Indian Defence and Strategic News Thread

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Pilots wear diapers on bombing missions

Fighter pilots wore diapers and flew non-stop for more than nine hours to carry out the Indian Air Force's farthest and longest bombing exercise recently - symbolising the IAF's extended reach.

They flew Sukhoi-30 MKI fighters to destroy mock targets in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

A senior IAF officer told HT, "The fighters dropped air-to-ground ordnance for the first time on an uninhabited island in the Andamans. We want to exploit the location of these islands to train fighter pilots for extreme missions."

Six fighter planes were launched from air force bases in Bareilly and Pune for the experimental long-haul mission. Russian Ilyushin-78 refuellers flew from Agra to tank up the Sukhois during the flight over the Bay of Bengal.

The officer said long-range missions would be planned regularly from now on to push the limits of technology and human endurance.

Fighter pilots may have to get used to carrying more loads in their diapers. The officer said future missions would be more complex, requiring them to stay airborne for 12 to 15 hours. "We can keep the fighters airborne for as long as we want.

Refuellers are a game-changer," he said. The Air Force has started providing diapers to pilots as 'standard clothing'.

Former IAF chief Air Chief Marshal Fali Homi Major, said, "The IAF seems to be gearing up for expeditionary missions. Human endurance should not be a limiting factor in the cockpit."

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First phase of ballistic missile shield to be deployed in 2012

Notwithstanding the recent failure of the interceptor missile test, the first phase of the indigenous Ballistic Missile Defence System to intercept and destroy incoming enemy missiles of less than 2,000-km range is expected to be deployed in two years.

Disclosing this to The Hindu recently, V.K. Saraswat, Director-General, Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) and Scientific Adviser to Defence Minister, said the first phase would be made operational through the new concept of ‘capability-based deployment.' The Air Defence Programme has been divided into two parts — depending upon the threat perception. While the first category of threats pertains to enemy missiles with less than 2,000-km range, the second type belongs to those with more than 2,000 km. Both the phases will have two layers. The aim of the two-tier system is to first destroy an incoming missile, at a higher altitude, in the exo-atmosphere above 50 km. If that does not happen, the endo-atmospheric interception will take place up at the height of 30 km from the earth.

The DRDO has developed the Prithvi Air Defence (PAD) missile for exo-atmospheric interception and the Advanced Air Defence (AAD) system for endo-atmosphere interception.

With a fresh interceptor missile test in the endo-atmosphere planned in a couple of months, some more trials were planned for 2010-11 and 2011-12 to ensure reliability, repeatability and suitability for deploying phase-1assets, Dr. Saraswat said.

Simultaneously, DRDO scientists have started work on phase-II solutions. It requires radars of longer range and new hypersonic interceptor missiles flying at Mach 6 with agility and the capability to discriminate against ballistic missile defence counter measures. “Our effort is to have interception at very high altitudes, and the entire system will be able to handle multiple, simultaneous attacks,” he said.

A crucial requirement for the second phase is a floating test-range — a complete launch station from which interceptors will be fired. Scientists have started designing the ship and associated systems such as radar, mission control centre, launch control centre, communication network and many other equipment needed for phase-II trials.

The ‘capability-based deployment,' under which a system would be put to use, as it got perfected, had paid rich dividends for some countries, Dr. Saraswat said. The entire work on the two phases was planned to be completed by 2016.

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Murmur in army over fast-track weapons purchases post-26/11

New Delhi: Fast-track purchases for the army without competitive tendering after the 26/11 Mumbai attacks have come under government scanner following allegations that vested interests were trying to influence decision-making.

Director-general (infantry) Lieutenant General Jasbir Singh, who was overseeing those purchases, besides several other big-ticket procurements for infantry units, was quietly moved out last week.

The official position is Singh had to be shifted out because he completed three years in Delhi. Lieutenant General SN Handa took over from him on March 13.

