A NATO Sans USA The newly elected American President’s constant threat on pulling America out of NATO labelling them as potential liabilities has not gone well with its European partners. His far from charitable description that he would cease defending allies that spend less than the stipulated percentage on defence has got the nations thinking on an alternate arrangement if the USA chooses to abandon the alliance. The Europeans should quit underestimating themselves and brace up for joint efforts to ward off American bullying. The Europeans are undoubtedly technological powerhouses and all have standing armies which cross-exercise at regular intervals and keep themselves battle-ready. It is necessary for NATO to step out on its own and create its own individuality sans the USA. AV Chandrasekaran | July-September 2025 | Journal of Defence Studies
Enhancing Ballistic Missile Defence: Comparing AI-Integrated Systems with Traditional Approaches The Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) systems play a significant role in national security, and are designed to detect, track and intercept incoming missiles. Beginning in the 1950s, they have undergone rapid evolution in consonance with the advancement in technology. Artificial Intelligence (AI), in particular, has proven to be a transformative force in bolstering the capabilities of BMD systems. Against this backdrop, this article analyses the efficiency and effectiveness of AI-integrated missile defence systems compared to traditional non-AI systems under different operational conditions and scenarios. Leveraging machine learning algorithms, neural networks and real-time data processing, AI increases detection accuracy, reduces false positives and improves interception success rates. The article relies on quantitative analysis based on t-tests, statistical performance analysis and simulations under diverse conditions. The findings indicate that AI-integrated systems significantly outperform traditional systems in detection latency, false positive rates and interception success. Furthermore, the article analyses the potentially vulnerable sites, challenges and ethical considerations related to AI integration in missile defence, stressing the need for human oversight in the decision-making process. This research underscores the strategic advantages and limitations of AI-enhancing defence capabilities against advanced missile threats. Md Arifur Rahman | July-September 2025 | Journal of Defence Studies
Safeguarding National Interests: Evaluating the Risks of Defence – Civilian Airport Proximity This article examines the risks posed by the proximity of military facilities to civilian airports, particularly in the context of the Indian Air Force (IAF) as well as Indian Naval Air Station sites adjacent to commercial hubs. It highlights concerns regarding unauthorised access to sensitive information, infrastructure and potential terrorist threats. The article advocates for relocating civil installations away from military airports to bolster national security. Given the rapid expansion of both civilian and military aviation, the current joint-use model will become increasingly strained, leading to operational inefficiencies and heightened security risks. Implementing advanced monitoring, enhanced cybersecurity protocols, and stronger coordination between civilian and military authorities is essential in the short-term. However, relying solely on security enhancements within existing limitations offers only a partial solution, as the continued growth of air traffic will exacerbate congestion and security concerns. A phased transition towards dedicated civilian and military airport infrastructure remains the most viable long-term approach to safeguarding national security while ensuring sustainable aviation growth. This article underscores the importance of balancing immediate security needs with long-term infrastructure planning to address the evolving challenges of the aviation sector. There is a need for stringent security measures, including enhanced monitoring and cybersecurity protocols, and cooperation between civilian and military authorities. This article also addresses technological vulnerabilities such as electronic eavesdropping and GPS spoofing, thereby urging the development of strategies to mitigate these risks. Harsh Diwakar , Kritika Jain | July-September 2025 | Journal of Defence Studies
India’s Quest for Self-Reliance in Defence Sector: Reality Check, Challenges and Way Ahead Given the prevalence of numerous security challenges, India’s high dependence on other countries for its defence requirements stands out as a serious vulnerability in the national security calculus. In 2024, India was the world’s second largest importer of arms, just behind Ukraine, with an 8.3 per cent share of global arms import between 2020 and 2024. This situation can be largely attributed to the absence of a long-term national security strategy due to lack of political direction marked by narrow perspective, absence of indigenous research and pursuit of technology unaligned with military objectives. While India did make attempts to achieve self-reliance, the outcome was not encouraging due to the domination of the public sector entities coupled with bureaucratic gridlocks. To revitalise India’s armament industry, the present government, under ‘Atmanirbharta/Make in India’ programme has initiated slew of defence reforms which include rationalisation of the acquisition and procurement procedures, restructuring of the key bodies and the establishment of Defence Industrial Corridors (DICs). While the Indian defence industry has made significant progress, including increase in defence exports, it still has a long way to traverse. The indigenisation achieved so far pertains to low-technology items, while many initiatives remain non-starters. To overcome these challenges, India requires a National Security Strategy, robust ecosystem to scale up the overall industrial capacity, deregulation and initiation of a second round of defence reforms. G.G. Dwivedi | July-September 2025 | Journal of Defence Studies
