Indian Defence and Strategic News Thread

[JBH22]

Turning the tables on a China-based computer espionage gang, Canadian and United States computer security researchers have monitored a spying operation for the past eight months, observing while the intruders pilfered classified and restricted documents from the highest levels of the Indian Defence Ministry.

In a report issued Monday night, the researchers, based at the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto, provide a detailed account of how a spy operation it called the Shadow Network systematically hacked into personal computers in government offices on several continents.

The Toronto spy hunters not only learned what kinds of material had been stolen, but were able to see some of the actual documents, including classified assessments about security in several Indian states, and confidential embassy documents about India's relationships in West Africa, Russia and the Middle East. The intruders breached the systems of independent analysts, taking reports on several Indian missile systems. They also obtained a year's worth of the Dalai Lama's personal e-mail messages.

The intruders even stole documents related to the travel of NATO forces in Afghanistan, illustrating that even though the Indian government was the primary target of the attacks, one chink in computer security can leave many nations exposed.

"It's not only that you're only secure as the weakest link in your network," said Rafal Rohozinski, a member of the Toronto team. "But in an interconnected world, you're only as secure as the weakest link in the global chain of information."

As recently as early March, the Indian communications minister, Sachin Pilot, told reporters that government networks had been attacked by China, but that "not one attempt has been successful." But on March 24, the Toronto researchers said, they contacted intelligence officials in India and told them of the spy ring they had been tracking. They requested and were given instructions on how to dispose of the classified and restricted documents.

On Monday, Sitanshu Kar, a spokesman for the Indian Defence Ministry, said officials were "looking into" the report but had no official statement.

The attacks look like the work of a criminal gang based in Sichuan province, but like all cyberattacks, it is easy to mask the true origin, the researchers said. Given the sophistication of the intruders and the targets of the operation, the researchers said, it is reasonable to suspect that the Chinese government approved of the spying.

When asked about the new report on Monday, a propaganda official in Sichuan's capital, Chengdu, said "it's ridiculous" to suggest the Chinese government might have played a role. "The Chinese government considers hacking a cancer to the whole society," said the official, Ye Lao. Tensions have risen between China and the United States this year after a statement by Google in January that the company and dozens of other businesses had been the victims of computer intrusions coming from China.

The spy operation appears to be different both from the Internet intruders identified by Google and from a surveillance ring known as Ghostnet, also believed to be operating from China, which the Canadian researchers identified in March of last year. Ghostnet used computer servers largely based on the island of Hainan to steal documents from the Dalai Lama, the exiled leader of Tibet, and government and corporations in more than 103 countries.

The Ghostnet investigation led the investigators to this second Internet spy operation, which is the subject of their new report, titled "Shadows in the Cloud: An investigation into cyber-espionage 2.0." The new report shows the India-focused spy ring made extensive use of social networks like Twitter, Google Groups, Blogspot, blog.com, Baidu Blogs and Yahoo Mail, to automate the control of computers once they had been infected.

The Canadian researchers cooperated in their investigation with a volunteer U.S. group of security experts at the Shadowserver Foundation, which focuses on Internet criminal activity.

"This would definitely rank in the sophisticated range," said Steven Adair, a security research with the group. "While we don't know exactly who's behind it, we know they selected their targets with great care."

By gaining access to the control servers used by the second cybergang, the researchers observed the theft of a wide range of material, including classified documents from the Indian government and sensitive reports taken from Indian military analysts and corporations, as well as documents from agencies of the United Nations and other governments.

The researchers said the second spy ring was more sophisticated and difficult to detect than the Ghostnet operation.

By examining a series of e-mail addresses, the investigators traced the attacks to hackers who appeared to be based in Chengdu, which is home to a large population from neighboring Tibet. Researchers believe one hacker used the code name "lost33" and that he may have been affiliated with the city's prestigious University of Electronic Science and Technology. The university publishes books on computer hacking and offers courses in "network attack and defence technology" and "information conflict technology,'' according to its Web site.

The People's Liberation Army also operates a technical reconnaissance bureau in the city and helps fund the university's research on computer network defence. A spokesman for the university could not be reached Monday because of a national holiday.The investigators linked the account of another hacker to a Chengdu resident whose name appeared to be Mr. Li. Reached by telephone on Monday, Li denied taking part in computer hacking. Li, who declined to give his full name, said he must be confused with someone else. He said he knew little about computer hacking. "That is not me," he said. "I'm a wine seller."