Sources in the defence establishment, however, said the decision was taken by army chief General Deepak Kapoor “in consultation” with his successor-designate Lieutenant General VK Singh after they were briefed about “vigorous efforts” to push through certain deals. VK Singh takes over as army chief on March 31.

The military top brass was also briefed about certain meetings of some senior officers in their official residences with representatives of arms companies. Such contacts are prohibited.

The sources did not say whether a formal investigation had been launched into purchases and tenders initiated by the infantry directorate. The army leadership could take a re-look at some of these purchases and tenders in the coming days, the sources added.

There were several inputs with the army leadership and the ministry of defence about strong efforts by the infantry directorate to “hastily” push through a host of purchases.

Those fast-track purchases were sanctioned after the 26/11 attacks, and were mostly meant to equip the Ghatak units.
Each of the infantry units of the Indian army has a Ghatak (lethal) unit which comprises about 20 soldiers trained as commandos for carrying out shock attacks on enemy positions and conducting ambushes.

Government sources said several other tenders of the directorate have come under scrutiny. Among them was the move to purchase a foreign rifle in place of the Insas (Indian small arms system) assault rifle, which is developed by the Ordnance Factory Board. The infantry directorate had also rejected the Insas carbine after several months of trial and without much explanation.

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A peep into Vikramaditya

Now that a final price tag of $2.33 billion has been fixed on aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya (Admiral Gorshkov) going against the proverbial caution, perhaps it is time to look the ‘gift' horse in the mouth.

While arriving at the figure, the Indian Navy asserts that there has been no compromise, including on the much-required sea trials that will be conducted for 20-24 months before the aircraft carrier is handed over by December 2012.

“There will be no compromise, and all trials that are necessary will be conducted,” Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Nirmal Verma told The Hindu. The remarks assumes significance following the observations by the Comptroller and Auditor-General that sea trials were a major factor in the substantial increase in the cost.

Navy officials maintain that the aircraft carrier will be good for the next three to four decades. Its hull remains good with value additions done to modify the cruiser class to meet the force requirement. At the time of induction, it will be equivalent to the best among the contemporary carriers.

Some of the features built into the contract are replacement of the entire length of cables/wiring running into thousands of kilometres; delivering infrastructure machinery for repair and maintenance support in Indian docks; training of personnel from Indian docks and personnel on board the carrier; spare parts for 10 years from the time the carrier is to be handed; repair and technical detail documents for maintenance; and pilot training/trials.

Comparing INS Vikramaditya with other carriers, the officials said a 27,000-tonne Cavour class Italian vessel cost $2.2 billion, while 65,000-tonne CVF class vessel (HMS Queen Elizabeth being built in U.K.) cost $4.2 billion.

It took an three additional and 13 supplementary contracts for the final price to be fixed ahead of the rescheduled delivery of the 45,000-tonne Vikramaditya, bringing the curtains down on the negotiations over the price, which was increased from $1.5 billion to $2.2 billion, with the final demand touching $2.9 billion.

New Delhi has so far released more than $600 million.

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L&T to build 36 high speed boats for coast guard

MUMBAI: Infrastructure construction major Larsen & Toubro (L&T) will design and construct 36 high speed interceptor boats worth Rs 970 crore for the Indian Coast Guard, the company announced in Mumbai on Monday.

The contract, awarded by the defence ministry, is one of the initiatives of the government to strengthen coastal security.

The interceptor boats will have aluminium-alloy hull construction with water jet propulsion to enable quick response, necessary for the intended applications, and shall be also crucial for near shore action.

The boats shall be designed in-house at the L&T's Ship Design Centre, a part of its heavy engineering division, and shall be constructed at its existing shipyard at Hazira (in Gujarat) and the new shipyard coming up at Katupalli near Ennore (in Tamil Nadu).

L&T has already been building special purpose vessels and heavy lift ships for export at its Hazira Yard. It is equipped to construct ships upto 20,000 tonnes.

