Military Affairs

About Centre

The Centre for Military Affairs comprises of a mix of serving officers of the Indian Armed Forces and civilian experts. The Centre adopts an inter-disciplinary approach to various issues that impinge upon India’s national security in general and the armed forces in particular. Its research focus is on issues that impact upon national security and capacity-building of the Indian armed forces. Specific areas of focus include: emerging contemporary challenges in warfare, jointness, defence co-operation, maritime security, and military training needs. In addition, the Centre also addresses China- and Pakistan-related issues with a bearing on their interface with Indian security. The Centre closely interacts with military establishments in India and abroad and contributes to policy making by conducting research in areas of significance for the armed forces.

Military Lessons of the Israel-Hezbollah War in Lebanon

Since the middle of the 20th century, the Arab-Israeli wars have thrown up a number of military lessons. The most spectacular was a textbook pre-emptive counter air strike in 1967 by the Israeli Air Force (IAF), which destroyed or made non-operational the entire Egyptian Air Force. This demonstrated the need for gaining mastery of the air as a prelude to spectacular ground operations. At sea, a Styx missile fired by an Egyptian missile boat on the Israeli destroyer Eliat validated the idea of anti-ship missiles.

P. K. Gautam
August 19, 2006
IDSA Comments

Will the Joint Doctrine Result in Synergy on the Ground?

The release of India's first joint doctrine on May 17 marks a major step towards military integration and interoperability among the three services. Intended to complement existing individual service doctrines, the joint doctrine outlines the guiding principles for future joint operations by synergising their operational capabilities. It is common knowledge that in contemporary RMA-oriented warfare, joint operations constitute the key to battlefield dominance and military superiority.

Global Order and the Second World War

Every war is waged to fashion a better and more acceptable peace. Peace, in the sense of a legitimate framework within which States can pursue their interests without recourse to arms. The fashioning of a better and legitimate peace is especially important in the wake of wars among Great Powers, which have an immense impact on the international system as a whole. In fact, some wars among Great Powers – like the Thirty Years’ War, the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars and the two World Wars – are expressly waged to determine a new framework for the conduct of international relations.

F-16s: Can we trust Uncle Sam?

The US offer to sell F16s and F18s to India, announced on March 25, has to be seen in context. True, this initiative is linked to the White House decision to lift the ban on supplying F16s to Pakistan and the more cynical view is that the US manufacturers of these aircraft will now laugh all the way to the bank as the sub-continent gets sucked into an arms race.

C Uday Bhaskar
April 05, 2005
IDSA Comments

Tsunami Reveals Indian Military’s Humanitarian Response Capability

The tsunami tragedy that struck large parts of Southern Asia abutting the Bay of Bengal and the South Eastern Indian Ocean littoral has been a tragic start for the New Year. It is feared that the total death toll in the affected areas may well cross the 200,000 mark. In many ways this is a multi-national disaster with the affected countries including Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand, Malaysia, Myanmar amongst others and stretching all the away across the ocean to the East coast of Africa.