority government collapsed. But this time we have a government with a full-fledged majority, so no one can remove me now, Oli, known for his pro-China leanings, said on Sunday.
In July 2016, Oli had resigned as prime minister just before a no-confidence vote after the Maoists withdrew support from the coalition government. At the time, he had termed the no-trust motion as a conspiracy by “foreign elements” to turn the country into a “laboratory” and obstruct the implementation of the new Constitution.
Earlier in April this year, Oli was asked to resign from the post. Prime Minister Oli was facing strong criticism from his own colleagues for the government’s non-performance and lack of coordination between the party and the government. They were alleging Oli of running the government as per his whim without consulting with the party.
Oli last week skipped the first and the second day of the Standing Committee meetings. He, however, attended the third meeting on Saturday, but briefly.
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Terming China’s recent actions on India’s border an example of Chinese ‘aggressive expansionism’, British MPs on Monday night demanded a review of the UK’s dependence on China and highlighting the issue of human rights of Uyghur Muslims in international fora. China was the focus of an extended debate in the House of Commons based on a new report by the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China that said there is new evidence suggesting that China is pursuing a birth-prevention programme targeted at Muslim minorities in the Xinjiang region.
Iain Duncan-Smith, former Conservative leader, who tabled the urgent question, said it cannot be “business as usual” with China given what he called “bullying behavior” in relation to India, Hong Kong and elsewhere.
Citing figures from the report of falling birth rates among the minorities in Xinjiang, he said: “Of course the world wants to deal with China, but we cannot continue with business as usual while this sort of blatant activity continues”.
He added: “(Given) the Chinese Government’s appalling record on human rights, their attack on freedoms in Hong Kong, their bullying behaviour in border disputes from the South China seas to India, their blatant breaching of the rules-based order governing the free market and their delayed declaration on Covid-19, will the Government now initiate an internal review of the UK’s dependence on China, with a view to significantly reducing that dependence, and call on the free world to come together to ensure that this growing threat from China is dealt with together before, as history teaches us, it is too late?”
Nigel Adams, minister for Asia, responded that the Boris Johnson government had raised concerns with China at many levels. Britain was pressing China for access to Xinjiang; the last time British diplomats visited the region was in November 2019.
He said: “Our approach to China remains clear-eyed and is rooted in our values and interests. It has always been the case that when we have concerns we raise them, and that where we need to intervene we will”.
“We have consistently led international efforts to highlight concern about the worsening human rights situation in Xinjiang, and I assure my right hon. Friend that the United Kingdom will continue to do so”.
Labour’s Stephen Kinnock wanted the Johnson government to recognise that the actions of the Chinese authorities in Xinjiang “reflect a wider pattern of behaviour of increasingly authoritarian policies at home and aggressive expansionism abroad, including in Hong Kong, Ladakh and the South China sea”.
Calling upon China to allow the office of the UN high commissioner for human rights unfettered access to the region, Adams reiterated that London had “concerns about the detention and human rights abuses, with more than a million Uyghur Muslims and other minorities detained in political re-education camps”.
The Johnson government has recently strongly criticised Beijing for enacting a security law applicable to the former British colony of Hong Kong that, according to the British perspective, goes against international law and agreements signed before the 1997 handover to China.
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A simmering boundary dispute between India and Nepal hasn’t stopped villagers in bordering areas in Uttarakhand from relying on Nepalese SIM cards due to poor connectivity of the Indian telecom service providers. The villagers mainly of Khumti gram panchayat in Pithoragarh district which comprises about 10-12 villages, have to depend on the Nepalese telecom service providers.
They said they are forced to use Nepalese SIM cards as the network of the Indian telecom service providers is very poor in comparison to that of the Nepalese. Param Singh, a villager of Khumti village which is located about 15 km away from the Nepal border said, “We are compelled to use the Nepalese SIM cards because we have no other option. Their network in this hilly terrain is very strong as compared to the Indian ones who have very poor or often no network.”
Singh added, “The villagers who have someone known in Nepal, ask them to arrange a Nepalese SIM card for them on their documents and then receive it here when they come to visit them. It is the only way of communication for any work or emergency.”
He said almost everyone in the village has one Nepalese SIM and one Indian SIM card in their phones. “When in the village, we use the Nepalese SIM and when in the market down with a better network, we use the Indian SIM cards.”
But not all villagers can access Nepalese SIM cards. “Only those who know people in Nepal are able to get the SIM cards, others fail to get any,” said Raju, another villager.
“I don’t have anyone in Nepal, hence I am not able to get any Nepalese SIM card but I wanted one. I have to use the Indian ones only which have a very poor network here. Due to this, we face many problems especially in case of any emergency. This is the reason people here opt for a Nepalese SIM card,” he said.
Gopal Singh, head Khumti gram panchayat said, “The Indian service providers started their service here about two years ago only. Before that people used to avail the WLL services only. Despite the starting of their services, the network is very poor. People have to search for its signals by moving in the village for about 2-3 km. Many hang their mobile phones in trees nearby their house to catch the network,” said Singh.
