Former Navy chief Admiral Arun Prakash (Retd), former IAF chief Air Chief Marshal Fali H. Major (Retd) and former defence secretary NN Vohra were among the experts debating the theaterisation process.
In a demonstration of integration possibilities between Army & IAF, a Para commando, his colleagues & IAF pilots rescued 10 stranded cable car passengers in Himachal in 1992.
CDS Gen Bipin Rawat laid claims to superiority on behalf of the Army, because he believes it is ultimately all about control of territory. This mindset needs to be disparaged.
The Air Force, in theatre command set-up, must have an overriding lien over the resources that may be allocated to other theatres on as required basis.
CDS Gen Rawat labels IAF as supporting arm to ground forces — likening it to roles of artillery, engineers in Army. But ACM Bhadauria says air power has a huge role to play in battle areas.
The grave diggers of the theatre command system have won the current round and the political leadership has failed to discern the nature of the issues.
It seems India is in a hurry to establish theatre commands without having the concept clear. Not just the IAF, all stakeholders need to first assess their assets.
Like many, India will be anxiously watching the US-Saudi Arabia summit in Jeddah—knowing its fate is tied to the decisions King Salman and Joe Biden make.
These registrations pertain to the Indian Air Force's Agniveer Vayu programme. The online portal for the first phase was opened at 10 am Friday, and will close on 5 July.
Modi govt's biggest flaw has been its disinclination to accept limitations of electoral majorities. This ruined land acquisition and farm reform, stalled labour codes.