The Canadian researchers stressed that while the new spy ring focused primarily on India there were clear international ramifications.

Rohozinski noted that civilian personnel working for NATO and the reconstruction mission in Afghanistan usually travel through India and that Indian government visa issuing computers were compromised in both Kandahar and Kabul in Afghanistan.

"That is an operations security issue for both NATO and the International Security Assistance Force," said Rohozinski, who is also chief executive of the SecDev group, a Canadian computer security consulting and research firm.

The report notes that documents the researchers recovered were found with "Secret," "Restricted," and "Confidential" notices. "These documents," the report says, "contain sensitive information taken from a member of the (Indian) National Security Council Secretariat concerning secret assessments of India's security situation in the states of Assam, Manipur, Nagaland and Tripura, as well as concerning the Naxalites and Maoists," two opposition groups.

Other documents contained personal information about a member of the Indian Directorate General of Military Information.

The researchers also found evidence that Indian Embassy computers in Kabul, Moscow, Dubai and the High Commission of India in Abuja, Nigeria, were compromised.

Also compromised were computers used by the Indian Military Engineer Services in Bengdubi, Kolkata, Bangalore and Jalandhar; the 21st Mountain Artillery Brigade in the state of Assam; and three air force bases. Computers at two Indian military colleges were also taken over by the spy ring.

Even after eight months of watching the spy ring, the Toronto researchers said they could not determine exactly who was using the Chengdu computers to infiltrate the Indian government.

"But an important question to be entertained is whether the PRC will take action to shut the Shadow network down," the report says. "Doing so will help to address long-standing concerns that malware ecosystems are actively cultivated, or at the very least tolerated, by governments like the PRC who stand to benefit from their exploits though the black and gray markets for information and data."

http://www.ndtv.com/news/india/resea...hina-19279.php


and we thought the IT genius are in INDIA
Perhaps creating an indian version of Russian FAPSI is the solution

[JBH22]

The Army will hold a month-long war game in the Rajasthan [ Images ] desert along the border with Pakistan to validate its battle concepts including to plug gaps in the night vision capability of its mechanised forces. Codenamed 'Yodha Shakti,' the annual exercise will also validate its post-Op Parakram 'Cold Start' war doctrine that envisages swiftness in inflicting maximum damage to enemy forces.
"Yodha Shakti will be held for a month from mid-April to mid-May in the Pokhran ranges and it will validate battle concepts of a Strike Corps with use of its mechanised troops and close air support from Indian Air Force's fighter aircraft and attack helicopters," Army officers said in New Delhi [ Images ] on Monday.
Strike Corps are the most potent force of the Army and in Yodha Shakti, the Army will involve its Mathura-based 1 Corps to practise battle manoeuvres.
The exercise would test out the troops' ability to carry on the battle under darkness, particularly its tanks and Infantry Combat Vehicles, as 80 per cent of the mechanized vehicles suffer from night blindness, a fact admitted by former Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor in his annual press conference January this year.
The Army exercise under the Jaipur-based South Western Command comes at a time when Pakistan is already conducting a large air force war game of its own, under which the use of ground troops is envisaged during the last phase.
"About 5,000 troops, which is about one-third of a division, would be participating in the exercise that would be held in a digitised environment to test the Army's capability to carry out a network-centric operation," the officers said.
Army's T-72 and T-90 tanks apart from infantry combat vehicles would be part of the exercise in which a Pivot Corps from the South Western Command would also participate.
The troops would simulate enemy forces and a battle scenario would be tried out to see how the formations perform in both holding territory and in carrying out surgical strikes deep inside enemy territory, apart from capturing and destroying strategic assets of the enemy.

http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/NEWS/n...p?newsid=12676

[JBH22]

The Indian Air Force’s crisis in training its pilots saw a farcical twist recently when an Egyptian diplomat posted in India helpfully offered Cairo’s assistance. The Egyptian Air Force, he suggested to a senior IAF officer, could send a training team to Hyderabad, along with several of its trainer aircraft, the K-8 Karakorum. Was the Egyptian aware that the Karakorum trainer has been jointly developed by Pakistan and China? Nobody is certain but, since the offer was not followed up in writing, the Indian Air Force (IAF) was spared the embarrassment of having to reply.

