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Indian officers of Skinner's Horse with their British officer in 1900. NEW DELHI: Popular culture in India has glorified the martial traditions of the Rajputs. One of which was saka, in which fighting men of a defeated state rode out for a final, suicidal battle dressed in yellow. That antiquated Rajput code has survived in the yellow ceremonial uniform of one of Indian Army's oldest cavalry regiments, the 1st Horse or Skinner's Horse. Over two centuries after it was raised by a "white Mughal" — James Skinner — who was denied a commission in the Honourable East India Company's...

LONDON: Indian military is among the least gay-friendly in the world, while Britain's military is the second most homosexuality-friendly. The first-ever global ranking of countries by inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) service members in the armed forces brought out by the Hague Centre for Strategic Studies ranked more than 100 armed forces by inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender personnel. India is in the bottom half of the list recording only 34 out of 100 in its LGBT score while New Zealand's military, which was found to be the most gay-friendly in the world top scored...

The 82nd Airborne Division Band struck up “Carolina in the Morning ” as a coalition color guard held the U.S. and Indian flags side by side Friday on Fort Bragg. The ceremony on Pike Field marked the beginning of Yudh Abhyas 2013. About 200 soldiers from the Indian army will be on Fort Bragg for the U.S.-Indian exercise through May 17. The scenario calls for the two armies to work together under a United Nations mandate. “The United States has the world’s oldest democracy, and India, the largest,” Brig. Jagdish Chaudhari said. “We have a lot to learn from each...

Israel defense industry sources said state-owned and other Israeli defense firms intend to expand offices and staff in India during 2010. "The Indian government has approved a huge increase in its defense budget for new weapons and systems, and Israeli companies will be first in line for consideration of projects," an industry source said. In March 2010, the Indian Defense Ministry submitted an order of more than $100 million for the Barak point-defense missile system from the state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries. Industry sources said that under the deal the Indian military would receive 400 Barak interceptors. India, which has approved...

Remaining without a single purchase of artillery guns since Bofors scandal broke out two decades ago, India has lined up series of procurements of such weapons to bridge the growing gap in the operational preparedness of its Army. Among the guns it plans to buy soon include towed, wheeled self-propelled, tracked self-propelled and ultra light howitzers. Defence Ministry sources on Friday said these acquisitions are at various stages of procurement and these guns would strengthen the artillery arm of the 1.13 million strong Army. While it has scheduled trials for two such weapons in the coming months, the Defence Ministry...

The Indian Army is arming its infantry soldiers with a medium range loitering missile that can strike at a target after hovering over it for 30 minutes and sending in critical data on the enemy installation. The army has issued an open Request for Information (RFI) to major global defence companies seeking to know if they can supply a missile system with such operational characteristics. "The RFI has been issued earlier this month. The loitering missile is basically an unmanned aerial vehicle which can transmit data after hovering over a target undetected for about half-an-hour and later self-destruct on the...

The Indian Army has postponed the winter trials for procuring 155 mm towed howitzers after St Kinetics expressed inability to bring its gun for field- testing due to an accident in Singapore. "The winter trials will now be held in October as one of the two contenders, St Kinetics, said its gun was damaged in an accident in Singapore and would be able to arrive in India only after March," Army officials said here. St Kinetics senior executive Brig Gen Patrick Choy said the accident occurred when the gun was being transported to India. "We have to cut some parts...

The Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress Jan. 22 of a possible Foreign Military Sale to India of 145 M777 155mm Light-Weight Towed Howitzers with Laser Inertial Artillery Pointing Systems (LINAPS) and associated parts, equipment, training and logistical support for a complete package worth approximately $647 million. The Government of India has requested a possible sale of 145 M777 155mm Light-Weight Towed Howitzers with Laser Inertial Artillery Pointing Systems (LINAPS), warranty, spare and repair parts, support and test equipment, publications and technical documentation, maintenance, personnel training and training equipment, U.S. Government and contractor representatives’ technical assistance, engineering and logistics support...

The Indian Army is trying to get the government to buy it two more regiments of BrahMos block II missiles. Each regiment would have 61 missiles, 12-24 mobile launchers and two mobile control centers. The new regiments would have a more advanced version of the missile than the existing BrahMos block I regiment (with five mobile launchers). The first regiment cost $83 million. The block II missiles are more accurate and reliable at hitting pinpoint targets (like headquarters or technical installations) in crowded urban environments. A year ago, the BrahMos block II cruise missile failed its first operational test as...

The Indian Army’s enunciation of a New War doctrine was long overdue in the light of India's embattled security environment. The last Indian war doctrine ‘The COLD START War Doctrine" which was a Pakistan-specific war doctrine was formulated nearly five years back. India’s two major adversaries, namely Pakistan and China, have in the last five years lapsed into stronger adversarial postures. A strategic review of India’s military postures and plans was certainly called for at this juncture. Pakistan today stands externally and internally besieged with distinct possibilities of disintegration and Talibanization and its nuclear weapons falling into the hands of...

