US' search for dead soldiers postponed for 2013

The recent ethnic violence in Assam that kept the Indian Government on tenterhooks has also dealt a blow to the US efforts to search for the remains of American soldiers who died in air crashes in North East India during World War-II campaigns.

 First Lieutenant Irwin 

 Search conducted during 2008

After the Indo-US political military dialogue in June this year, the bereaved families of the missing American soldiers were hopeful of giving a closure to the search of their loved ones after six long decades as India positively considered the request of the US government to resume search in the region.

However, to fulfill its motto of “No one left behind”, the US government will have to wait longer as the resumption of search has been postponed till next year.

“Due to the recent escalation of ethnic violence in northeast India, the government of India has officially postponed all JPAC operations in India until spring 2013,” the US’ Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) said on its website. The search was suspended in 2009.

Hundreds of soldiers are reported to be missing in the region known as the “hump” – the eastern end of the Himalayas, over which American pilots used to run air supply lines to refurbish its own air force units and the army of Chiang Kai Shek. In US army parlance, it was also called the “China-Burma-India” theatre of operations.

According to Indian official sources, at least 94 soldiers are said to have died in crashed in the region which now lie within Indian Territory.

As per the website of the US military’s Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) more than 400 defence personnel are unaccounted for in this region, though it's not clear in which country the remains will be found. JPAC teams had conducted investigations thrice in India in 2008 and 2009, but the operation had been suspended for more than two years.

The recent postponement has disappointed the families of the missing American soldiers. 57-year-old software programmer Gary Zaetz, who lost his uncle First lieutenant Irwin Zaetz during a crash of B-24 Bomber in Assam, termed it “shocking and discouraging”.

China's about to find out how hard it is to run an aircraft carrier

Here is a brilliant account of the journey of the China's maiden aircraft carrier Liaoning so far and the challenges it will face in future as the Chinese Navy earns the skills to operate a floating deck carrier.

Calm before the storm

Chinese Navy gets its first aircraft carrier, a cause of concern for the Indian Navy?

The Chinese Navy has inducted its aircraft carrier earlier this week (September 25). The Indian Navy, which claims an edge over its Chinese counterpart owing to its long maritime legs and long history of seamanship, is closely watching the development.

A Chinese Warship during a joint exercise with the Indian Navy this year

The PLA Navy has been planning to enter the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) sometime in 2015 only. However, the increased piracy in the Gulf of Aden provided it with an opportunity to deploy its warships for longer durations in the international water and learn the international best practices by closely coordinating with the foreign navies. Buoyed by this the Chinese Navy inducted its first aircraft carrier named Liaoning in its fleet. The announcement was finally made by the Defence Ministry of China through website of PLA.

The Soviet-vintage aircraft carrier has been named after a northeast province of China. PLA navy has indicated that the ship is likely to be used for training purposes only. 

"The entry into the ranks of this aircraft carrier will raise the level of modernization of China's overall naval operational forces," defence ministry said. The Liaoning will help "effectively protect national sovereignty, security and development interests" it was officially announced. 

The Indian Navy is monitoring the situation, but maintains there is nothing alarming in it. As put by the skipper of the Indian Navy's lone aircraft carrier INS Viraat: "See you cannot reach a great power status in 10-15 days. Navies are made over centuries. You have to keep building them for over years and they are a costly proposition. So any navy aspiring to operate carriers will be envious of countries operating them. Naval aviation is a great skill and it takes 25 years to hone it. Once you build this capability you cannot do away with it."

However, what worries the Indian Navy is the unforeseen delay in the Indigenous Aircraft Carrier indigenous aircraft carrier programme followed by trial problem in the Russian-built Admiral Gorshkov. In both the cases the delivery dates have been pushed back, which by conservative estimates mean that India will get its new aircraft carrier only by early 2014. 

The voyage of Varyag - the written off Soviet Navy aircraft carrier from the 1980s - to the Chinese Navy's Liaoning is one that of a determination of the eastern neighbour to find its maritime legs at the earliest. The construction of Varyag had started in 1980s and its construction stopped in 1992 after the disintegration of the USSR. It remained in the Ukrainian shipyard unfinished until 1998 when a Macau-based Chinese company bought it for US$20 million. In March 2002, the vessel was towed to the Dalian Shipyard in northern China after an arduous sea voyage spanning months. Since then the warship has been stationed there for refurbishment.

 

BREAKING: Govt clears One Rank One Pension, clears package of Rs. 2300 crore

Livewire, Red Flag to test IAF’s mettle in 2013

In the 80^th year of its inception, the Indian Air Force (IAF) is gearing up for two major war games next year – the ‘Mother of all Exercises’ Livewire and Red Flag with the US Air Force after five years.

 

 

Complete IAF will participate in the first organizational-level war games Livewire – to be organized early next year. Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Force President Pranab Mukherjee will also witness the Fire Power Demonstration at the end of Livewire. The other major participation will be in the Red Flag exercise in the US essentially meant for the country’s NATO allies. Last time the IAF fighter jets roared in the US sky was in 2008.