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Vikrant sails closer to new life

A full-fledged maritime museum aboard the decommissioned aircraft carrier IMS Vikrant will finally see the light of day, with the state government likely to finalise the bids for the project by April. The government had announced a proposal to convert the Old Lady of the Indian Navy into a museum on the very day she was decommissioned, on January 31, 1997.

Manukumar Srivastava, secretary, urban development and special projects said, “Five bidders—HCC Infrastructure Ltd, Srei Infrastructure Ltd, Kalpataru Power, Dhoot Developers and Zoom Developers— were asked to submit financial bids after they qualified in the technical bids round. The project is being executed on the build-own-transfer basis and financial bids will be finalised before April 2010.’’

Maharashtra Urban Infrastructure Development Company Limited (MUINFRA)is implementing the project. Ajay Saxena, public-private-partnership expert and officer on special duty, MUINFRA, said, “The successful bidders will be given six months to achieve financial closure. We will give a time-frame of 36 months to the succesful bidder to complete work on the project.’’

The ship will grouted off Oyster Rock near the Radio Club alongside the Gateway of India. “A 1.5 km road, including the jetty, will be constructed to provide access to visitors to the museum which will be located on Deck 3 of the ship. The project has been designed in such a way that the visitor will be straightway led to the maritime museum once he enters the ship,’’ an official said.

The entire project is expected to cost approximately Rs 450 crore. And if all goes according to plan, the state government will not have to shell out any amount as viability gap funding for the project. Saxena said, “The bidders have been asked to submit two separate bids—for 35 years and 50 years. Bids for the 35-year-period will be opened first. A bidder willing to pay highest premium to the government, will qualify first for the project. If the bids are not satisfactory then bids for the 50-year-period will be opened. A bidder quoting a premium or seeking least sum of money as viability gap funding will have an edge in the qualification process.’’

The bidders are also expected to provide a modern security system, including a team to help evacuate people in an emergency or terrorist attack.

The IMS Vikrant has 2.60 lakh sq. feet of space, of which 50,000 sq feet has been earmarked exclusively for the museum. The remaining space can be commercially exploited by the bidder. Artefacts for the museum will be provided by the Indian Navy. “The navy have agreed to upgrade their artefacts every three years so as to keep visitors interested in the project.’’ A study carried out by the CRISIL estimates nearly 2,500 visitors may visit the museum daily.

Saxena further said, “The bidders will be allowed to commercially exploit the premises to earn revenue by opening retail outlets and eateries, with permission from the concerned department.’’ However, he clarified that the operator will not be allowed to open a casino or dance bar or anything prohibited by the law of the land.

As for entry fees, Saxena said the museum will be “for the common man and we will ensure that the bidder does not charge exorbitant entry fees”.

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Top India-US army officials meet in Chandimandir

To coordinate joint training events between the Indian and United States armies, senior US and Indian army officials met at the Western Command headquarters at the Chandimandir cantonment, 15 km from here, Monday.

The four-day 14th annual meeting of the Indo-US Army Executive Steering Group (ESG) will conclude March 26.

The 14-member US delegation is led by Lt. Gen. Benjamin Randy Nixon, Commanding General of the US Army-Pacific.

ESG meetings between both countries are held at venues, alternating between India and the US, to coordinate various joint training events between the two armies.

Gen Nixon met Western Army Commander Lt. Gen. Shankar Ranjan Ghosh, and interacted on various aspects of common interest.

The US team met their Indian counterparts led by Lt. Gen. A.S. Sekhon, Director General Military Operations (DGMO).

The ESG reviewed the progress made in Indo-US military cooperation through events in 2009 and reached an agreement on the training cooperation events to be conducted in 2010.

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Indian Moon light
- Isro revelation can fuel Apollo review

New Delhi, March 21: A scientific instrument that crashed on the Moon after breaking free from the Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft 16 months ago detected carbon dioxide and water in the extremely thin lunar atmosphere, Indian scientists have revealed.