Singh also said that due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Nepalese SIM cards are now difficult to procure. “As the movement of people has stopped due to the pandemic, the SIM cards are now not available easily. Those who have them, now have to ask their acquaintances in Nepal to recharge their connections.”
He said that usually one could get the Nepalese SIM cards of their Namaste Nepal or Sky networks at Rs 150-200.
“We have urged the administration to improve the connectivity of Indian networks in the area so that we don’t need to use the Nepalese ones any more, but it is yet to improve,” he said.
Experts are divided on the usage of Nepalese SIM cards by the villagers near the border.
MS Waldia, a retired Indian army Colonel, termed the use of Nepalese SIM cards and internet by the Indian villagers a ‘dangerous thing’ for nation’s security.
“The government needs to take special attention towards the communication needs of border villages in the context of recent adverse behaviour of Nepal towards India,” he said.
Ankur Chandrakant, a cyber expert in Uttarakhand, however, claimed that there is no security risk as such by the use of Nepalese SIM cards by Indian villagers.
“It can’t pose any security risk as they are being used for normal calling only. But the government should work towards boosting the connectivity in those areas by installing boosters at mobile towers or new towers.”
The local public representatives including Dharchula MLA Harish Dhami and Almora MP Ajay Tamta under whose constituency the area falls, are also aware of the issue.
Dhami, Congress MLA from Dharchula offered his MLA LAD funds to boost the communication facilities in the area.
“I’m ready to give whatever money required to set up the basic infrastructure for the communication at Indo-Nepal and Indo-China border areas”, he said
Almora MP Ajay Tamta said mobile phone towers will soon be installed in the region. “Public telecom service provider BSNL is conducting a survey in the area keeping the needs of communication facilities. As soon as the survey gets completed, the work of installing towers will be started,” he said.
Vijay Jogdande, district magistrate Pithoragarh said the administration has written to BSNL and even the ministry of defence to take required measures to boost the mobile connectivity.
“The final decision has to be taken by them as installing mobile towers or boosters to improve phone connectivity is their prerogative. Once it is done, we can then maintain it later. Meanwhile, we have provided satellite phones in at least 36 gram panchayats in the border areas to connect to the authorities concerned in case of a disaster or emergency,” said Jogdande.
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Mumbai’s famous Taj Hotel has received a bomb threat call from Pakistan following which the security in and around the iconic hotel has been increased, sources said on Tuesday. According to the Zee Media sources, a caller from Pakistan has threatened a terrorist attack on the 5-star hotel. The call was reportedly made from a Pakistan number. According to the official sources, the call was received around 12 midnight on Monday.
The caller said that ”everyone saw the terrorist attack on the Karachi Stock Exchange, now the 26/11 attack in the Taj Hotel will happen once again.” Another threat call received by was the staff of the Taj Lands End hotel located in Bandra – another property of the Taj Hotel Group – following which security was beefed up. The second threat call was also made from Pakistan.
The Mumbai Police will record the statement of the Taj Lands End hotel staff who received the threat call. The Mumbai Police has launched an investigation into the matter and call details are being verified.
The police have also increased security in and around the famous hotel as well as other vital installations in Mumbai. Coastal patrolling and surveillance have also been increased in view of the threat call.
It may be recalled that on 26 November 2008, there was a terrorist attack in Mumbai in which Taj Hotel was also targeted by Pakistan-trained terrorists. More than 166 people were killed and more than 300 people were injured in this attack which lasted nearly 60 hours. 28 foreign nationals were also among those who died. This attack shook the entire country and India and Pakistan were on the verge of war.
Ajmal Kasab was the only terrorist who was caught alive in the Mumbai terror attack. He was thoroughly questioned by the Indian investigating agencies about the incident, which revealed Pakistan’s involvement in the incident. Kasab was later hanged in Pune’s Yerwada jail on the morning of 21 September 2012. Before Kasab’s death, Indian investigative agencies had squeezed out every single information related to the plot of Mumbai attack planned in Pakistan.
It was revealed that on 26 November 2008, 10 heavily armed Pakistani terrorists entered Mumbai by boat via sea route from Karachi. These terrorists attacked the Chhatrapati Shivaji Railway Terminus, Taj Mahal Hotel, Trident Hotel and a Jewish center.
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As the water-flow has increased in the Galwan river, the Indian Security forces are now feeling the need for specialised waterproof clothing for the troops deployed there in a standoff position with China. The Chinese side seems to have come prepared for the deployment as their troops deployed in the Galwan river valley bed are wearing water-proof clothes which allows them to step in the icy water there.
“There is a need felt for specialised clothing for deployment alongside the river with ice-cold water as the water flow has increased in the river with the rise in temperature,” sources told ANI. The Chinese side which has made camps all along the Galwan river valley up to near the Indian Patrolling Point 14 has come with specialised clothing where the lower portion of the combat dress is made up of waterproof material which allows them to step into the water, the sources said.
The Galwan river after originating from Aksai Chin passes through the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and merged with the Shyok river near Indian PP-14.
