CAPS Journals Centre for Air Power Studies
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Australia’s National Defence Strategy Through the Lens of India in the Indo-Pacific Region
No full textSince World War II, Australia has faced a more complicated and demanding strategic environment. It necessitates an integrated, national, and all-encompassing strategy for Australia’s defence. In this context, Australia’s first National Defence Strategy (NDS) was released in April 2024, accompanied by its Integrated Investment Plan (IIP).
The defence strategy is founded on national defence, which is a concept that harnesses all arms of Australia’s national power to achieve a unified approach to security. According to the National Defence Strategy, defence preparation revolves around a strategy of denial. This strategy applies to all domains—maritime, land, air, space, and cyber—and directs the commitment to national security
The Growing Sachism Between the TTP and JuA
No full textIn early 2024, the proscribed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) unveiled its new administrative framework for the year, largely mirroring the structure of the Afghan Taliban. Notably, following a meeting convened by the TTP shura (leadership council) on January 16, two Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA) leaders were demoted from their positions assigned to them earlier in January, according to a report by The Khorasan Diary.
JuA is recognized as one of the most formidable factions within the TTP and has frequently made headlines due to its sporadic skirmishes with the umbrella group. For example, in January 2023, one of the demoted JuA commanders, Sarbakaf Mohmand, claimed responsibility for the Peshawar mosque attack on behalf of the TTP. This attack resulted in the death of over 100 individuals, making it one of the bloodiest incidents in Pakistan’s history of extremism.
However, the TTP central spokesperson, Muhammad Khurasani, distanced the group from the attack, stating that it was not their policy to target mosques or other religious places. He also added that those engaging in such acts could face punitive action under TTP’s policy. Sarbakaf, taking credit on X (formerly Twitter), said the attack was an act of revenge for the death of JuA chief Omar Khalid Khurasani, who was killed in Afghanistan’s Paktika province in August 2022.
These contrasting statements highlighted growing factional tensions within the group. During the attack, Mukarram Khorasani (the other demoted commander) held a key position in the leadership council, while Sarbakaf served as the shadow governor for the Zhob division in Balochistan province
Japan’s Foreign Policy and Security Recalibrations 2018-23
No full textIn an August 2023 interview, General Koji Yoshihide, Japan’s Chief of Staff, Joint Staff, stated that Japan’s military could not "currently maintain" Japan’s security "in the face of [the] evolving regional and global challenges." At the same time, following the Japanese government’s plan to double its spending on all national security-related matters to 2 percent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2027, its Defence Ministry requested a record $52.67 billion for its 2024 budget, an increase of 13 percent from 2023. In line with this, Japan’s 2023 White Paper highlighted Chinese assertiveness, which is "seen as a break from Japan’s postwar policy limiting the use of force to self-defense." This policy reorientation, significant for a pacifist Japan, is indicative of the new geopolitical realities that require adaptation and a shift from the past.
This article examines why, despite its post-World War pacifist nature, Japan has been recalibrating its foreign policy strategies over the past few years. In doing so, the essay will highlight how Japan is being driven to recalibrate its foreign policy strategies to contend with, and adapt to, the increasing Chinese foreign policy assertiveness and military provocations in Northeast Asia. While China’s actions are not new and bilateral relations with Japan have been rocky in the past, developments over the past few years suggest a shift in Japan’s previous posture
Integration of IRNSS on IAF Fighter Aircraft
No full textFlying an aircraft from one point to another is the most important part of any mission. It assumes even greater importance when fighter aircraft use this navigational data for accurate navigation to the target area, target identification, and subsequently for targeting with lethal weapons.
Almost all fighter aircraft use INS (Inertial Navigation System) and GPS (Global Positioning System) as primary onboard navigational aids. The accuracy of the system depends on accurate updates from assured services, and the desired accuracy is determined by the owner country’s policies, which may not always align with our own. This is the most probable reason why all competent nations develop their own systems.