The finding has the potential to facilitate a re-examination of debunked data collected 38 years ago by Apollo-17, the last manned moon landing mission.

Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) scientists say they had spotted direct instrumental evidence for water and carbon dioxide in the lunar atmosphere in November 2008, but have only now released their findings in a scientific journal.

Chandrayaan-1 had jettisoned a box called the Moon Impact Probe crammed with instruments for a planned suicide dive onto the lunar surface on November 14, 2008. During its 25-minute fall, an instrument called the Chandra’s Altitudinal Composition Explorer (CHACE) sampled the lunar atmosphere every four seconds, and identified chemicals on the basis of their masses.

CHACE spotted signatures of water and carbon dioxide in addition to a variety of other atoms and molecules at different altitudes in the lunar atmosphere, researchers from the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Thiruvananthapuram, reported last week in the journal Planetary and Space Science.

Spikes in the instrument readings suggest that water and carbon dioxide are the dominant molecules.

A US-made instrument that had piggybacked on Chandrayaan-1 had last year detected signatures of water molecules on the lunar surface -- and scientists had speculated that heat from the Sun may “kick” some of these molecules into the atmosphere.

But space physicists say the carbon dioxide spike from CHACE is intriguing.

“This warrants further investigation and an explanation,” said Jitendra Nath Goswami, director of the Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad, who is a senior member of India’s lunar science team, but was not associated with the analysis of CHACE data.

A senior Isro scientist said data from Apollo-17 of 1972 which had carried a similar instrument had suggested the presence of water and carbon dioxide during the lunar night-time. “The Apollo-17 data had been dismissed as contamination -- but our observations call for a re-examination of the Apollo-17 data,” said Rajagopal Sridharan, director of the Space Physics Laboratory at the VSSC, and lead author of the new paper.

The scientists declined to speculate on explanations for carbon dioxide in the lunar atmosphere. Their paper in Planetary and Space Science is primarily about direct evidence for water, but a graph gives away the carbon dioxide spike.

The relative abundance of water and carbon dioxide in the lunar atmosphere and other observations appear to rule out contamination -- molecules inadvertently carried there from Earth -- of the instruments.

“We’re continuing with detailed analysis of our data,” Sridharan said. “While all other recent observations are inferences based on hydrogen-bearing compounds, the CHACE results are direct evidence,” he said.

The density of atoms and molecules measured by CHACE also suggest that scientists might need to rethink some ideas about the emptiness of the Moon’s atmosphere. It is an ultra-high vacuum, Sridharan said, but the amount of material there appears to be at least 100 times more than what was thought before.

The lunar orbiter Chandrayaan-1, launched in October 2008, had suffered instrument failures last year, leading to loss of communication with the spacecraft, and prompting Isro to end the mission in August 2009. But analysis of huge amount of data sent by the spacecraft’s scientific payloads is expected to continue for several years

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IAF to carry out air-to-air exercises with France, UK

New Delhi, Mar 22 (PTI) Expanding its ties with global air powers, the Indian Air Force will carry out air-to-air exercises with France and United Kingdom this year.

"Firstly, the 'Garud' series exercise with the French would be held in France in June and the 'Indradh****h' series with the British Royal Air Force would be held at the Kalaikunda air base in West Bengal in October," Defence Ministry sources said here.

At the fourth edition of the 'Garud', IAF will be represented by its air superiority Sukhoi-30 fighter jets and the Il-76 heavy-lift transport aircraft in the aerial wargames with France.

"The Il-78 mid-air refuelling aircraft, which have helped in expanding the strategic reach of the IAF, are also likely to join the Indian contingent there," they added.

The French side is expected to field its latest Rafale fighters and various versions of the Mirage-200 fighters, sources said.

