CAPS Journals Centre for Air Power Studies
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Introduction of Karrar Combat Drone for Bolstering Iranian Air Defence
No full textIran, a nation always looking forward to innovatively arming its forces, has lately demonstrated new combat drones that havebeen equipped with missiles capable of destroying other aircraft. These combat drones, which are known as ‘Karrar’ (striker in Farsi) and have long-range kill capabilities, were manufactured in Iran. he Karrar combat drone is the first Iranian jet drone. These units have been outfitted with a specialised missile known as the Majid, which can destroy targets positioned up to 8 km away. These combat drones will be employed to safeguard Iran’s borders. They can perform the same functions as fighter jets but at a lesser cost
An Assessment of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan in 2023
No full textThe Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), commonly known as the Pakistani Taliban, has been on an upward trajectory since the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul in 2021. The resurgent group, which ended the ceasefire with the government in November 2022, has not only presented the biggest internal security challenge to Pakistan but has also severely impeded bilateral ties with Afghanistan. Consequently, Pakistan has witnessed a sharp uptick in terrorist activities, accentuating the destabilizing impact on the country. According to the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies’ (PICS) 2023 Annual Report, Pakistan witnessed a 70 percent increase in attacks, an 81 percent increase in deaths, and a 62 percent uptick in the number of injuries. The 2023 Annual Report of the Centre for Research and Security Studies, on the other hand, suggests that overall fatalities marked a six-year high—the highest since 2017—with a staggering 56 percent increase from 2022 levels. While estimates from Islamabad-based think tanks may vary, the key issue is that the majority of these attacks were waged by the proscribed TTP. This paper attempts to assess the developments concerning the TTP in 2023, as they are pivotal for gaining insights into the present trends that may carry into the year 2024.
 
Air Power and Strategic Thinking
No full textAir power has emerged as a critical element of modern warfare and strategic thinking. It offers unique capabilities that can shape the outcome of conflicts and contribute to national security objectives. Air Force personnel, who are the primary practitioners of air power, play a vital role in harnessing its potential to achieve strategic goals, thanks to their specialized training and expertise.
Air power practitioners (air warriors), irrespective of rank, must grasp the significance of strategic thinking to capitalize on the full potential of air power. By aligning long-term objectives with tactical capabilities, air forces can achieve mission success, deter potential threats, and effectively secure national interests. Embracing strategic thinking enables air warriors to adapt to evolving challenges and maintain their position as a decisive force in the contemporary battlespace.
By collaborating with the Army and Navy, embracing technological advancements, and managing calculated risks, air warriors, with an understanding of the role of air power in national military strategy, can make significant contributions to national security. Their role becomes pivotal in ensuring that air power remains critical to both contemporary and future warfare.
This article delves into the significance of air power in strategic thinking and highlights the key considerations and responsibilities of air warriors
Protecting ‘Space’ from ‘Cyber’: A Case for Cybersecurity in Space Systems
No full textContemporary security literature heavily revolves around the need to protect \u27critical infrastructure.\u27 The US Department of Homeland Security has identified 16 areas comprising critical infrastructure. These areas include Chemical, Commercial Facilities, Communication, Critical Manufacturing, Dams, Defence Industrial Base, Emergency Services, Energy, Financial Systems, Food and Agriculture, Government Facilities, Healthcare, Information Technology, Nuclear Reactors, Materials and Waste, Transportation Systems, and Water Systems. However, the crucial sectors among these rely on space systems for their functioning. Space systems comprise assets that are present in outer space, suborbital, or ground control systems. Sectors such as transportation rely on global positioning system (GPS) satellites, while the defence sector relies on intelligence satellites. While there have been significant debates on protecting this critical infrastructure from cyberattacks, relatively less attention has been given to the emerging domain of cyberattacks in space
Uncertainty: The Element of “Whether” in Weather
No full textWeather forecasting involves the efficient application of science and technology to predict atmospheric conditions at a specific time and place. This has become an integral and pivotal aspect of aviation safety. Scientific prediction based on meteorological tools is not a new phenomenon.