Earlier also while patrolling the area from KM-120 post to the PP-14, Indian security men had to step inside the river water which would wet their shoes, they said.
Sources said the special clothing with Chinese could have helped them in avoiding a higher number of hypothermia casualties during the Galwan valley clash on June 15 with Indian soldiers.
The Indian side is also preparing itself for the possible long term deployment in the Galwan valley and other areas where the Chinese have deployed heavily along the LAC.
All along the LAC from the Ladakh sector to Arunachal Pradesh, the Chinese Army has done heavy deployments and not showing any signs of thinning down despite holding talks at multiple levels with the Indian agencies.
The Chinese buildup had started around May 4 almost two months ago when they marched along the LAC to multiple points including the Finger area, Galwan valley, DBO sector, PP-15, Hot Springs and Ghoghra.
The Chinese have also been fortifying their positions and troops’ strength in areas where they have come and it is being perceived that they are using the time in talks for building up further.
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US State Secretary Mike Pompeo called on China to immediately stop forced sterilisation of Uighur Muslims after reports of coercive family planning emerged. Highlighting the continued campaign of repression, Pompeo said that the shocking revelations made by German researcher Adrian Zenz are sadly consistent with decades of the Chinese Communist Party practices that demonstrate an utter disregard for the sanctity of human life and basic human dignity.
“We call on the Chinese Communist Party to immediately end these horrific practices and ask all nations to join the United States in demanding an end to these dehumanizing abuses,” said the top US diplomat in a statement.
Several documents leaked from China have revealed Beijing’s brutal and systematic crackdown on Uighurs which they allegedly call “struggle against terrorism, infiltration and separatism”. After Uighur militants stabbed more than 150 people at a train station in 2014, Jinping, in a series of speeches delivered to officials, urged the party to follow America’s policy of “war on terror”.
The Associated Press had reported that Beijing has been taking draconian measures to curb birth rates among Uighurs as a part of the crackdown on China’s Muslim population. China scholar Adrian Zenz said that the kind of decline in the Muslim population is unprecedented and that there’s a ruthlessness to it.
Silencing the Vatican
An exiled Chinese dissident recently claimed that the CCP allocates up to $2 billion to the Vatican every year for its silence on atrocities committed by Beijing. In an interview on The War Room, Guo Wengui alleged that CCP buys off allegiance of foreign countries including the Vatican, Italy, and Australia, by paying a huge sum every year.
On June 17, Trump signed “Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020” into law which condemns gross human rights violations of the ethnic Muslim minority groups in the Xinjiang region in China. It is aimed at holding accountable perpetrators of human rights violations and abuses such as the systematic use of indoctrination camps, forced labour, and intrusive surveillance to eradicate the ethnic identity and religious beliefs of Uighurs and other minorities in China.
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Indian soldiers and officers will soon carry their own version of Swiss Army knife, equipped with a detonator crimper, a wire cutter, a bottle opener for opening “soda bottles”, and a blade which can be used as a dagger in close quarter hand to hand fight. Indian Army is procuring them for its infantry troops and they will form a part of individual equipment. The army will soon issue an open tender for procuring such a “multi-purpose tool”.
These knives will be able to function in a temperature ranging from minus 20 to plus 50 degree Celsius. As per the army requirement, the multipurpose tool should come with a long nose plier with universal detonator crimper that could screw and remove maximum 14mm nuts or bolts and crimp universal size detonators. Nose and handle must have adequate hardness to perform routine task easily. It should also be able to cut binding wire upto 12 gauge and strip electric wire ranging from 24 to 12 gauge. The knife should be able to drive and remove cross tip screws, the army sources added.
The knife will carry a wood or bone saw capable of controlled sawing through wood (25mm thick), plastic (10mm thick), aluminum (26 Gauge) and metal tube (22 Gauge).
It will also carry a can and a separate bottle opener which will allow soldiers to open “commercially available canned goods” and “compressed bottle top” like a “soda bottle”.
It should provide independent and automatic locking of components in operational and closed position. It should not cause injury when used with bare hands, the Indian Army said.
These knives will be black, olive Green or in camouflage pattern with matt finish. The army said that these knives should have a durable sheath with loop to fit on belt and should require minimal user maintenance. These should be capable of maintaining its performance in sand and dust.
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China said on Tuesday it was concerned about India’s decision to ban Chinese mobile apps such as Bytedance’s TikTok and Tencent’s WeChat and was making checks to verify the situation, according to a Reuters report from Beijing. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters during a daily briefing that India has a responsibility to uphold the rights of Chinese businesses. India on Monday banned 59 Chinese mobile apps in its strongest move yet targeting China in the online space since a border crisis erupted between the two countries this month.
The apps are “prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of India, the defence of India, the security of state and public order”, the ministry of information technology said in a statement, which came two weeks after 20 Indian Army personnel were killed in a violent clash on the India-China border in Ladakh.
The move also came ahead of military and diplomatic talks between India and China scheduled this week.