Even as the IAF spends billions of dollars in a global shopping spree for fighters, helicopters and transport aircraft, the training of pilots to fly these has been practically stalled since last July. That was when the IAF’s notoriously unreliable basic trainer, the HPT-32 Deepak, was grounded after a horrific crash that killed two experienced pilots. In 17 Deepak crashes so far, 19 pilots have died.
The Deepak, as the IAF has long known, has two major design flaws. When it flies upside-down the flow of fuel gets blocked, shutting the engine; and, since the Deepak cannot glide without engine power for even a short distance, a serious crash in inevitable.

The IAF’s concern is evident from the radical methods it is exploring. It now proposes to fit each Deepak with an enormous parachute that opens when the engine shuts off, bringing down the aircraft slowly with the crew still in their seats. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), which manufactures the Deepak, is being asked to fit a number of trainers with this Ballistic Recovery System (BRS). It remains unclear whether the Deepak has the structural strength to support a BRS.
Meanwhile, improvisation governs training. After evaluating and ruling out several options — including training IAF flight cadets in civilian flying clubs; or handing over training to foreign contractors on a “Power by the Hour” payment basis — the IAF is now putting absolute rookies into the relatively complex, jet-engined Kiran Mark-1 aircraft for their very first taste of flying. The Kiran, too, has a dubious safety record, with 13 serious crashes over this last decade.
Before the Deepak was grounded, it took 80 hours of basic training on that aircraft before selected cadets — only those found fit to become fighter pilots — graduated to the Kiran Mark-1. The third stage of training was on the Kiran Mark-2; which the Hawk Advanced Jet Trainer (AJT) is gradually replacing. After those three stages of training, IAF pilots graduated to the frontline fighters that they would fly into battle.
“Conducting basic training on a jet aircraft is risky”, admitted a senior IAF decision-maker to Business Standard. “But what choice do we have? The air force must have pilots to fly its planes.”
In fact, the IAF has several good choices, but all of them are some time away. To replace the “Stage-1” Deepak trainer, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has approved the fast-track purchase of 75 aircraft from the global market. Requests for Proposals (RfPs) have gone out to 10 aircraft manufacturers. The hot contenders include the Pilatus PC-21 (Switzerland); Embraer Tucano (Brazil); and the Grob (Germany). Bids are due before April 14, but the aircraft will be delivered only by 2013-14.
For “Stage-2” training, that is, to replace the Kiran Mark-1, HAL is developing an Intermediate Jet Trainer (IJT), the Sitara. The IAF is pleased with the prototype, and has ordered a limited series production of 12 aircraft. Eventually, the air force plans to buy 73 Sitaras, but it will take at least 3-4 years before it is available in the numbers needed for organised training.
Finally, for the “Stage-3” training, the Hawk should have been available in large enough numbers by now. But, production delays at HAL, accompanied by a blame-game between HAL and the Hawk’s vendor, BAE Systems, has meant that just 29 Hawks have entered service against the scheduled induction of 44 Hawks by now.
A much needed strategy for training IAF pilots has now become clear. Before the trainers to implement this plan are obtained, several years of makeshift training lie ahead for the air force.

http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/NEWS/n...eli::cantbeli:

[JBH22]

India's controversial Scorpene submarine programme was first hit by technical delays, then it faced allegations of kickbacks, and later a CBI probe. Now, it's confirmed that the Rs 18,000 crore defence deal signed in 2005 will not be available to the Indian Navy before 2014.

"We have had delays due to various reasons. I expect the first submarine to be delivered in four years time. That is 2014 - 2015. That's a delay of 2 - 2/12 years. There were certain issues to be addressed with the government and the owner. These issues have now been sorted out and we are placing orders for various equipments," said Retired Vice Admiral H S Malhi, Chairman and MD, Mazgaon Docks Limited.

The impact of the delay could be serious because by 2012 the Indian Navy will be left with only nine of its 16 submarines; the others would be too old to use.

And that's not all. The makers of the Scorpene, the Mazgaon Docks Limited, say the delivery of the first of the six submarines is dependent on when they get the various equipment they are still to order for. If that is delayed then for the Indian Navy and the country, it's going to be a long and tense wait.

http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/NEWS/n...p?newsid=12680

[Adam Gilchrist]

Have you ever heard of the RPK-74 its a spin off of the AK-74 with a heavier barrel they used the same principle when creating the INSAS LMG.As to reports of whether the INSAS is not a good rifle well soldiers that i talked to value it because of an effective range more than Ak series. for you the LMG that you are talking about is more of the PKM,M-60 or the M-249. Jawans swear by the czech made VZ-58 not the Ak-47

dude,dont talk like every jawan thinks what you think..i have talked to more jawans than you coz i live in an army cantonment.

and by the way do you know the difference of the effect created by an 5.56mm and a 7.62 mm?

