Dr Rajiv Nayan is Senior Research Associate at the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi. Click here for detailed profile.
Drones are increasingly proving their relevance in a number of areas, including military. These unmanned systems could also have utility for different missions relating to nuclear science and technology. Although drones have demonstrated their usefulness in radiation monitoring in 1940s, yet their role as delivery vehicles is being debated. The weight, range, speed and endurance factors make a nuclear weapon country to prefer missiles and bombers. Technology is progressing very fast, and drones are taking advantage of the rapid developments in new technologies.
Export controls or strategic trade technology control has been used as a significant tool to impose sanctions on Russia, for its military operations in Crimea and Ukraine.
Senior Research Associate, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Dr Rajiv Nayan’s article ‘A Changing Vietnam’ has been published by Blitz India on 15 August 2022.
Over the years, Vietnam has emerged as a significant beneficiary of the shifting of business away from China. Several Western companies are creating their production bases in Vietnam, says Dr Nayan.
Senior Research Associate, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Dr Rajiv Nayan’s article on the Exit strategy for Putin has been published in ‘Hastkshep’, Rashtriya Sahara, on 05 March 2022.
The recently issued joint statement by P-5 countries on preventing nuclear war and avoiding arms race, does not seem to go beyond the routine statements made in the past. The NPT member countries demanding concrete steps on nuclear disarmament will have to wait for more time.
Senior Research Associate, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Dr. Rajiv Nayan’s article ‘Drones and India's Security’ was published in Borderline 2021, a Border Security Force (BSF) Journal.
Although the ideas of nuclear arms control, nuclear security and nuclear disarmament have featured in several US official statements and joint statements with other countries, will US adopt the ‘No First Use’ policy, remains to be seen.
The rapid increase in the nuclear forces of China, as revealed in the 2021 Pentagon Report, is a matter of serious concern. Several countries are undertaking exercises to ascertain the strategic and security implications of the feared expansion of the Chinese nuclear stockpile.
Senior Research Associate, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Dr. Rajiv Nayan’s article, ‘In the new arms bazaar, S-400 the big acquisition’ was published in the News Trail, on November 29, 2021.
S-400 will embody the continuity and the change in India’s defence acquisition policy, says Dr. Nayan.
The Ukraine–Russia Conflict and Nuclear Misinformation
The parties involved in the Ukraine–Russia conflict should privilege nuclear risk avoidance measures rather than indulge in nuclear sabre-rattling.