On 17 June, foreign minister S. Jaishankar in a telephone call to his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi had warned of a “serious impact on the bilateral relationship” following the deaths of the 20 Indian army personnel.
Tensions have spiralled since early May after hand-to-hand fighting between troops on the banks of Pangong Tso in Ladakh. Tensions then spread across many points along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh, besides the border in Sikkim, with Beijing amassing large numbers of troops, heavy vehicles and artillery backed by air support along the LAC.
With tensions simmering, New Delhi has been mulling punitive economic steps that would impact Chinese interests. With key countries across the world looking at moving their supply chains out of China in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic, China would not like to see its trade ties with India worth an estimated $90 billion, mostly in China’s favour, affected, say analysts. TikTok has more than 200 million users in India and sees the country as one of its most important markets after China. In China, the app operates under a different name, Duyoin. In India, Tik Tok is widely popular among the country’s youth. The apps banned by the IT ministry on Monday included the popular scanning app CamScanner and Mi Video by smartphone maker Xiaomi.
“There are essentially four types of Chinese apps functioning in India — Economic Activity Apps, Service Oriented Apps, Vanity Apps and Strategic Apps,” said Blaise Fernandes, Director, Gateway House think tank based in Mumbai.
“The Digital India story is globally tracked. Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent are part of the digital ‘Silk Route’ of China. The ban of the 59 Chinese Apps in India, will negatively impact the valuations of these apps and their respective promoters. Case in point – the upcoming IPO of TikTok – 30% user base comes from India. This will impact the TikTok valuations negatively,” Fernandes said.
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Indian Army has placed orders for 1000+ for FN SCAR-H STD 7.62x51mm NATO/.308 Win caliber assault rifle from Belgian firearms company FN Herstal which has a manufacturing unit in the United States for Para (Special Forces) under Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program with the US administration. FN SCAR-H assault rifle was developed by FN Herstal for United States Special Operations Command and is known as Special forces go to assault rifle which is very effective against in Jungle War conditions.
FN SCAR-H can fire all types of 7.62mm ammunition and are made of special polymers and aluminum which makes the guns incredibly light with features like foldable buttstock and can be equipped with the FN40GL 40mm grenade launcher.
KEY BENEFITS
Compact and accurate
Various barrel lengths available
Comes standard with a foldable, adjustable buttstock (concave butt plate) allowing 2-position cheek rest height adjustment and 6-position length adjustment
Foldable, adjustable offset buttstock for use with helmet visor
Telescopic buttstock
Receiver with MIL-STD-1913 Picatinny type side rails and rail covers or KeyMod receiver
Long one-piece top MIL-STD-1913 Picatinny type rail
Lower MIL-STD-1913 Picatinny type rail with rail cover
Flip-up mechanical sights
High parts commonality and similar operator and armorer training throughout the FN SCAR® family resulting in minimized training time and maintenance costs
The additional RFID tag or FN Smartcore® shot counter for improved small arms management available
A wide range of accessories and cartridges available
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The United States government has urged India to reconsider its planned acquisition of Russian fighter aircraft, a move that risks potential sanctions under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA). In comments to Janes on 26 June an official from the US Department of State did not make specific reference to the Indian Air Force (IAF) procurement but said that India has not been safeguarded from possible penalties under the law.
The official said, “Without commentating on private diplomatic conversations, I can confirm that we urge all of our allies and partners to forgo transactions with Russia that risk triggering sanctions under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).”
The official added, “While we cannot prejudge whether a specific transaction would result in sanctions, it is important to note that CAATSA does not have any blanket or country-specific waiver provision. “There are strict criteria for considering a waiver, and each transaction is evaluated on a case-by-case basis. The Secretary of State has not made any determination regarding the significance of any transaction involving India.”
The comments come after Janes reported on 19 June that the IAF was looking to fast-track the procurement – valued at about USD1.4 billion – of 21 used Mikoyan MiG-29 and 12 new Sukhoi Su-30MKI combat aircraft to boost its air combat capabilities.
The move is partly in response to heightened border tensions between India and China. The IAF would aim to take delivery of the aircraft in 2022.
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Signalling that it is all for peaceful restoration of status quo ante in East Ladakh but is also prepared for the worst case scenario, the Indian Army has deployed six T-90 missile firing tanks and top-of-the-line shoulder fired anti-tank missile systems in the Galwan Valley sector. The senior military commanders from India and China are meeting at Chushul on Tuesday to work out the de-escalation and disengagement process on mutual terms.
The army’s decision to deploy the T-90 Bishma tanks was taken after the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) had beefed up its positions on the river bed with armoured personnel carriers and troop tents. The Indian Army is occupying the dominant heights in the sector within its side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
Infantry combat vehicles along with 155mm howitzers have been deployed all along 1597 km long LAC in East Ladakh with two tank regiments deployed in Chushul sector to repel any aggressive plans of the adversary through the Spanggur Gap. While Chinese PLA wants to make a deal on the LAC in this sector as part of withdrawal, the Indian Army is no mood to give an inch as the military aggression came from the Western Theatre Command of China with the intention of redefining the LAC.