“The IAF has been inducting new platforms in its inventory and since the integration is over, the next year will give an opportunity to test the wherewithal of the organisation to maximum,” officials said. The exercise, brainchild of Air Chief Marshal NAK Browne, was planned in 2012 but was postponed for 2013 when the new platforms have integrated well with the existing ones. The exercise would be the first in the history of the IAF and was planned to validate its new war strategies, inductions and technologies. Presently, the fourth largest air force in the world is on the cusp of a major transformation with the acquisition of state-of-the-art platforms in its inventory.

The built up to the month-long Livewire will be preceded by unit-level and command level exercises.  The exercise is planned to check the integration of the newly-acquired platforms and network-centric warfare system with the existing fighter fleet of the IAF. The mid-air refuellers were to be tested to the hilt for a war fought on multiple fronts.

The endurance-testing war games will be followed by India’s participation in Red Flag exercise, that is held every three months for duration of around two weeks and it generally involves NATO allies of the US. In 2008, IAF’s eight Sukhoi Su-30MKIs, two Il-78 mid-air tankers and one Il-76 heavy lift aircraft covered a distance of 19,000 km along with 91 officers and 156 other ranks.

As much as the IAF would have wanted to participate in the prestigious exercise every year, in view of the huge cost – last time the bill came to be around Rs. 100 crore – has decide to participate in the exercise once every five years. Left parties, an important ally of the UPA-I have been against Indian Armed Force exercising with their US counterpart. The COPE Indo-US exercise in West Bengal, Red Flag exercise in the US and the Malabar naval exercise had met a stiff opposition from these parties. 

The experience of participating along with the best of the air force in the world in 2008 has given invaluable experience to the force. In 2008, it was the first time ever that aircraft of the type of Sukhoi – a Russian built fighter jet- were in the US territory. It was the same for Indians who learned more about the French Rafale and the US F 15s and F 16s. The IAF had managed to outdo the US Air Force in visual and Beyond Visual Range combat simulations even as it kept its radars off and operated on training frequencies and not the wartime frequencies used for communication.

1962 will not be repeated: General Bikram Singh

When reminded that it has been the 50th year since Indo-China war, the Army Chief on Wednesday assured the country that a repeat of 1962 will not be allowed to happen again.

Officers from Indian and Chinese Army at the Nathu La border during Indian Independence Day celebrations this year

“No it will not happen,” General Singh said categorically when asked if 50 years after the humiliating defeat at the hands of the Chinese Army, Indian Army was better prepared. “Dushman ko apne watan ke bheetar ghusane nahi denge (We will not allow enemy to enter our country),” he added firmly.

The Army Chief asserted that the Indian Army was augmenting its capabilities but it is not country specific. “I am assuring the nation as Chief of Army Staff that 1962 will not be repeated,” the Army Chief said when reminded that next month is the 60th anniversary of the war. “That's the assurance I am giving. Plans are afoot on all borders,” he said.

Asked about the presence of Chinese soldiers in the POK region, he accepted that there was information which suggested their presence, but he said: “We are told they are there to give protections to some of the Chinese projects. Some railway, roads and hydel projects are underway and Chinese soldiers are giving them protection. But we have conveyed our concern to them.”

Chinese Defence Minister Gen Liang Guanglie had said earlier this month during his visit to India that Peoples Liberation Army never deployed its troops in POK.

We will continue to hold Siachen: Army Chief

New Delhi, September 19: Dismissing the peace overtures of his Pakistani counterpart General Ashfaq Kayani, Indian Army Chief General Bikram Singh on Wednesday said that India will continue holding Siachen Glacier as it continues to be strategically important for the country.

Defence Minister AK Antony and Army Chief General Bikram Singh during a visit to J-K

The Army Chief also dismissed idea of any change in the force’s stance vis-à-vis the Glacier –became a point of contention between the two arch-rivals India and Pakistan after Indian Army’s Operation Meghdoot in 1984. Since then the Glacier has earned many monikers like the “Highest Battlefield” and “Frozen Frontier”. “We have not changed (stand on Siachen Glacier). It (Siachen Glacier) is very important. We must continue to hold that area, that is very important,” the General replied in response to a query if there was a change in the Army’s stand following Pakistan Army Chief’s suggestion about withdrawal of troops from the region and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s personal suggestion about turning Siachen Glacier into a peace park.

“We have lost lot of lives there, blood has been shed there. These tops are of strategic importance for us….We have conveyed our concern to the government,” General Singh added.

Siachen War Memorial

It was 28 years ago on April 13 that India started an operation on the world’s highest and unforgiving battleground – the Siachen Glacier – and it is continuing still at the cost of lives of 950 Indian soldiers and an annual spending of around Rs. 730 crore.

