India's Air Strike Doctrine EXPOSED Balakot to Sindoor: Air Power Unleashed Chakravyuh ft. ACM Bhadauria
UPDATED: Jul 4, 2025 11:22 IST
We're not Abhimanyu… We're Arjun.'
Chakravyuh explores the frontline of modern warfare with Air Chief Marshal R.K.S. Bhadauria, former Chief of Air Staff. From Balakot to Operation Sindoor, this no-holds-barred conversation reveals:
🔺How Air Power became India's weapon of choice
🔺Why precision air strikes replaced ground invasions
🔺Inside India's 9th and 10th May night aerial blitz that shattered 11 Pakistani air bases
🔺The truth about China-Pakistan collusion and PL-15 missiles
🔺What's next for India's stealth fighters, unmanned aircraft, and the AMCA project
🔺How India's military redefined escalation and deterrence
'This isn't 1999. This is a new doctrine. Terror = War.
🎧 Don't miss this explosive episode of Chakravyuh with Gaurav Sawant — your frontline pass to India's defence and strategy.
🔔 Subscribe now for unmatched insights on national security, geopolitics, and military power.
Produced by Garvit Srivastava
Sound mixed by Rohan Bharti
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Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
Post Operation Sindoor, private sector may see big push for defence manufacturing
WITH A specific thrust on the need to 'leverage the buying power' of the government, authorities are learnt to have reached out to industry bodies and multiple private defence manufacturing companies to elicit active participation in defence manufacturing. There is likely to be a greater push for enhanced indigenous arms manufacturing of items such as artillery guns, missiles, loitering and precision-guided munitions, and military-grade drones in the backdrop of Operation Sindoor. The government is pivoting towards a leaner equipment procurement model that involves leveraging the private sector to a much greater extent, giving key players visibility in terms of future orders and taking recourse to provisions such as deemed licensing to tide over procedural hurdles. Specific measures on the anvil include plans to compress procurement schedules to around two years from an average of about six years currently for big orders, as was done for the Rafale Marine aircraft procured by the Navy, a top government official told The Indian Express. A model involving research and development (R&D) by public sector undertakings (PSUs), sometimes jointly with the private sector players, and the production then being entrusted to the private company, as was done for DRDO-designed 5.56x45mm CQB Carbine that is now being manufactured by Bharat Forge after a tender process, is likely to be replicated for more equipment. In case of drones, the idea is to shortlist up to five manufacturers of civilian drones that have the capacity to expand to military-grade ones, and offer them government support for technology tie-ups and order book guidance. While the private sector defence manufacturing companies were asked to step up their production during the escalation in hostilities between India and Pakistan in May following the Pahalgam terror attack, with many responding by a three-shift production operation, the renewed push is now being made to boost domestic defence production and fully 'harness the power of industry', the official said. 'The government has clearly stated its intent of not being restrictive in its spending powers for defence. We have to harness the power of industry, whether it is PSUs, private sector companies or startups. They have to leverage the buying power of the government. And, this should trigger private investment to ensure a diversified industrial ecosystem, especially for small arms manufacturing. The private sector, including the MSMEs, need to step up to fully make use of the situation, defence manufacturing can't be confined to just the public sector,' the official said. The focus would also be on export of items where India has 'good capacity', including high-demand items such as 155mm shells due to the ongoing conflict in Europe. Defence procurement norms revision The government is also working towards revising the Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020 to streamline the defence procurement process. A compression of the documentation manual, co-development with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), and a competitive bidding procurement procedure through tenders and not nominations are going to be the key focus areas for the proposed DAP 2025 that is likely to be ready in about eight months. Efforts are underway to make DAP 2025 less voluminous and more practical, especially the broader objective of fostering private participation in India's defence sector. GIVEN THAT the nature of warfare is changing, an area where there is likely to be a greater thrust post-Op Sindoor is standoff weapons, including missiles, drones. The government is also working to update its Defence Acquisition Procedure to streamline the procurement process, elicit greater industry participation, and compress acquisition timelines. In case of drones, three to five manufacturers have some capacity to expand from civilian drones to military-grade ones. Given that this market is a monopsony — the government as the only buyer — the plan is to use its buying power to give visibility in terms of orders to that manufacturing ecosystem. There is also a renewed focus on a consortium approach, involving PSUs and private companies. A model could involve R&D by PSUs such as DRDO, sometimes in partnership with the private sector players, and the production then being left to the private company. The intent is to encourage these layers through orders and give them some visibility into the future orders so that they start investing in this area, including tying up with the technologies from abroad. 