According to military commanders, India is prepared for a long haul in this limited spectrum with capability of a full spectrum retaliation in case the red flag goes up. With the water temperature in the river already touching 10 below zero and the river bed temperatures more frosty than the dominant heights due to temperature inversion, it is only a matter of time when “General Winter” takes over the area and makes Chinese positions in Galwan Valley untenable.
While the PLA propaganda talks about introduction of troops trained in martial arts in the East Ladakh sector, fact is that the Chinese foot soldier is conscripted into the army for two years unlike the Indian hardy trooper who stays a minimum of 17 years. Since 1984, the Indian trooper has been trained in high altitude war to repel Pakistan Army from taking over Siachen glacier and has been sitting heights of over 15,000 feet in both Kargil as well as East Ladakh sector.
The general morale of the Indian military commanders and troops is very high with both Indian Air Force and Indian Navy deployed in highest state of alertness. Majority of Chinese PLA Air Force fighters are taking off from Hotan air base in Taklamakan desert, some 240 km from the LAC with surface to air missiles deployed to counter the Indian fighters.
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The grand deployment of the Chinese troops in the Galwan river valley seems to have been cut-off into several parts due to an overflow into the river, satellite imagery reviewed by India Today TV shows. The high-resolution satellite imagery, captured by Planet Labs satellites on June 25, 10 days after the unfortunate brutal combat in the Valley, suggests that the newly-built Chinese roads have washed away.
The imagery also shows the reclaimed area in the valley, which the Chinese troops created by artificially reducing the width of the river, has also been filled with water, effectively cutting off the rear flank from middle and forward positions. There are still no signs of a pullback by China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in the Galwan Valley yet even as the Indian and Chinese military commanders reached a “consensus to disengage” from all “friction areas”.
The large PLA tents on the southern bank of the river are visibly cut off from the vehicles stationed at the northern bank as the bridge connecting the banks has been washed away.
The images analysed by India Today TV suggests that the newly reclaimed land created by the PLA troops by reducing the width of the river in the valley has also been lost in some parts due to the overflowing water.
NO CHINESE PULLBACK
Even after arriving at a “mutual consensus to disengage”, following the marathon 10-hour long meeting between senior commanders at Moldo, the Chinese side continues with its heavy build up in the Galwan Valley.
The images show no reduction of troops and deployments in the valley. They show the intensive presence of camouflaged tents, vehicles, road JCB like machines, etc on the Chinese side.
The area around Patrol Point 14 seems to have been cleaned in these images as compared to last images captured on June 12. The Chinese tarpaulins and adjacent tents continue to be seen in these images.
The back-up Indian positions (not shown here) have also intensified on the Indian side with more intense deployment as compared to earlier seen images.
India on Friday warned China against any attempts to alter the status quo along the LAC by force. India’s ambassador to China Vikram Misri said China’s recent claim of sovereignty over the Galwan Valley was completely “untenable”.
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In yet another new move to claim new land in Bhutan, China at the 58th meeting of the Global Environment Facility Council tried to “oppose” funding to a project for the Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary situated in Bhutan saying that it was “disputed” territory. In reality, there has never been any dispute about where the sanctuary lay in the past, although the boundary between Bhutan and China is yet to be demarcated.
Bhutan sent a strong note to the representative handling Bhutan. The note said, “Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary is an integral and sovereign territory of Bhutan.” The interesting bit is that this wildlife sanctuary was never a part of any global funding so the first time it has come up as a project at the international platform, China grabbed it as an opportunity to lay claim to the land.
Although objections were raised and China opposed the move, the project has been cleared by majority of the council members and finds space in the final summary.
“Global, Bhutan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, South Africa: GEF -7 Global Wildlife Program – Addendum, World Bank, UNDP/ IUCN/ UNEP (GEF Program Financing: $16,922,937) (GEF ID: 1056134)”
While China had a representative, Bhutan did not have a direct representative and was represented by an Indian IAS officer Aparna Subramani from the World Bank in-charge of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka.
On June 2, when the project-wise discussion was taking place, Chinese Council member Zhongjing Wang, Deputy Director, International Economic and Financial Cooperation Department, China; raised objection to the project in Bhutan asking it to be formally noted and duly attested in the footnote.
But, the next day when the final summary was to be adopted, the Chinese representative said that it no longer was an objection and that China would abstain from, instead he said that Beijing was “opposed” to the project and that it should be made part of the summary.
This is when the Indian officer speaking on behalf of Bhutan, Aparna Subramani, executive director, Indian Administrative Service, The World Bank, intervened and said that the claim is not “unchallenged” and it would not be fair to go ahead with the Chinese version unless there is clarity on Bhutan’s stand.
When Naoko Ishii, GEF CEO and Chairperson of the 58th meeting of the GEF Council, tried to reach a middle ground by proposing that views of both the countries be added to the highlights rather than the summary as “objection” rather that “opposition”. But, the Chinese representative was adamant since he did not have mandate to clear it and Beijing’s instructions were that it was to be opposed and be part of the summary.