Manned Fighter and Unmanned Systems: Future is Collaborative The application of unmanned systems during recent conflicts has stimulated an alternative thought in military capability. While these systems have accrued reasonable tactical and operational successes, their ability to do so independently is a matter of debate. The operational imperatives indicate a necessity to invest in these capabilities, but in collaboration with the manned fighters. Unmanned systems exhibit some fundamental flaws when evaluated through the prism of ‘Nature’, and ‘Morals and Ethics’ of War. Since war fundamentally is a means of human conflict resolution, a human element would have to remain as the chief protagonist at all the levels of war. Similarly, in the Indian context that is characterised as No War No Peace (NWNP), complete military solutions to various security scenarios are possible only through the complementary application of manned and unmanned aircraft. At the operational level, when assessed through the seminal concepts of OODA (Observe, Orient, Decide and Act) loop as well as combat effectiveness, risk, and cost, the capabilities of unmanned systems can be maximised through their application in conjunction with manned fighters. Globally, to harness this potential, there is an impetus on 6th generation fighter aircraft, which are inherently MUM-T capable. These programmes foster human–machine teaming in which humans would be responsible for the higher cognitive functions [combat strategy design, command and control (C2), etc.], while less demanding cognitive functions (tactical manoeuvres, observation, etc.) would be left to UAVs/ UCAVs. At the current pace, in this field, India will remain at least one generation behind all major powers, including China. Therefore, to curtail this trend, and to boost indigenous ecosystem and make it export-worthy, in short-term (till 2030), for stabilisation of LCA and realisation of AMCA and CATS, primary focus should be on manned fighters with a proportional focus on unmanned systems as per their identified complementary roles (ISR, limited strike, high-risk, etc.). In the long-term (beyond 2030), the focus should shift to a collaborative approach to achieve the ‘Collaborative Peak’ of manned–unmanned teaming by 2047 (Amrit Kaal). Pankaj Dhiman | July-September 2025 | Journal of Defence Studies
Chinese Human Intelligence (HUMINT) Through Public Diplomacy in South Asia: A Critical Assessment China’s Human Intelligence (HUMINT) collection through public diplomacy has been instrumental in overcoming its ‘century of humiliation’ and emergence as a global economic and military power for pursuing her ‘Middle Kingdom Dream’ without raising major alarms. With deep pockets and surplus construction capabilities, China has placed its citizens and proxies at strategic chokepoints of the world by using innocuous-looking ‘thousand grains of sand, mosaic approach, human wave, or citizen spying’ methods for HUMINT collection. The trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative has further facilitated China’s economic growth and global expansion through HUMINT operations. As China shifts its focus to the South Asian region in the 21st century to support its growth engine, it inevitably affects India’s strategic interests. India, with comparable public diplomacy assets, must implement a comprehensive policy to enhance its HUMINT capabilities. Learning from China’s approach is crucial for India to counter China’s expanding influence and protect its strategic interests. D.C.S. Mayal | July-September 2025 | Journal of Defence Studies
Geopolitical Dimensions of India’s Coal Transition This study examines the complexities of India’s coal transition within the global energy landscape, where there is a persistent dominance of coal despite the increasing share of renewables in the energy mix. The article aims to situate winners of energy transition and observes how crises have impacted the transition trajectories of these countries. Evolving bilateral and regional relations with geopolitical winners illustrate India’s efforts to integrate advanced technologies for coal transition. The article highlights the necessity of balancing coal phase-down policies with technological advancements to meet developmental priorities and climate commitments. Sruthi Kalyani , Nandakumar J | March-April 2025 | Strategic Analysis
Stranded in Legal Ambiguity: Gilgit-Baltistan’s Fight for Identity This article examines the legal ambiguity surrounding Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), a disputed region administered by Pakistan, through expert interviews. It explores GB’s unclear status, tethered to the Kashmir issue, and Pakistan’s strategic perpetuation of this ambiguity to bolster its UN plebiscite stance, facilitate CPEC projects, and manage sectarian dynamics. Cosmetic reforms, like the 2009 Empowerment Order, fail to grant true autonomy, leaving locals disenfranchised. The study highlights local demands for provisional provincial status or self-governance, arguing that Pakistan’s dual rhetoric—claiming GB as integral yet disputed—undermines rights and fuels resentment, urging a re-evaluation of GB’s constitutional limbo. Hira Ausaf , Muhammad Shoaib Pervez | March-April 2025 | Strategic Analysis
India’s Evolving Approach Towards the Gulf: From Bilateralism to Regionalism The Gulf and Indo-Pacific are the two strategic regions in India’s extended neighbourhood located, respectively, at the northwestern and southeastern flanks of the Indian Ocean and are key to the geopolitical competition between the United States (US) and China. As China is increasingly a challenge in India’s national security and foreign policy discourses, and the Indo-US partnership takes momentum, it might have implications for India’s approach to the Gulf region. Taking a neoclassical Realist frame of analysis, this article contextualizes the US-China tensions and India’s engagements with the Gulf and the Indo-Pacific regions to argue that the developments in the Indo-Pacific are an important factor to the shifts in India’s approach towards the Gulf. Md. Muddassir Quamar | March-April 2025 | Strategic Analysis