[Kunal Biswas]

dude,dont talk like every jawan thinks what you think..i have talked to more jawans than you coz i live in an army cantonment.

and by the way do you know the difference of the effect created by an 5.56mm and a 7.62 mm?

Adam Gilchrist,
JBH is right regarding VZ-58 also AK-74,
We understand what u r trying to say,
But, If u meant converting all 5.56mm Assault rifle to M-43 is a wrong idea!
U see M-43 is a very successful round use in short or medium range but extremely inaccurate at ranges over 220m, Indian Army operates not only in J & K but also in Rajasthan, Punjab & Gujrat where 5.56mm rules not M-43!, 5.56mm also got two good advantage is it can be carried in gr8 quantity when compare to NATO 7.62 & M-43 plus it got double the range of M-43,
The reason why Insas only preferred as defensive weapon on Kashmiri fields is because of its high maintenance also 5.56mm is not so effective on tangos....
Thts the reason American are thinking abt using 6.5mm!! ( Off-topic )

Regarding LMG, 7.62x51mm makes sense not 5.56mm!
Btw we already had a answer regarding GPMG ( FN-MAG in Indian Army ), But not in use, dont know why??

Kunal Biswas

Army war game in Rajasthan along Pak border this month

I wish to see Arjun!

[Adam Gilchrist]

Adam Gilchrist,
JBH is right regarding VZ-58 also AK-74,
We understand what u r trying to say,
But, If u meant converting all 5.56mm Assault rifle to M-43 is a wrong idea!
U see M-43 is a very successful round use in short or medium range but extremely inaccurate at ranges over 220m, Indian Army operates not only in J & K but also in Rajasthan, Punjab & Gujrat where 5.56mm rules not M-43!, 5.56mm also got two good advantage is it can be carried in gr8 quantity when compare to NATO 7.62 & M-43 plus it got double the range of M-43,
The reason why Insas only preferred as defensive weapon on Kashmiri fields is because of its high maintenance also 5.56mm is not so effective on tangos....
Thts the reason American are thinking abt using 6.5mm!! ( Off-topic )

Regarding LMG, 7.62x51mm makes sense not 5.56mm!
Btw we already had a answer regarding GPMG ( FN-MAG in Indian Army ), But not in use, dont know why??

Kunal Biswas



I wish to see Arjun!

i understand ur and his point...all i am tying to say is that insas lmg isnt effective..lmg has to be 7.62 not 5.56mm

[JBH22]

dude,dont talk like every jawan thinks what you think..i have talked to more jawans than you coz i live in an army cantonment.

and by the way do you know the difference of the effect created by an 5.56mm and a 7.62 mm?

Tough guy Rambo relative
well the army uses the 5.56mm because in its doctrine the rationale is that the round is meant to incapacitate so as to get enemy soldiers tied up in carrying the wounded which slows them down.
The 7.62mm has shorter range,higher recoil jawans i've spoken to navy and army say that the same thing about the INSAS it has a good range this is important.
As to the Vz-58 kunal just said the thing so either 2 people are wrong or you are a genius.

[Adam Gilchrist]

Tough guy Rambo relative
well the army uses the 5.56mm because in its doctrine the rationale is that the round is meant to incapacitate so as to get enemy soldiers tied up in carrying the wounded which slows them down.
The 7.62mm has shorter range,higher recoil jawans i've spoken to navy and army say that the same thing about the INSAS it has a good range this is important.
As to the Vz-58 kunal just said the thing so either 2 people are wrong or you are a genius.

i m a genius ...no i said i understand ur point...but the thing is that 5.56 sometimes causes the terrorist to escape after getting injured..that is my concern..anyways u both mentioned good points..helped my knowledge.

[JBH22]

when they use 5.56mm it incapacitates rather than kill naturally the other soldiers & "tangos" will carry their wounded this seriously slows them so that it increases chances of searching parties to get them.The use of antipersonnel mines can also be applied to the delaying strategy note that the Russians used that in afghanistan plus a greater range is always a plus point.
However there has been a request by the Rashtriya Rifles and other anti-terrorist units to use the 7.62mm because they often need to kill jihadis on the spot because they are hell bent on being martyr so that there the you are right.