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Sweden's Gripens head for AFS Jaisalmer

BANGALORE: Sweden's Gripen NG, the last of the six fighter aircraft that are being evaluated by the Indian Air Force for the $12 billion medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) deal, left Bangalore on Monday morning for the Air Force Station (AFS) Jaisalmer.

Having gone through a week of performance trials — including a demonstration of air-to-air refuelling and flying manoeuvres — by the IAF's specifically designated MMRCA team here, two Gripens will now complete the remaining part of their flight tests over Pokhran and Leh before heading for the AFS Jamnagar and then to an air base in Sweden.

While one of the Gripens will undertake hot weather trials in and around the AFS Jaisalmer and later take off to perform a dummy run and bomb drop at the Pokhran test range, the other fighter, as part of the cold weather trials, will land in Leh, switch off, refuel and then take off again.

Ministry of Defence officials familiar with the MMRCA trials told The Hindu that while they expect no hiccups during the weapons drop over Pokhran, the Leh exercise proved challenging to the other contenders vying for the MMRCA deal.

The officials confided that four of the five aircraft in the MMRCA competition faced problems starting up in the rarefied atmosphere of Leh, and the IAF had to ask the manufacturers to undertake modifications in the aircraft's fuel systems. The Gripen's evaluation is part of the MMRCA flight trials, which started in August last, when the F/A-18 Hornets arrived here. These were followed by another American fighter, the F-16IN Super Viper. In September, the French Rafale flew over Bangalore. It was followed by Russia's MiG-35 and the European Aeronautic Defence and Space consortium's Eurofighter Typhoon flew in March.

Once the flight trials are completed, the MMRCA evaluation team headed by the Principal Director, Air Staff Requirements, Air Commodore R.K. Dhir will write the technical report, narrowing down the competition to three or four contenders. Thereafter, the commercial bids will be opened, with the lowest bidder — as per India's defence procurement procedures — winning the contract.

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New Delhi, Mar 23 (PTI) India will receive another Israeli-made Phalcon Airborne Early Warning and Control System (AWACS) on Thursday, giving it the second 'eye in the sky' for enhanced surveillance that would virtually cover the entire nation.

The second AWACS will arrive in Jamnagar in Gujarat and will be deployed in Agra, IAF officials said here today.

With the arrival of the second AWACS, officials said the IAF can keep an eye on both the eastern and western front at the same time.

"After the induction of the third system, we would be able to virtually cover the whole nation at one go," they added.

The system, primarily used for detection of incoming hostile cruise missiles and aircraft from hundreds of kilometers away, can also direct air defence fighters during combat operations against enemy jets. It also helps detect troop build up across the borders.

http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/NEWS/n...p?newsid=12577

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MORE THAN JUST A DUMPING GROUND

One of the most visibly high-profile and lucrative arms bazaars today happens to be India. The Big Boys of Europe (Russia included) and the United States of America feel happy to see in India a potential market of military equipment worth $50 billion over the next 10 years, and an expected $100 billion in the next 20 years.

The ‘mother’ of all deals, however, is that for the 126 Multi-Role Combat Aircraft, reportedly worth almost $11 billion. Expectedly, therefore, all top six companies — America’s Boeing, France’s Dassault Aviation SA (Rafale), America’s Lockheed Martin Corporation (F-16), Russia’s MiG-35, Sweden’s Saab JAS-39 Gripen and the EADS’s Eurofighter Typhoon — are competing with one another to clinch the deal.

One can well guess what is there in store for the one ‘victor’ and the five ‘vanquished’ once the government of India chooses the type of aircraft for its air force from amongst the six players vying for the deal. There is every possibility of the closure of those plants that fail to get the Indian order, as conventional military hardware markets all over the world have shrunk dramatically. But India being a compulsive big-ticket buyer, all foreign sellers of fighters are camping in New Delhi to woo the potential mega customer.