Extreme weather conditions have significantly impacted wars and led to the defeat of leaders like Napoleon (1812, brutal Russian winters). Other instances where weather has been a major factor in shaping the outcome of wars include Hitler’s invasion of the Soviet Union (1941), the sparing of Kokura city during the Nagasaki bombing (1945), the destruction of the Spanish Armada (1588), the escape from Long Island (1776), the Battle of the Bulge (1944-1945), and a tornado saving Washington (1814). These are just a few examples of famous events influenced by weather conditions.
In this article, I will discuss the major factors that affect weather and how they contribute to the uncertainties in weather predictions. I will also describe the basic physical laws that govern atmospheric weather and their implications for flight operations
Weaponisation of Weather
No full textIt is well known that people have long altered atmospheric phenomena such as clouds, rain, snow, hail, lightning, thunderstorms, tornadoes, hurricanes and cyclones either by purpose or accidentally. The work of Vincent J. Schaefer and Irving Langmuir launched the modern era of scientific weather modification in 1946. The manipulation of technology towards weather started approximately between the years 1950–53. Weather modification applications were quickly weaponized to influence war and protest as done by the Us Air Force (UsAF) in Operation Sober Popeye (Project Controlled Weather Popeye/motorpool/IntermediaryCompatriot). 2 The UsAF in 1967–72 carried out a project to prolong the monsoon season over Ho Chi Minh City during the Vietnam War by controlling the weather in order to achieve military goals, causing landslides and washing out river crossings to obstruct the movement of North Vietnamese troops. This operation set the impetus of successful use in the weather control technology in combat
Proposed Reforms for DRDO: Challenges and the Way Forward
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Economic liberalisation came in the defence manufacturing sector in 2001, 10 years after India decided to become a free market economy in 1991. The policy mosaic included 100 percent participation of private sector players in defence manufacturing and permitted Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) of 26 percent from global players.
This was in sharp contrast to Nehru’s socialist policy of 1956, in which military manufacturing, space, and atomic energy remained under the exclusive purview of the government. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) was created in 1958 to pursue Research and Development (R&D) in defence in order to reduce dependence on imports. From a fledgling set-up, the 1980s, under the stewardship of Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, witnessed mega programmes like the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP) for building a comprehensive range of missiles like the Agni, Prithvi, Akash, and Naag.
With 52 labs engaged in the design and development of small arms, Electronic Warfare (EW) systems, tanks, armed vehicles, sonar systems, missiles, and Command and Control (C2) systems, a team of 5,000 scientists is engaged in 900 projects, with 25,000 support staff, and a budget of ₹23,264 crore. The prototypes developed by DRDO are produced by Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs) and the private sector. DRDO is the flag bearer of ‘Make in India’ as it will substitute imported technologies with indigenous ones. In this pursuit, time and cost overruns of many of these programmes and the low level of self-reliance achieved bedevil DRDO and have been a recurring concern.
Several committees have been engaged to bring out the innards of the problems that have ailed DRDO in the past, like the Kalam Committee in 1992 and the Rama Rao Committee in 2008. The latest committee is headed by Vijay Raghavan, who retired as a principal scientific advisor and is an old hand. This was in response to the report of a parliamentary committee that observed that 23 out of 55 high-mission projects are running behind schedule.
This paper aims to provide an overview of:(a) major policy initiatives to bolster the military industry capability of India;(b) committees recommending structural and functional changes in DRDO;(c) critical challenges for achieving high self-reliance;(d) contrarian voices; and(e) the way forward. 
Evolving Dynamics of Pakistan-US Relations
No full textThe relationship between Pakistan and the United States is perhaps one of the most consequential, traditionally impacting Pakistan’s strategic posture and the strategic dynamics of the South Asian region. For Pakistan, the US remains a critical partner, and both the military and civilian leadership have consistently made efforts to foster favorable dynamics in the relationship. Looking into the history of the relationship, it is interesting to note that, although the two nations have never fully trusted each other’s intentions, they maintained a strong alliance during three critical phases: the 1950s-1960s, the 1980s, and post-2001.