Report: Indian Army to test Israeli defensive system suite on battle tank www.chinaview.cn 2009-03-29 NEW DELHI, March 29 (Xinhua) -- The Indian Army will evaluate an advanced laser-based defensive suite designed by the Indian Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) in collaboration with Israel, on the Arjun battle tank this summer, reported the local daily The Tribune on Sunday. Designated as the Advanced Laser Warning and Countermeasure System (ALWCS), the suite comprises a laser warning system, infra-red jammer and an aerosol smoke grenade system. The sensors of these systems are mounted on the front sides of the turret, said the...

Ghurkhas Train with U.S. Soldiers in India Dec 03, 2007 BY Staff Sgt. Matthew MacRoberts CHAUBATTIA, India (Army News Service, Dec. 3, 2007) – More than 120 U.S. Soldiers trained in the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains with their Indian counterparts during Exercise Yudh Abhyas in November, building on existing skills and sharing tactics. Participation of the 25th Infantry Division Soldiers from Fort Wainwright, Alaska, in the exercise demonstrates the command’s ability to deploy as the northwest power projection platform, officials said. The C Company “Gimlets,”3/ 21st Infantry, spent about a week training in a cantonment area before relocating and...

Joint anti-terrorism exercises by Indian, UK forces (DPA) 16 September 2007 NEW DELHI - Special forces from Britain and India are scheduled to begin a joint exercise on Monday during which they will train to combat a guerrilla-like enemy in a region with similar rugged terrain as Afghanistan, officials and news reports said. The 24-day exercise in the high-altitude Ladakh region in northern India, has been codenamed Himalayan Warrior, the Indian army said in a statement. The British army, which is part of the coalition forces battling the Taleban militia in Afghanistan, had requested that the manoeuvres be held in...

Army's wargames to test reflexes against nuke, bio attacks Rajat Pandit [ 6 Apr, 2007 0031hrs ISTTIMES NEWS NETWORK ] NEW DELHI: In one of the largest wargames of recent times, the Army is gearing up to launch a strike corps exercise in the deserts of Rajasthan later this month to test its "pro-active war strategy" and network-centric operations. The huge exercise will see the Mathura-based 1 Corps unleash its armoured, artillery and infantry elements in full flow to practice operational concepts of being prepared for "short duration" battles of "high intensity" at "short notice", under an overall NBC (nuclear-chemical-biological)...

India’s big-bang shopping gun booms SUJAN DUTTA New Delhi, April 4: India has reopened an artillery competition for global armament manufacturers for an order that could be worth more than Rs 15,000 crore. The defence ministry has re-floated two global tenders — called Requests for Proposals (RFP) — inviting bids from 12 makers of 155mm/52 calibre self-propelled guns, a source told The Telegraph here today. This signals the beginning of a fresh round of big-ticket defence procurements for Indian military orders running into billions of dollars. An RFP for 126 multi-role combat aircraft for the Indian Air Force (for an...

India in secret arms overture Bruce Loudon, South Asia correspondent March 10, 2007 INDIA is set to expand its military ties with Israel following a secret visit to the Jewish state by the chief of India's 1.2 million-strong army. General JJ Singh is believed to be in Israel discussing training for elite special forces, joint military exercises and anti-terrorism and infiltration strategies - all issues that go to the heart of India's current security problems with its Islamic neighbours, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Until now, Indian leaders - despite Israel's emergence as the second-biggest arms supplier to the country after Russia...

'5 units of Pak Army made India shudder in Kargil' New Delhi: Digging old dirt, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has squarely blamed India for the Kargil conflict, claiming that the conflict occurred because of India's attempts to find a casus belli (an event or political occurrence that brings about a declaration of war) by reporting 'make-belief attacks' from the Pakistani side.

Chandigarh: Inducted to serve as India's main battle tank just over three years ago, the Army's fleet of Russian-built T-90s have run into serious trouble. The problems include critical flaws in its fire control system, availability of ammunition and, what military officers said, was avoidable overuse during training exercises, rendering many tanks in need of overhaul. According to Jane's Defence Weekly, the tank's continuing technical flaws are "adversely impinging on the Indian Army's operational preparedness." Confirming the Jane's report, senior Army officers told this newspaper that the French Catherine thermal imaging (TI) camera, which gives the T-90's Belarussian (Peling IG-46)...

29 August 2005: India will commit troops to Afghanistan to cover the two-thirds US withdrawal, but only if Afghan president Hamid Karzai sends a request letter, although he made clear in the recent meeting with prime minister Manmohan Singh that “Afghanistan’s security is India’s security”. But still India wants a formal request, although the US first broached for Indian deployment when its defence secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, met the Indian defence minister, Pranab Mukherjee, earlier to the PM’s visit, seeking a form commitment, and Afghanistan separately spoke the same issue.

Three Lashkar ultras shot dead in Delhi New Delhi, March 6. (PTI): Foiling an attempt by Lashkar-e- Toiba militants to attack Indian Military Academy in Dehra Dun, police shot dead three members of the outfit, including two Pakistani nationals, in an encounter here tonight. Shahnawaz and Bilawal, both Pakistani nationals, and Shams alias Prevez hailing from Patna, were killed in a 50-minute-long encounter in Suraj Vihar in Uttam Nagar of south-west Delhi, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Ashok Chand told PTI. Three AK-56 rifles and a huge amount of explosives and ammunition had been recovered from them, he said....