Perhaps the smartest seller so far has been America’s Boeing Company. Reportedly, the Boeing is to reinvest $640 million in India as part of its offset obligations. But many questions remain unanswered — will the Boeing’s planned investment upgrade indigenous technology? Or will Boeing remain content with asking Indian entrepreneurs to manufacture and copy a few non-technical and non-sensitive inventories such as the fuselage, doors, windows, galleys and tyres? One is not too sure as yet because if Barack Obama’s recent utterances are to be considered, “outsourcing” is anathema to him. And offset programmes of the government of India might be interpreted by American hardliners as outsourcing.

Boeing, however, was reportedly always “confident of securing export orders and the US Navy had sought international partners to share development of P-8A.” American companies (especially Boeing), consider India to be an important market — “We are here for the long haul,” declared an official of the company.

From India’s perspective, however, some puzzles remain. Serious defects had occurred and recurred in the F/A-18 Super Hornet programme. This spells trouble both for India and the USA. If a high-tech aircraft sold to India is found defective, then India — which has till date never produced the likes of F-4, F-5, F-15, F-16, F-18, F-22 and F-35 — certainly cannot be expected to repair or replace an aircraft that even the Americans today find hard to maintain.

It might be useful for India to emulate the Chinese in this regard — “Give us the latest technology first, then only we will take your hardware.” India must get the best stuff for itself, and should not be used as a dumping ground for obsolete technology.

The Union defence minister, A.K. Antony, constantly harps on the “need of high level of indigenisation in defence sector”. One-way traffic of sale and purchase could be transformed into ‘cooperate and produce’ between equal partners. The existing imbalance has led to inequalities in India’s arms acquisition programme. Choose the best and chase the quality.

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Indian, US armies to further enhance joint combat exercises

NEW DELHI: Even as India and US are gearing up to hold another joint combat exercise called `Shatrujeet' in California next month, the two armies on Monday kicked off a four-day Executive Steering Group (ESG) meeting to chalk out the schedule for bilateral military engagements over the next year.

"The aim is to increase the scope and complexity of joint combat exercises and training drills between the Indian and American armies, which have already built quite a bit of interoperability,'' said a defence ministry official.

The Indian side at the 14th ESG, being held at the Western Army Command at Chandimandir this time, is headed by director-general of military operations Lt-Gen A S Sekhon. The 30-member US Army delegation is led by Lt-Gen Benjamin Mixon, commander of the land forces at the US Pacific Command.

As for Shatrujit, around 150-200 Indian soldiers are leaving for US to take part in the war games, which will revolve around counter-terrorism, from April 1 to 19.

Incidentally, India had hosted the largest-ever ground combat exercise with US, called `Yudh Abhyas', at Babina last October. US showcased its Stryker infantry armoured vehicles and Javelin anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs) during the combat manoeuvres.

The most visible symbol of the expansive Indo-US military ties has been the flurry of joint combat exercises -- over 50 in the last seven years -- between the two nations.

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Ajai Shukla: India's war memorial - Seal the deal

Amongst the many issues that scar relations between India’s military and its civilian overseers — pay scales and pensions; the failure to buy adequate weaponry; and the military’s marginalisation in framing security policy, to name a few — the most easily resolved is the military’s longstanding demand for a national war memorial to honour the 20,000 soldiers, sailors and airmen who have sacrificed their lives while defending independent India. A broad section of the urban public echoes this plea.

The demand is for a prominent memorial on New Delhi’s Central Vista, which can be visited freely by the Indian public, and where wreathes can be offered by national leaders on occasions like the Republic Day, and by visiting foreign dignitaries who choose to do so. The current memorial, the Amar Jawan Jyoti, is merely an add-on to the India Gate, an imposing 42-metre high British structure, built in 1921, to honour the 90,000 Indian soldiers who died in the First World War.

The irony is evident: the British exalted the memory of Indians who died for the empire; but India finds it bothersome to suitably commemorate those who fell in service of the republic.

