Ajey Lele

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Group Captain (Dr) Ajey Lele (Retd.) is the Deputy Director General, MP-IDSA. Earlier, he was a Senior Fellow at the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses and headed its Centre on Strategic Technologies. He started his professional career as an officer in the Indian Air Force in 1987 and took early retirement from the service to pursue his academic interests. He has a Masters degree in Physics from Pune University, and Masters and MPhil degrees in Defence and Strategic Studies from Madras University. He has done his doctorate from the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi. His specific areas of research include issues related to Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD), Space Security and Strategic Technologies. He has contributed articles to various national and international journals, websites and newspapers. He has authored ten books and has also been an editor for seven books. He is a recipient of the K. Subrahmanyam Award (2013) which is conferred for outstanding contribution in the area of strategic and security studies.


Deputy Director General

Publication

Global Moon Agenda

Consultant, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Gp Capt Ajey Lele’s article ‘Global Moon Agenda’ has been published in Financial Express on 09 July 2023.

Total six manned missions landed on the Moon and till date there are only twelve men in the world, who are known to have walked on the Moon, says Gp Capt Lele.

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  • Published: 9 July, 2023

Moon – Laboratory for Understanding the Universe

Consultant, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Gp Capt Ajey Lele’s article ‘Moon – laboratory for understanding the universe’ has been published in Taaza Khabar News on 09 July 2023.

During the last five decades or so, humans have understood many aspects of the Moon, but still, there is more to understand. Particularly, during the 21st century, various states have started looking at the Moon as a laboratory for a better understanding of the universe in general and the evolution of Earth in particular.

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  • Published: 9 July, 2023

Artemis Accords: India’s Policy Shift

Consultant, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Gp Capt Ajey Lele’s article ‘Artemis Accords: India’s Policy Shift’ has been published in Society for the Study of Peace and Conflict (SSPC) on 07 July 2023.

India has joined the Artemis Accords with open eyes. For years, India has managed to sail through the rough waters of sanctions and export control challenges. In 2005, the Indo-US nuclear deal became a reality despite the ‘existence’ of the disarmament ayatollahs. For a long time, India has been able to balance their relations with Russia and the US. Possibly, India feels that as an insider, they would be able to restrict the US from becoming the sole gatekeeper to decide on the future of space, says Gp Capt Lele.

https://sspconline.org/opinion-analysis/artemis-accords-indias-policy-shift

  • Published: 7 July, 2023

Indian to the International Space Station: Is it ‘Sare Jahan Se Accha’ 2.0?

Consultant, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Gp Capt Ajey Lele’s article ‘Indian to the International Space Station: Is it 'Sare Jahan Se Accha' 2.0?’ has been published in ‘The Wire’ on 04 July 2023.

The proposed 2024 visit by an Indian to the ISS is unlikely to bring much value to India’s overall human mission agenda since there is very less time in hand, says Gp Capt Lele.

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  • Published: 4 July, 2023

Artemis Accords and ASAT Power

Consultant Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Gp Capt Ajey Lele’s article ‘Artemis Accords and ASAT Power’ has been published in Financial Express on 02 July 2023.

The major limitation of these accords is that it offers a wider canvass for the private agencies without having any specific checks and balances in place. There is a lack of clarity about legal aspects in regards to Space tourism, says Gp Capt Lele.

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  • Published: 2 July, 2023

Artemis Accords: What India stands to gain or lose?

Consultant, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Gp Capt Ajey Lele’s article ‘Artemis Accords: What India stands to gain or lose?’ has been published in Taaza Khabar News on 29 June 2023.

India is embracing the US for various geopolitical and geoeconomic reasons and signing Artemis could be one part of that larger game. At the same time, India understands that space is too important a domain to be used for ‘earthly’ gains. Years of experience show that India knows how to play geopolitical games to its advantage. It is expected that India would continue to remain a partner of the US in the domain of space and not an ally, says Gp Capt Lele.

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  • Published: 29 June, 2023

India joins the Artemis Accords

Consultant, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Gp Capt Ajey Lele’s article ‘India joins the Artemis Accords’ has been published in ‘The Space Review’ on 26 June 2023.

With India becoming a part of this US-led global space regime/governance model, some questions are being raised about India’s space autonomy, says Gp Capt Lele.

  • Published: 26 June, 2023

Poisoning Of School Girls in Afghanistan: Mistake, Or Mischief

Consultant, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Gp Capt Ajey Lele’s article ‘Poisoning of school girls in Afghanistan: mistake, or mischief’ has been published in ‘Taaza Khabar News’ on 06 June 2023.

It may not be correct to associate the use of poisonous gas with an attempt to use chemical weapons. However, such incidents cannot be taken lightly…. Chemical weapons have been in use since the First World War, which also was known as the Chemist’s War, says Gp Capt Lele.

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  • Published: 6 June, 2023

China’s Quest to Explore the Earth’s Core

Consultant, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Gp Capt Ajey Lele’s commentary ‘China's Quest to Explore the Earth's Core’ has been published by the Society for the Study of Peace and Conflict (SSPC), on 06 June 2023.

China is digging a hole in the Earth's crust which is 10,000 metres (32,808 ft) deep. As per the available information, China began digging this deep borehole on May 30, 2023, in the Tarim Basin, in the oil-rich Xinjiang province, says Gp Capt Lele.

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  • Published: 6 June, 2023

China’s Spaceplane Returns: Is This a New Weapon in Their Counterspace Arsenal?

Consultant, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Gp Capt Ajey Lele’s article ‘China’s spaceplane returns: is this a new weapon in their counterspace arsenal?’ has been published in ‘The Space Review’ on 30 May 2023.

Weaponization of a space is a reality. Spaceplanes appears to be a platform capable of launching both kinetic and non-kinetic counterspace missions. With such a platform available, states can demonstrate both deterrence and usability factors in regards to their counterspace agenda, says Gp Capt Lele.

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  • Published: 30 May, 2023