India, too, has its own system known as IRNSS (Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System). The system is fully operational, providing coverage over the Indian subcontinent. The integration of IRNSS on fighter aircraft and other weapon systems will reduce dependency on foreign navigation systems. IRNSS, being an indigenous navigation system designed specifically to give coverage over the Indian subcontinent, will be more accurate, and the receivers designed for it will be more resistant to jamming. This will not only improve the accuracy of our navigation systems but also make them more robust
Hypersonic Glide Vehicles Versus Ballistic Missiles: Impact on Future Warfare
No full textThe face of technology-based warfare has been seen to be changing, whether it was the Cold War bout between the USA and USSR or the present era confrontation between the US and China. The hidden expressions of these players were based on a deterrence-based reasoning 1 through the development of nuclear warhead carriage vehicles, hopping from strategic bombers in World War II to Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) in the Cold War era, and presently moving to hypersonic weapons. The initial approach of developing military technology as a nuclear deterrence strategy has been reborn in the recent past and is evolving as a true symbolof power for certain players
The Air Force’s Leap of Faith into Strategic Thinking: Warfare and Aerospace Strategy Programme (WASP)
No full textThe Warfare and Aerospace Strategy Programme (WASP) is a Professional Military Education (PME) programme of the Indian AirForce (IAF) initiated on the directions of the Chief of Air Staff (CAS) in 2022. It is a 17-week programme with an aim to promote criticalthinking at the strategic level. The intention is that these ‘critical thinkers’ should be able to blend military strategy with statecraftand provide cogent inputs for policy-making. The pedagogy is based on intense reading of 250-300 pages per day followed by adiscussion on the material that has been read. The discussion is guided by a Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) expert who hasrecently read the book and he provides a varied perspective to the discussion. The programme has five module
India’s Collaboration with the Indian Ocean Islands: A Critical Element in its Global South Approach
No full textBy transforming the G-20 into the G-21, India has left a lasting legacy by walking the talk of reforming institutions and structures that no longer reflect the reality of the emerging global order. The spectacular ability of India to evolve a consensus among the G-20 members, at a time when the world is going through its roughest and toughest phase, is a testament to India’s ‘Midas’ touch on an issue that matters. What matters to India is the Global South. Among the several islands, from the Pacific to the Indian Ocean, that form the Global South, Comoros (the current chair of the African Union) and Mauritius were guest members at the G-20 in 2023. Their active engagement was witnessed through their participation in various working groups and ministerial meetings. Reiterating what Prime Minister Modi said in his opening statement at the Forum for India-Pacific Island Cooperation (FIPIC) III Summit in May 2023, “You are not small island states, but large ocean countries.”
This article attempts to answer three questions: first, why the focus is on island nations, particularly those in the Indian Ocean region (IOR), among the host of countries and islands that form the Global South; second, it will explore India’s engagement with the island nations; and third, it will prospect how India can further enhance its stakes in the IOR amidst increasing competition from China and the expanding footprints of various other powers
Islamic State-Khorasan Province vs Taliban: Fighting for the ‘Holier’ Jihad
No full textSince the Taliban seized control of Kabul in August 2021, the Islamic State-Khorasan Province (ISKP, also known as Daesh) has grown to become a potent foe of the Taliban’s Hanafi Deobandi supremacist ideology (see Figs 1 and 2). In June 2023, the ISKP claimed responsibility for an explosion that killed the Taliban’s provincial deputy governor of Badakhshan, Mawlawi Nisar Ahmad Ahmadi. During his funeral ceremony at the Nabavi Mosque in Faizabad, Badakhshan, the ISKP detonated another powerful bomb, which claimed the lives of 11 more individuals. This modus operandi was also seen earlier in the killing of the Taliban governor of Balkh, Mohammad Dawood Muzammil, in March 2023. He was killed in a bombing at his office in Mazar-i-Sharif.
This article seeks to assess the implications of the ISKP’s rise for the fledgling rule of the Taliban and the resultant impact on regional security. It also evaluates policy options for the global community in dealing with this threat. Since India’s security is directly threatened by the ISKP’s pan-Islamist ideology, the article concludes by weighing the negative and positive implications of New Delhi cooperating with the Taliban in light of this new Salafist threat
Evolution of Indian Control and Reporting System for Future Aerospace Warfare
No full textControl and Reporting (C&R) can be defined as the process of controlling fighter aircraft and other weapons associated with the air defense of a country, based on information obtained through radars and other intelligence and surveillance sources. This system of utilizing available information and translating it into actions through executive directions to ensure air defense of the nation can be broadly classified as C&R.
The year is 1912; on a cold evening in Europe, a Turkish soldier shoots down an Italian aircraft during the Italy-Turkish war. Although shooting down an aircraft was an inherent human response to an enemy threat, that soldier could hardly have known that his actions would become part of a concept that would revolutionize military affairs worldwide. This concept was air defense.
Soon, the importance of denying the enemy access to the air domain became evident, and the battle to dominate the airspace began. It was only a matter of time before militaries everywhere would start contesting for dominance in the space domain, extending warfare from the air to space
Offensive and Defensive Cyber Operations in the Multi-Domain Battle Space
No full textMulti-domain battle operations are undertaken to exploit the advantages of employing the joint combat capabilities of all the forces participating in the conventional domains i.e. land, air and sea for a common operation. Our forces are entering a new era of theatre commands. Inclusion of two new domains i.e. the cyber and space domains, will function as a force multiplier for enhancing the competence, ability and endurance of our forces