Gp Capt Joseph Noronha

No doubt, much remains to be done before Directed-Energy Weapons (DEWs) make a convincing transition from laboratory wonders to effective and reliable weapons of war....

A year and a half from now, India will attempt the historic feat of launching one of its citizens into space. More than 35 years...

Since the radar was invented in the 1930s, it has been of major concern to aircraft engaged in offensive air operations. Radar was used extensively...

Drones have been called “the ultimate military growth industry”. Air, naval and land forces everywhere are striving to acquire these platforms. Herein lies the danger;...

It is unclear just how many combat squadrons the IAF effectively has because some of the 31 remaining squadrons will be withdrawn from service over...

Stealth is the defining attribute of fifth-generation fighter aircraft and it has a two-fold appeal. First, stealth aircraft are far less vulnerable to engagement by...

China’s leaders recognise that aerospace mastery is critical if it is to become a military superpower. The dragon is closing the technology gap with the...

With the IAF on track to become a true strategic force, it cannot content itself with increasing the strength and capability of its fighter squadrons...

Today, many nations have hundreds of multi-mission, flexible fighter aircraft on their inventory. And now that aerial refuelling has become the norm for most advanced...

In military planning, it is essential to keep abreast of the potential adversary’s capabilities. The main reason the Indian Air Force (IAF) needs a fifth-generation...

Many believe that laser DEWs herald the dawn of a new era in military affairs. According to an October 2016 report by Washington-based analysts MarketsandMarkets,...

India’s holdings of unmanned systems are clearly inadequate for a country of this size. This is, perhaps, due to uncertain commitment from the users in...

History shows that change often triggers misgivings, grumbling and active resistance, especially if the old order is threatened. But within a short time, most people...

ISRO is aware of the looming challenge. Perhaps that is why it is already making efforts to rope in a private Indian consortium to manufacture...

In air combat, numerical superiority generally wins over quality, meaning much larger forces of inferior aircraft may swamp even superior forces while suffering surprisingly small...

No country can be a true aerospace power without a defence aerospace industry and no country can have a powerful aerospace industry without involving the...

Till now, India’s defence aerospace industry has been the preserve of HAL. And HAL’s performance has been lacklustre, to put it mildly. Private sector participation...

Various devices or techniques to enhance or intensify military force have existed perhaps from the earliest period of human conflict but the term “force multipliers”...

Although it is certainly important to have an indigenous aerospace production base, a monopoly (as HAL has enjoyed so far) is not conducive to efficiency....

Electronic Warfare (EW) is reckoned as one of the most technologically advanced branches of warfare today. Is it really so? In a world where electronic...

The pace of India’s UAV acquisitions is likely to quicken over the next five years or so and the size of the Indian market during...

The capability of any modern fighter is usually way ahead of its predecessors, especially so if it is replacing decades-old planes such as the MiG-21...

Clearly the aerospace needs of India, civilian as well as defence, are growing. The public sector which has so far been tasked to meet these...

The main attraction of military UAVs stems from the fact that their acquisition and training costs are far lower than those of combat jets. They...

Why do laser guns and other DEW devices seem so much more attractive than conventional projectile weapons such as guns and missiles? For one thing,...

It seems likely that UCAVs will supplement manned aviation in a growing number of operational situations. The main reason is the capability UCAVs offer to...

Very few companies in the world can claim to have mastered the art of producing high-performance military engines and most of them are in the...

As the IAF strives to confront many challenges, it rightly means to transform itself into a capability-based force, rather than an adversary-centric one. In future,...

Space exploration has its moments of sheer ecstasy but it can be terribly unforgiving as well. Just 63 seconds into the launch of India’s most...

When everything arrives together it may easily result in wastage of time and money. There may be sophisticated equipment lying unpacked in a corner because...