While all other issues were adopted this one issue was discussed a day later and finally the consensus of the council was that Bhutan would get funds for the project and it was cleared under Bhutan’s name.
The objections were added in the highlights as ‘Agenda Item 10 Summary of the Chair’.
“The text of the Summary of the Chair enjoyed consensus. One Council Member proposed an amendment to Footnote 3. This amendment did not receive consensus. An alternative proposal was made that was accepted. The Summary of the Chair was adopted.”
The Council Member for the China constituency requested that its view be reflected as follows: “In light of the Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary in the project ID 10561 is located in the China-Bhutan disputed areas which is on the agenda of China-Bhutan boundary talk, China opposes and does not join the Council decision on this project.”
The Council Member for the Constituency of India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives and Sri Lanka requested that the views of Bhutan be reflected as follows: “Bhutan totally rejects the claim made by the Council Member of China. Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary is an integral and sovereign territory of Bhutan and at no point during the boundary discussions between Bhutan and China has it featured as a disputed area.”
Bhutan rejected China’s claims and the council adopted the funding for Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary.
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The Indian Air Force (IAF) is to get its first state-of-the-art Rafale fighter aircraft on July 27. That is when the first four—perhaps six—fighter jets will touch down at IAF Ambala. The fully armed jets are being delivered at a time of rising tensions between India and China in eastern Ladakh, during the largest military stand-off between the two countries since the 1962 border war.
The aircraft are equipped with two standoff weapons the IAF has never possessed—Meteor air-to-air missiles, with a range of over 100 km, and Scalp air-to-ground missiles, with a range of 500 km. The 10-ton Rafale can carry also a 14-ton payload of fuel and weapons—more than the weight of two MiG-21 fighter jets. “The Rafale numbers might seem small for now, but their presence is itself a deterrent,” says Air Marshal Nirdosh Tyagi, former Deputy Chief of Air Staff. “These are special mission aircraft—they are not the type that will be used for close air support or point defence.”
The standoff has seen increased air activity by both India and China. India has deployed Mirage 2000s and Su-30MKIs very near the theatre and activated all 11 airbases facing China. The PLAAF (People’s Liberation Army Air Force) has activated multiple airbases on the Tibetan plateau from where it operates J-8 and J-11 fighter aircraft.
Experts say Chinese fighter jets will find their performance degraded by the altitude and rarefied air of the Tibetan plateau—they can take off with only half their designed payload and fuel and will be substantially underpowered. IAF aircraft will be able to take off from multiple airbases on the plains with full weapon loads and fuel, unaffected by geographical constraints. That is where the Rafale fits in, as a potent fighter aircraft that could surpass any platform in the PAF (Pakistan Air Force) and the PLAAF.
“This is the induction of an aircraft with near fifth generation performance and marks a paradigm shift in the combat potential of the IAF,” says Air Marshal P.S. Ahluwalia, former C-in-C Western Air Command. “It is important that the pilots and technicians absorb the technology and more importantly, apply it.”
Sources say that increasing the number of jets being delivered next month to six would impact the training of IAF pilots back in Bordeaux. Ten pilots have been trained to fly the jets, with 12 more yet to be trained. The pilots are part of a team of over 100 IAF personnel based in France since March 2019 for training on various aspects of the jet, including flying and ground handling.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh received the first batch of Rafales on behalf of the IAF on October 8 in Merignac, France. The IAF has been recently challenged by a dwindling fighter fleet—it last acquired a sophisticated fighter, the Su-30MKI, just about two decades ago, in 2001.
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Behind an unprecedented military build-up along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh to confront a belligerent China is a never-before heavy lift capability acquired by the IAF. The induction of assets like the C-17 Globemaster, C-130 Super Hercules and CH-47 Chinook over the past few years has enormously enhanced the Air Force’s ability to ferry troops and equipment.
As both sides dig in for a long haul, with no immediate signs of de-escalation, IAF sorties to the Himalayan frontier continue unabated, bringing in all types of military equipment and supplies. This includes flights by the older IL-76 and AN-32 that have been part of the IAF fleet since the 1980s.
The most significant aspect of the air effort perhaps is airlifting of India’s newest and most powerful tanks, the T-90, which now spearhead the Army’s strike formations, from the plains to Ladakh. Chinese deployment across the LAC, including concentrations in depth, reportedly includes a mix of light and heavy tanks, including new variants.
Besides through air, heavy induction has also been taken through the Srinagar-Leh and Manali-Leh road axis.
According to an IAF officer, airlifting the T-90 was possible due to the payload capacity of the C-17, which is about 77 tonnes. A T-90 weighs about 46 tonnes, which is more than the capacity of the IL-76, which can airlift about 45 tonnes. The operating environment of high-altitude airfields like Leh further restricts the load that can be carried.
The IAF has a squadron of IL-76 based in Chandigarh. In addition, another six IL-78 midair refuelling tankers based in Agra, which are same as IL-76, can also be used in the conventional transport role. The IAF’s work horses are 104 AN-32 medium lift aircraft.