[JBH22]

Over the forecast period, India arguably faces greater security challenges from non-state actors than from traditional rivals such as Pakistan or China. Quite aside from the conflict in Kashmir, which involves a number of non-state armed groups, as well as the armies of Pakistan and India, India faces challenges on three fronts. First, various groups within India – of which the Naxalite/Maoists in the north of the country are most important – are engaged in disputes that have nothing to do with Pakistan. Secondly, various groups within Pakistan are in conflict with the government of that country. In general, these groups’ disputes have nothing to do with India. However, in the event that the government of Pakistan completely lost control of the country, millions of refugees could cross the border into India. Thirdly, a deterioration of the security situation in Afghanistan could have consequences for Pakistan – and consequences that could spill over into India. A fourth threat presented itself starkly in November 2008, with attacks in Mumbai that killed at least 173 people. The only terrorist who was captured alive disclosed that the attackers were members of a Pakistan-based militant organisation.

New Delhi is currently preparing to launch a large-scale offensive against the Naxalite (communist rebel) insurgency in a bid to prevent additional damage to the investment appeal of India's poorer eastern regions. The stakes are high, however, and we are worried that heavy-handed tactics could provoke even more rural unrest, playing into the hands of the Naxalites. From our perspective, the long-term solution must lie with encouraging inclusive economic growth in order to prevent a further widening of regional income disparities.

A host of macroeconomic data released on 1 September reinforce our view that India's road to economic recovery will be rocky and gradual. While a poor monsoon is raising risks to agricultural output and private consumption, we believe this will be offset by a nascent recovery in manufacturing and strong government expenditure underpinning the service sector. We thus maintain our 6.1% GDP forecast for FY2009/10 (April-March).

http://www.officialwire.com/main.php...069&catid=1221

[JBH22]

In order to reduce the response time of National Security Guard commandos in case of a terror strike or a hijack attempt, the government has operationalised an airbase near the IGI airport in New Delhi [ Images ].
A crack commando team of the elite force has been stationed and is ready to undertake operations from the complex spread over five acres of land located on the periphery of the Indira Gandhi [ Images ] International Airport on National Highway-8.
The complex was inaugurated by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday. The NSG's response time during the 26/11 Mumbai [ Images ] attacks--while moving from the national capital to the western metropolis -- came under criticism after which the government finalised a number of plans like creation of four hubs for deploying the specially trained men in minimum possible time.
The complex has been named 'Sudarshan'-- the NSG symbol signifying the mythological 'Chakra' of Lord Krishna which destroys the enemy and comes back-- would house and facilitate quick mobilisation of the counter terrorist task force of NSG commandos enabling them to be airborne in minimum possible time.
The unit, comprising 50-60 commandos on a 24X7 basis, will only have to open a door and enter the tarmac of the IGI airport in case of a terror attack or a hijack attempt. The commando squad is armed with weaponry like MP5's, glock pistols and devices for aircraft intervention.
Basic infrastructural facilities like single living accommodation, office block among others are already in place and construction of training and firing enclosures are also in the offing.
The Airports Authority of India [ Images ] had handed over the land to the National Security Guard in April last year.

http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/NEWS/n...p?newsid=12686

[JBH22]

After two decades of research and development, India is all set to flight-test its first indigenously developed jet engine next month, an official said on Wednesday.

"Kaveri engine will be flight-tested in one-and-half months... Should be after middle of May," Director of Bangalore-based Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE), a DRDO lab, T Mohana Rao, said.

It would be flight-tested using the IL-76 aircraft in Russia, he said. The Kaveri engine, meant for India's fighter jet, the Light Combat Aircraft Tejas, has completed all simulation and altitude tests. The altitude tests in Russia in February were a "grand success", he said.
GTRE officials said around Rs 3,000 crore has been spent on the Kaveri project.

Rao said GTRE is now looking to reduce the weight of the Kaveri engine to 50 kg from 60 kg. "It has to be fine-tuned. We will go in for lot of optimisation in future".

GTRE, which is engaged in research and development of gas turbines for military aircraft, has so far developed nine Kaveri engines and four Kabini (core of Kaveri). "All engines have been tested to full potential," he added.

http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/NEWS/n...p?newsid=12687

[JBH22]

AHMEDABAD: IAF chief Air Chief Marshal P V Naik today said he was not in favour of use of air power in anti-Naxal operations, a day after the worst ever Maoist attack in which 76 CRPF personnel were killed in Chhattisgarh.

As a stunned Government took stock of the situation and mulled various strategies, Naik said the IAF will be ready to join the operations against the Naxals if a decision is taken in this regard.