Anyone who has travelled along India’s borders with China and Pakistan cannot have missed the lonely memorials at the places where Indian troops fought and died. Amongst the most stirring is the stark monument to Major Shaitan Singh and his 111 Kumaoni soldiers who battled to the last, holding up a major Chinese advance on the desolate, windswept plateau of Chushul. This Indian hero, a winner of the Param Vir Chakra, is honoured only in that unvisited war memorial near Chushul. No national memorial is inscribed with the name of Major Shaitan Singh.

The proposal for a “National War Memorial”, as I accidentally discovered in the Assam state archives in Guwahati, predates independent India. A confidential memo, issued on March 3, 1945, from the War Department in New Delhi (in File No. 110-C/45, entitled “Indian National War Memorial”, in the Governor’s Secretariat, Confidential Branch) declares that the Government of India (GoI) has been examining “the question of the form that an Indian National War Memorial should take”. The memo orders that “the establishment of a Military Academy on the lines of the United States Military Academy at West Point for the education and basic training together of future officers of the Royal Indian Navy, the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force would be the most suitable form for the memorial to take”.

In short, New Delhi proposed that what was to become the famous National Defence Academy (NDA), which is still the bedrock of Indian officer training, would also serve as India’s National War Memorial.

The British government of India further proposed that “funds for the academy would be provided by public subscription and supplemented by the state”. It urged all provincial governments (as state governments were then called) to support the scheme, establish scholarships, encourage the public to contribute, and to not set up any other war memorials so that the support of the public “may be concentrated on the all-India (war memorial)”.

Shortly afterwards, as the Second World War hurtled towards its denouement in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the War Department in New Delhi directed (vide memo No. F.65/45/W.1, dated June 15, 1945) that the construction of the academy be financed from a gift of 100,000 pounds, received from the Government of Sudan in gratitude for the Indian Army’s role in freeing Sudan from Italian occupation.

An Indian National War Memorial Working Committee was quickly constituted, which sent out a questionnaire to the provinces asking for their views on a range of subjects, including the setting up of feeder schools for the proposed academy-***-war memorial. The questionnaire asked, keeping in mind the “urgent need in India for leaders in all walks of life, including the fighting services”, should “practical steps not be taken to meet the requirement of the immediate future by the establishment of a certain number of residential high schools”.

Today, 65 years later, the military community, especially officers from the NDA, will recognise that these proposals have been implemented in full. The Sudan Block, a magnificent basalt and granite structure, topped with a Jodhpur red sandstone dome, is the central edifice around which the academy stands. Generations of cadets, including this columnist, have dozed restfully through lectures in the Sudan Block’s cool classrooms. Many of those cadets entered the NDA from 19 Sainik Schools across the country, the network of “feeder schools” proposed in 1945.

Lost along the way, fortuitously, is the proposal for the NDA to constitute India’s National War Memorial. A training academy is a living organism that shapes the leaders of tomorrow; bursting with life, it is ill-suited to be a sombre memorial.

Today, with the government unwilling to concede the space for a memorial on New Delhi’s Central Vista, Karnataka MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar, has suggested a Vietnam Wall-style memorial, inscribed with the names of India’s fallen soldiers, on a 50-60 acre site alongside Mahatma Gandhi’s memorial at Rajghat. The design, which Chandrasekhar submitted to the prime minister last week, includes an eternal flame, a 24x7 ceremonial military guard, a memorial wall, a martyrs’ museum, and large, landscaped areas that would allow schoolchildren and other visitors a pleasant day at the memorial. If the army wants the country to know about and to remember its sacrifices, this is the way to do it.

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Indian Coastguard Vessel Rammed, Sinks

ICGS Vivek a Vikram-class offshore patrol vessel (OPV) of the Indian Coast Guard sank today after being rammed by a merchant vessel. The Vivek was undergoing refit at the Indra dock in Mumbai, when it was rammed by a merchant vessel entering the dock. No casualties. The ship sank like a stone.