Such a gambit would eventually depend on the culpability levels of India’s security establishment in the Sikh activist's intended killing, and the credibility of its denials which, so far, has been somewhat questionable.

There was no indication that the two sides had resolved the knotty problem of India paying Russia for military gear, which has been bedevilling both sides for 12-14 months, after US-led sanctions were imposed on Russia for invading Ukraine.

Little seems to have changed since 1945 in the five basic principles governing the legal use of force by the powerful in an armed conflict.

An assortment of serving and retired IAF officers, security officials and analysts broadly agreed that Macron's visit was a part of ‘discreet signalling’ by India and France with regard to the former's purchase of additional Dassault Rafale aircraft.

Is this an indicator that the halcyon period of bilateral military commerce between New Delhi and Moscow has run its course and is fast nearing its end?

Because of this delay, the Ministry of Defence has approved the Indian Army's request for the follow-on import of 73,000 ‘Patrol’ Sig assault rifles from the US for Rs 840 crore, to meet urgent operational requirements.

'The IAF’s top brass seem to have taken Rajnath Singh’s generic observation on the military exploitation of space as an order from the government...'

The air arm of the indigenous carrier only inspires 'limited confidence', according to experts. The navy also continues to grapple with securing approval for a third carrier to supplement Vikrant and INS Vikramaditya.

Such internal service matters are best left to the armed forces themselves to announce and declarations by politicians give rise to charges of politicising the military, said a retired officer.

The narrow and undeveloped 3,600 feet advanced landing ground had earlier been declared ‘unsuitable’ by the IAF for C-130J-30 operations. But despite that, the IAF executed a perilous mission to deliver crucial equipment for rescuing trapped workers in Uttarakhand's mountain tunnel.

The army's light tank project, like a myriad other of its programmes, has endured extended birth pangs. And if it proceeds with plans it made in 2021, it will have the dubious distinction of simultaneously fielding five kinds of light and heavier battle tanks.

The program was first approved in Israel in 2003 via ‘instructions’ from the country’s attorney general who, at the time, had declared that “procreation [was] an important and substantive issue in Israeli society”.

Netanyahu's goal is to prevent the two-state solution at any cost.

Russia’s once gargantuan military industry almost single-handedly armed India’s military since the 1960s, especially its aerial requirements.

In a press statement, Russia’s joint stock arms export company Rosonboronexport has admitted it needs to prioritise "manufacturing and supplying products to the Russian Army".

The exercise has reportedly been stalled, principally over the knotty and lingering issue surrounding the overall operational control of the proposed formations.

After the single-engine, single-seat aircraft operated by the Indian Air Force's No 4 Squadron in Rajasthan was retired, just two more squadrons remain.

Much like the eight former Indian Navy officers facing the death penalty in Qatar, Agniveers could, after demobilisation, opt for gainful employment with overseas military contractors or even mercenary groups and may end up in similar sticky situations in foreign countries. 

It is no secret that many senior service personnel are increasingly identifying themselves with the BJP-led administration, that in turn seeks to exploit military achievements for political gain.

Delivering the 14th Air Chief Marshal L.M. Katrememorial lecture in Bengaluru last weekend, General Chauhan declared that the geopolitical importance of Russia would decline in times to come, despite it being a nuclear power.