He said the Military is trained for lethal operations to inflict maximum lethality. "The military--Air Force, Army and Navy--are not trained for limited lethality. The weapons that we have are meant for the enemy across the border."

"Therefore, I am not in favour of use of Air Force in situations like the Naxal problem," the air chief said.

Naik said it is the prerogative of the State when the naxal situation reaches that level to involve the Armed Forces.

"They can order us in at any time. At the present moment, we must leave it to the para-military forces because they are trained, they are slowly being equipped. They have the intelligence also to undertake these operations," he added.

Naik also visualised a scenario if the IAF is called in. "Let us say that air force is called in for attack in Naxal locality and it needs to fire a rocket, which is fired at a minimum distance from 1500-1800 metres...from that distance we are not able to visualise what the target is," Naik said.

"Unless we have 120 per cent intelligence that they (Naxals) are enemies, it is not fair to use air force within our borders. The basic thing is Naxals are our own citizens," he said, when asked if it was time for the military to join the anti-Naxal operations.

Home secretary Gopal K Pillai yesterday ruled out use of air power in the fight against Naxalites.

"I don't think we need to use air power at the moment (in the anti-naxal operation). We can manage with what we have. Our strategy is unfolding and we should be able to manage without air power," he said.

However, Pillai made it clear that the air power will be used only for evacuation and for mobility of troops.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/i...ow/5770051.cms

[JBH22]

Air Chief Marshal P V Naik today said that upgrading old Mirage fighter aircraft is a better option than buying new fighter planes.

When asked why Air Force was spending millions of dollars in upgrading old Mirages as the money could well be used in buying new Sukhois, Naik said, "When you buy an (fighter) aircraft it is not only the aircraft that you buy, you spend money in training people, erecting infrastructure, logistics, spares supply and life time support."

"The residual life of the 50 odd Mirages that are left is another 20 years. If I throw them away I have wasted 20 years of that residual life. But upgrading them, with the infrastructure already available, seems a better option, considering the life time cost," he added.

Talking about the Air Force's long-term perspective planning, Naik said, "Wherever there is residual useful life left, in any system not only aircraft, we try and upgrade. So that at least part of that residual life is used. But wherever there is no residual life left we try and replace."

He further said that when you upgrade an aircraft the cost is higher than 50 per cent of the original cost.

When asked about the role of Air Force in coastal security, the Air Chief Marshall said the Indian Navy has acquired crucial assets for the same purpose.

"For coastal security, fighter aircraft are not required. For that you require slow moving aircraft which can have cameras and other sensors," Naik said.

"As far as Air Force is concerned there is one great asset we can use for coastal security and that is the UAVs (Unmanned Ariel Vehicles). They are already being used in areas like Haraminala," he added.

"With more UAVs we can use them more often. They can remain airborne for longtime. They do not have to come back and give the information. Whatever they see, hear or locate is transmitted simultaneously . Hence these become important assets in coastal areas," Naik added.

He said IAF they had used UAVs in the naxal affected areas 3-4 years ago. "We have used these in Raipur and Jagdalpur. But the problem in these areas is that they are covered by jungles. So, as far as visual clues are concerned, we can't get there as there is a thick forest cover."

"However one can get some clues using Infra Red lights or detect some metals. Also, naxals are very fleeting targets, so locating them under the jungle cover is very difficult. But in open areas we can definitely use UAVs more," he added.

Talking about situation at Indo-China border, Naik said, "There are border problems. Such problems cannot be solved so fast. How to proceed is the matter for the government to decide. We are just the military and have to ensure that the border is secure."

Naik said that Air Force was taking steps to build infrastructure along the border and there was a concerted effort in that direction.

"We are purchasing new aircrafts not keeping China or some other country in mind. It is a question of capability built up in the east which was long over due. It should have been done 10 years ago but we didn't have the money at that time. But now we have the money as the government has sanctioned certain projects which are moving on fast track," he said.

"But for us, fast track is also 3-5 years because the areas are also very difficult. No contractor is ready to go there. The weather and altitude are adverse. There are not enough roads and the working season is just 3-4 months in an year," Naik added.

The Air Chief Marshal further said that new bases are being thought of and the old bases are being strengthened to accept new aircraft.

About the trials of new aircraft being purchased, Naik said by the end of April they will be completing all the trials.

"Trials of two aircraft are still left, by end of April we will be completing all the trials after that about 2-3 months to complete the report and then we will be submitting it to the government," he added.

http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/NEWS/n...p?newsid=12691