The Army had three regiments of the older T-72 tanks, which weigh around 40 tonnes, deployed in this sector. Many of these tanks, along with BMP-2 mechanised combat vehicles, have been airlifted to Ladakh by the IL-76 since the early 1990s. Given the weight and length of the tractor-trailer, it is not practical to negotiate the high mountain passes, hairpin bends and narrow stretches that lie on the road link from the mainland to Ladakh. Tank transporters can only be used on some road stretches within Ladakh.
Barring some troops movements over the past about two decades during hotspots such as the surgical strikes across the Line of Control (LOC) in 2018 and the airstrike on Balakot in 2019 and during major face-offs with Chinese in Depsang Plains, Demchok and Doklam, the last major mobilisation of Indian forces was in 2001 following a terrorist attack on Parliament. “Since then the IAF heavy airlift capability in terms of tonnage has about doubled. While the induction of much-needed new fighter aircraft had eluded the IAF for years, the past decade has seen a quantum leap in our ability to rapidly transport men and material, be it for operations or for aid to civil authorities during calamities,” an officer remarked.
In 2008, the IAF began inducting the C-130, of which 11 are now in service. With a payload of about 20 tonnes, these have given a fillip to air maintenance of forward areas from landing strips such as the strategic Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO) near Siachen, which earlier relied on the AN-32. It is the upgradation of the road link to DBO, passing adjacent to the current face-off site of Galwan Valley, that is cited as one of the reasons for the Chinese incursions in that area.
Next in the IAF’s inventory were the C-17s of which 11 are in service since 2013.
The vertical air lift component has also been getting a boost with the induction of the indigenous Dhruv, Russian Mi-17V5 medium lift helicopters and the US CH-47 Chinook heavy lift helicopters. The IAF has inducted about 90 Dhruvs and from 2008 onwards, procured about 150 Mi-17 in batches. Combined with the earlier versions, the Mi-17 fleet is reported to number 220.
Last year, the Chinook, of which 15 have been procured, entered the IAF service. These have enhanced the all-weather, round-the-clock logistic capability, especially in the mountains, where manoeuvrability in close confines is an issue and have redefined heli-lift operations like rapid inter-valley transport of troops, airlifting artillery guns and heavy under slung loads like vehicles and construction equipment.
In the winter of 2018, the IAF had demonstration its rapid airlift capability, ferrying a record 463 tonnes of load from Chandigarh to airfields and drop zones in the Ladakh region in a single wave. A fleet of 16 fixed wing aircraft, comprising C-17, Il-76 and AN-32 accomplished the task in less than six hours.
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With neither India nor China seemingly in a mood to back off, there appears to be no sign of any easing in the tense border standoff at the rocky heights of Galwan. Some, meanwhile, are not passing up any opportunity to score brownie points even as a war seems to be just one misstep away. Like the report today in China’s state-backed Global Times that seeks to remind India of the apparent futility of banking on the US as an ally.
The article sought to drive home the point that counting on an ally like the US is pointless for India. It is “wishful thinking” on India’s part to imagine that the US would come to its aid if there is a war, it said, stressing that the US’ only motive is to use India as a pawn in its geopolitical game.
“As senior Indian military officers are expecting a prolonged standoff in the China-India border region with the US reportedly voicing support for India, the Chinese military is demonstrating high military readiness on all fronts, as the intensive, simultaneous military exercises in the South China Sea, near Taiwan island and near the China-India border show India’s wishful thinking of taking advantage of US support is merely an illusion,” the Global Times quoted Chinese analysts as saying.
The Global Times article coincides with media reports on how allies are rallying behind India to help counter the latest Chinese threat. In a significant development, old allies like Israel and Russia have brought forward their weapons delivery commitments to make sure that India is not caught short if China actually starts a war.
Other allies include France who promised it would deliver additional Rafale jets next month. An in-service Israeli air defence system is expected soon. US will send precision artillery rounds to India, and Russia will expedite deliveries of ammunition and weapons worth $1 billion.
Most Indian media outlets have reported that the Indian Army is digging in for the long haul. At a briefing with Modi and Rajnath Singh after returning from his inspection of ground zero last Friday, army chief Naravane reportedly told the two leaders that the army expected this border episode with China to be a prolonged one, likely spanning months.
“The PLA has very high war preparedness in all fronts,” Global Times said quoting a military expert from Beijing. It added that despite all this tension, “the risk of a large-scale military conflict remains very low thanks to the PLA’s strength and strategic deterrence.”
The PLA can maintain high combat readiness, and conduct simultaneous and intensive military operations in different regions, it said. The question military observers are asking, according to Global Times, is — Even the US is aware of Chinese capabilities and won’t fight a hot war with China in the Asia-Pacific, so what is India thinking?
The article blamed India for whipping up a frenzy by deploying Akash air defence system in Ladakh. This move is being countered by China with Su-30 fighter jets and H-6 bombers near the border, it said.
Global Times’ fulmination came days after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that American troops will be reduced in Europe and sent “to face the Chinese threat to India and Southeast Asian nations.”