The death of 130 Pakistani soldiers in Siachen Glacier following a massive avalanche has brought back the focus to the highest battleground in the world where more lives have been claimed by weather than by bullet.

The total number of deaths on the Indian side of the 72 km-long Glacier since 1984, when Indian troops captured the dominating heights in the region, has been 950 whereas 12,000 soldiers have suffered injury. The number declined considerably following a ceasefire between the two countries in 2003.

Shortage of officers impacting equation with jawans: Army Chief

The shortage of more than 10,000 officers in the Indian Army has now started impacting the officers-jawans relationship, and the increased friction between them flared up on two occasions this year, Army Chief General Bikram Singh said on Wednesday.

As the report of Court of Inquiry into the Nyoma incident in Ladakh where officers and jawans engaged in fist fight and in Samba incident in Jammu where the a prolonged standoff sent the unit in tizzy are pending, the Army Chief said that measures are being taken to address the issue.

When asked if the shortage of officers is leading to incidents of friction between soldiers and officers, Gen Singh said, "Yes, that is one of the main reasons. The shortfall of officers as of now is 10,100. The deficiency is definitely impacting."  The shortage has been there in the Army for the last five years at least resulting in poo management at the unit level. The army’s sanctioned strength is 46,615 officers.
 

The Army Chief, however, termed the incidents the two incidents as "aberrations" and "isolated" ones and said specific measures will be taken once the court of inquiry into is complete. "As you know we had one or two instances, these are aberrations of course and these were isolated incidents. One was in 2010 and in recent past we had two incidents," he said.
 

On steps taken by him to address the issue, he said, "As a Chief my concerns have been to ensure that we get back to basics and ensure that climate and environment in the units are correct and conducive to growth and group cohesion and the core values of the Army are upheld." The Army Chief has interacted with thousands of officers since he has taken over and has been insisting on “Return to basics”.
 

Presently the Short Service Commission of the Indian Army remains “undersubscribed”. “We are taking measures like spreading awareness and convincing parents to send their children into force to address the shortage The disenchantment is also affecting the soldiers as more than 10,000 soldiers took pre-mature retirement from the force last year. There has been an upward trend in the number of soldiers leaving forces. In 2011, 10,315 soldiers opted for premature retirement, while the figure for 2010 and 2009 was 7,249 and 7,499 respectively. The jawans, who are better educated than in the past, retire around a productive age of 35 years to look out for greener pastures instead of continuing in the force.

Russia to demand more money for Admiral Gorshkov

The memory of the steep price escalation by Russians for the aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov was still fresh in the memories of Indian defence authorities, and the latest snags experienced during the trials of the flat top carrier indicates that Moscow will up the price for warship once more.
 

The issue is expected to be at the forefront when Russian Defence Minister Anatoly E Serdyukov visits India next month. The Russians have informed about the glitches during the sea trials of the 44,570 tonnes Kiev class aircraft carrier, rechristened as INS Vikramaditya literally meaning “Brave as Sun”, to the Indian Defence Ministry.

Sources informed The New Indian Express that the Russians are building up case for another price hike for the second hand warship. “The Russians are claiming that it was the Indian Navy that insisted on bricks insulation for the boilers rather than the traditional asbestos coating and would therefore claim more in the name of dry dock maintenance,” added the sources.
 

The Indian Navy’s aim to operate two functional aircraft carriers at a given time suffered a second setback when after 90 days of sailing in the Barent Sea seven of the eight boilers of the warship did not function at its maximum power limit. According to the widely read Russian daily “Kommersant”, the seven boilers were damaged during the trial delaying the delivery of the warship by a year.

The Indian Navy, however, contended that the contract provides for leeway of 3-4 months in case of delay in delivery but beyond that the provisions call for imposing penalty if its delayed beyond it.

The acquisition of Admiral Gorshkov has been full of the price escalation saga. Offered as a gift to the Indian Navy in the beginning, the Russians had used the warship to arm-twist the Indian government to cough up more money that was used to bail out the cash-strapped Sevmash shipyard.  The contract was signed in 2004 for a package deal of $1.5 billion that included $974 million for its refit and the rest for the 16 MiG-29 K fighter jets. The initial delivery date was in 2008.

However project hit the headlines in 2007 when Russia said that it will not be able to meet its initial deadline of 2008 and pushed it back to 2010 and demanded upped the price to $2.9 billion. After years of strenuous price re-negotiations the deal was re-inked at $2.33 billion in 2010 and December 2012 was fixed as the delivery time.

However, the recent development indicates that the leviathan is going to miss its deadline once again.
 

Earlier, the indigenous aircraft carrier project suffered a two years delay when truck carrying important equipment met an accident. Both the aircraft carrier are crucial for the Indian Navy’s policy to gain maritime advantage in the Indian Ocean Region – spread from Gulf of Aden in the east to Malacca Strait in the west – as the force envisages to have one aircraft carrier each for its two coasts.