'We will try to ensure this by speeding up procurement and by giving them visibility in terms of orders,' an official said. The DRDO-designed 5.56x45mm CQB Carbine, now being manufactured by Bharat Forge, after being selected as the lowest bidder in the Army's procurement tender for over 4.23 lakh carbine units, is a case in point. This carbine, developed by the Armament Research and Development Establishment and Bharat Forge, is a close-quarter battle weapon intended for urban warfare and counter-insurgency operations. Compressing field evaluation trials is already something that is work-in-progress, the official said. The acquisition of the Rafale Marine aircraft, which was done in about 24 months as against the typical time frame of 5-6 years for a big order, is serving as a key example for reduced procurement timeline. The Inter-Governmental Agreement between India and France of the contract for India's acquisition of 26 Rafale Marine to equip the Indian Navy was signed in April 2025. This contract followed the announcement in July 2023 of the selection of the Rafale Marine, for which the Indian Navy will be the first user outside France, after an international consultation process. Defence expenditure push While there may not be an immediate need for revision of the record defence budget, officials said there could be a slight increase in spending over and above the allocated amount in the Budget for 2025-26. 'We are well on track for defence spending in the first quarter. Larger procurements anyway take time, the contracts are of around 5 years duration, but rest of the spending is on track. Till the end of June, around 17-18 per cent of the defence modernisation budget has been spent. There might be a slight upward revision, we'll see when we reach that stage,' the official said. According to the latest data by the Controller General of Accounts, the Ministry of Defence had spent 14 per cent or Rs 24,730 crore till May-end out of its total budgeted capital expenditure Rs 1.8 lakh crore for FY26. The Ministry had spent just 4 per cent of its budgeted amount in the corresponding period of the previous financial year. Emergency procurement is also likely to account for about 15 per cent of the overall allocation this year, much of that initiated during Operation Sindoor. That, combined with the stepped up pace of current expenditure, officials expect the allocation to be fully protected at the revised estimate stage and if there are additional requirements, the Ministry of Finance has assured the Ministry of Defence that on capex, there would be no constraint on the Rs 1.8 lakh crore spend.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
HC grants bail to ITR espionage accused
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Hindustan Times
2 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Asim Munir reacts as India exposes Chinese support to Pakistan during Operation Sindoor: ‘Factually incorrect'
Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir on Monday claimed that India's assertions about Islamabad receiving external support during the four-day conflict were 'factually incorrect.' Pakistan Army chief Gen Asim Munir dismissed India's assertions of external support during Operation Sindoor.(AP File) In an address to graduating officers at the National Defence University in Islamabad, Munir said that any misadventure or attempt to undermine Pakistan's sovereignty would be met with a swift and resolute response, without any constraints. 'Insinuations regarding external support in Pakistan's successful Operation Bunyanum Marsoos are irresponsible and factually incorrect and reflect a chronic reluctance to acknowledge indigenous capability and institutional resilience developed over decades of strategic prudence,' news agency PTI quoted Asim Munir as saying. His remarks came just days after Indian Army Deputy Chief Lt Gen Rahul R Singh said that Beijing had extended active military support to Pakistan during Operation Sindoor, using the conflict as a 'live lab' to test various weapon systems. Speaking at a seminar in Delhi last week, Gen. Singh said Pakistan was the 'front face,' with China offering full support to its all-weather ally. He added that Turkey also played a significant role by supplying military hardware to Islamabad, saying that India was effectively dealing with 'at least three adversaries' during the May 7–10 conflict. Asim Munir also claimed that India's strategic behaviour is rooted in 'parochial self-alignment,' while Pakistan has focused on forging lasting partnerships through principled diplomacy, anchored in mutual respect and peace. He said that this approach has established Pakistan as a stabilising force in the region. 'Deeply hurting, more than reciprocal response': Munir warns 'Any attempt to target our population centres, military bases, economic hubs and ports will instantly invoke a deeply hurting and more than reciprocal response,' Munir said. He added that wars are not won through 'media rhetoric, imported fancy hardware, or political sloganeering,' but rather through 'faith, professional competence, operational clarity, institutional strength and national resolve.' India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terrorist infrastructure in areas controlled by Pakistan in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. The strikes led to four days of intense clashes, which ended with an understanding to halt military actions on May 10. New Delhi has maintained that India's decisive counterattack that day forced Pakistan to seek an end to the hostilities. With PTI inputs