“US has long been hoping to play India as a card in its strategy to contain China, and it is now using India’s domestic nationalists and hardliners in the China-India border tensions,” the article quotes Chinese analysts as saying.
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China’s forces in the Galwan Valley have intruded 423 metres into Indian territory, an incursion which seems to be well ahead of Beijing’s own 1960 Claim Line in the region. High resolution satellite images procured by NDTV indicate that as of June 25, there were 16 Chinese tents and tarpaulins, one large shelter and at least 14 vehicles in this 423 metre stretch of Indian territory.
The Chinese claim of 1960 including the exact latitude and longitude of what Beijing believed to be its boundary in this area has been spelt out in ”Report of the Officials of the Governments of India and the People’s Republic of China on the Boundary Question.” The document, published by the Ministry of External Affairs in 1960-1961, lists Indian questions and the Chinese responses in talks held between the two sides. In response to an Indian question on the height of some peaks and location of specific passes, the Chinese side lists a series of specific coordinates of their claim, including in the Galwan river area. According to this, ”after the alignment passed over the two peaks, it went south along the mountain ridge, where it crossed the Galwan river at Long. 78° 13′ E, Lat. 34° 46′ N.”
The document, published by the Ministry of External Affairs in 1960-1961, lists Indian questions and the Chinese responses in talks held between the two sides.
A simple search of these coordinates on Google Earth Pro indicates the precise location of this line in the Galwan Valley. The areas to the immediate north of these coordinates should be Indian territory. Instead, as the satellite pictures indicate, there is a clear incursion here. The measurement tool on Google Earth Pro indicates that the Chinese are in occupation of 423 metres of Indian territory along the Galwan river bank to the north of its own Claim Line.
The Chinese claim of 1960, including the exact latitude and longitude of what Beijing believed to be its boundary in this area, has been spelt out in a document published by the Ministry of External Affairs in 1960.
”They are taking a very maximalist position,” says former Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao who was privy to boundary talks between India and China during her tenure. ”They are going far beyond their definition of their claim line as conveyed to us in the official talks.”
In his address to the nation yesterday on his monthly radio show, “Mann Ki Baat”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, without naming China, “Those who cast an evil eye on Indian soil in Ladakh have got a befitting response. India honours the spirit of friendship. She is also capable of giving an appropriate response to any adversary, without shying away.” On June 27, Vikram Mistry, India’s Ambassador to Beijing said, “The resolution of this issue is quite straight forward from our perspective. The Chinese side needs to stop creating obstruction and hindrances in the normal patrolling patterns of the Indian troops.”
Towards the end of October 1962, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army had reached their 1960 claim line in this sector after intense battles with the Indian Army deployed in the Galwan region. Following the announcement of a unilateral ceasefire by the Chinese in November 1962, the Chinese withdrew from this area. For decades, patrols by both Indian and Chinese forces here have been few and far between and it is believed that discussions on the alignment of the Line of Actual Control in Galwan did not feature in talks in the early nineties when New Delhi and Beijing met to discuss the LAC.
On June 15, in the worst fighting between Indian and Chinese forces in 53 years, 20 Indian soldiers were killed in action here including a Colonel. Army sources say that as many as 45 Chinese soldiers, including a Colonel were also killed. The fighting is believed to have taken place not just on the Chinese-occupied embankment located at a crucial bend of the Galwan river but also at Patrol Point 14, a spot on the Line of Actual Control which marks the extent of the Indian Army’s traditional patrolling routes in this area. Patrol Point 14 is believed to be along the ridge line broadly overlooking the bend of the Galwan River. Several soldiers, both Indian and Chinese are believed to have fallen off the ridge to their deaths in the fighting that took place on June 15.
”What has happened in Galwan could well be a reflection of things to come in other areas along the LAC where the Chinese are seeking to impose new interpretations of the LAC,” says Ms Rao. Reports indicate that China has already made major incursions in the Fingers region of the Pangong Lake in Ladakh and may be attempting to close in to the area near the Indian Air Force’s air strip at Daulat Beg Oldie near the Karakoram Pass to the north.
The Chinese incursion in Galwan and continued construction activity in Indian territory clearly indicate that China may have no immediate plans to vacate the area. In fact, satellite images of Galwan clearly indicate a consolidation of Chinese positions in Galwan, both within Indian territory and on their side of the Line of Actual Control. This includes broadening of the valley, establishing at least 16 camps within a span of 9 kilometres, creating culverts over the Galwan river (on their side of the LAC) and positioning hundreds of heavy trucks and earth-moving equipment.
The Indian Army and Air Force have responded to the Chinese build-up not just in Galwan but elsewhere in Ladakh with a large-scale deployment of forces. Sources have told NDTV that the Indian Army and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police are now firmly dug in at their positions and closely monitoring the Chinese movements. The Indian Air Force Chief has said that the IAF is flying combat air patrols in response to Chinese air activity in the region. NDTV has chosen not to publish any satellite images of frontline Indian positions in Ladakh nor spell out the extent of India’s substantial force build-up.
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