The bilateral relationship has gone through both high and low phases, and the last decade has seen a strained period. Former US President Donald Trump took a firm stance against Pakistan by reducing the sale of US military equipment and military aid, which had been an essential, and perhaps the most desirable, component of the US-Pakistan dynamics. Under President Biden, the relationship suffered further setbacks due to Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s accusatory stance, in which he held the US responsible for Pakistan’s economic and security woes and, ultimately, for his scandalous exit from office. After Imran Khan’s departure, Pakistan’s civilian and military leadership have been making concerted efforts to enhance bilateral cooperation with Washington
Air Denial: What We Know? vs What Should We Know?
No full text The extent to which theory fails to foresee actual battle situations may determine the difference between success and failure. The undeniable fact that military organizations responsible for maintaining national security will work to produce relevant doctrine, combined with the conviction that an impending conflict will include unforeseen events despite the best efforts of planners, especially if a country enters an unexpected conflict, stands true. Because a thorough understanding of the conditions of future combat is beyond any strategist’s ability to predict, those who will handle future war situations and execute doctrine may find it insufficient. It is remarkable how doctrine can be completely wrong, even for a foreseen or anticipated conflict. Obviously, no organization desires to create defective doctrine, but some doctrines, despite the best of intentions, lead to disaster for the armed forces that deploy them. The major powers went to war in 1914 expecting it to be brief and conclusive, with their military advocating the virtues of offensive warfare. However, nothing went as planned. “War is a harsh teacher,” warned Thucydides in ancient times. His dictum has been proven time and again, and the war in Ukraine is no different. The prolonged war should act as a “wake-up call” to the international community. Despite Russia’s numerical and firepower advantages, Kyiv has proven to be a formidable rival by mixing old and new tactics and technology, signaling a turning point in air power history. Ukraine has effectively implemented an air denial mechanism. As a result, Kyiv has been able to restrict Russian fighter aircraft operations over most of Ukraine while flying its own, primarily unmanned assets in the air littoral. The occurrence of air warfare in this contested battle between Russia and Ukraine offers lessons for respective air forces; this article specifically aims to scrutinize the overzealous claim of security experts that “Air denial is the future of Air Warfare.”
As the discussion over the Ukraine-Russia conflict continues, it is important to remember that all conflicts are contextual. Warfare is all about who is fighting whom, for what goals, with what resources, and under what limits. Correct interpretation of events is only achievable when political objectives, military tactics, and restrictions—military, political, and economic—are clear. Only then can one understand the realities of the battlefield
Philosophy to Policy: Strategic Culture in Dragon’s Nuclear Strategy
No full textThis research paper, "Philosophy to Policy: Strategic Culture in Dragon\u27s Nuclear Strategy," explores the intricate relationship between China\u27s strategic culture and its evolving nuclear strategy. Drawing from historical legacies, philosophical traditions such as Confucianism, Taoism, and Legalism, and geopolitical imperatives, the authors argue that China’s nuclear posture reflects a uniquely Chinese approach to deterrence and power projection. While adhering to its "No First Use" (NFU) policy and "Assured Retaliation" doctrine, China has pursued rapid modernization and diversification of its nuclear arsenal under President Xi Jinping, including mobile intercontinental ballistic missiles and submarine-launched capabilities. This shift, driven by a perceived need to counter both nuclear and conventional threats, particularly from the United States, reveals a dualistic strategic culture blending defensive Confucian ideals with realpolitik offensiveness, termed the "Chinese Cult of Defence." The paper highlights how this cultural framework shapes China’s ambition to secure its "rightful place" in the global order while maintaining ambiguity and psychological deterrence as key tactics.
The study further examines how China’s strategic culture influences its reluctance to engage in nuclear arms control, its alliances with nations like Russia, Pakistan, and North Korea, and its perception of external threats, notably from the U.S. The authors underscore that China’s historical narrative of victimhood, stemming from the "Century of Humiliation," fuels a siege mentality, reinforcing its nuclear buildup as a means of ensuring inviolability and moral superiority. Under Xi Jinping’s leadership, this has translated into an assertive military modernization campaign, with a 7.2% defense budget increase in 2024 aimed at achieving a world-class military by 2027. The paper concludes that the absence of internal debate and the concentration of power in one leader heighten the risk of strategic miscalculations, potentially destabilizing global security. Understanding this correlation between strategic culture and nuclear strategy is vital for managing international stability and anticipating China’s future nuclear behavior