My Years with the IAF


Book Description

This is the first time that an Air Chief is sharing his thoughts and memories with the reading public. His span of service covers a period of thirty-three years: from the end of 1939 to the beginning of 1973. It includes the Burma campaign of World War II, the restricted fighting in Kashmir in 1947 and 1948, the Chinese debacle in 1962 and the two full scale wars with Pakistan in 1965 and 1971. He had 4,274 hrs of flying with the Air Force to his credit and the experience of flying 58 types of aircraft from Wapitis to supersonic jets. In 1965 he was the Vice Chief of Air Staff and in 1971 the Chief. His honesty and forthrightness many readers will find engaging… but perhaps a few who were on the scene then may find them unpalatable. In a way this is the story of aviation in India, in particular of the Indian Air Force. It is a story of a real life adventure the genesis, growth and achievements of the youngest of the three defence services. Sir Winstom Churchill said of the RAF: “Never before in the history of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.” That is true also of the Indian Air Force. Though this does not purport to be a history of the Indian Air Force without it no history would be complete.




My Years with the IAF


Book Description

This is the first time that an Air Chief is sharing his thoughts and memories with the reading public. His span of service covers a period of thirty-three years: from the end of 1939 to the beginning of 1973. It includes the Burma campaign of World War II, the restricted fighting in Kashmir in 1947 and 1948, the Chinese debacle in 1962 and the two full scale wars with Pakistan in 1965 and 1971. He had 4,274 hrs of flying with the Air Force to his credit and the experience of flying 58 types of aircraft from Wapitis to supersonic jets. In 1965 he was the Vice Chief of Air Staff and in 1971 the Chief. His honesty and forthrightness many readers will find engaging& but perhaps a few who were on the scene then may find them unpalatable. In a way this is the story of aviation in India, in particular of the Indian Air Force. It is a story of a real life adventure the genesis, growth and achievements of the youngest of the three defence services. Sir Winstom Churchill said of the RAF: Never before in the history of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few. That is true also of the Indian Air Force. Though this does not purport to be a history of the Indian Air Force without it no history would be complete.




Defence from the Skies: 80 Years of the Indian Air Force


Book Description

Indian Air Force now completes 80 years since it was formed as an independent component of India’s armed forces. Time and again, the air force has performed magnificently even against severe odds, and built up a professional reputation that is the envy of leading air forces of the word. This volume, as the Second Edition of the earlier volume published in 2007 has been extensively revised and updated. Air Forces are unique in the sense that they are the only national military institution exclusively devoted to military operations in the aerospace continuum. The Indian Air Force is no different. But their dominant role in modern warfare, the high costs of aerospace power, and a host of other factors demand closer attention to their role in modern defence and the protection of national interests. Air Forces don’t win wars by themselves; and no one in the Indian Air Force has ever claimed it. But no war can be won without them. We learnt that seminal lesson the hard way when we did not use the potent force of the IAF’s combat fleet in the Sino-Indian War of 1962. It is from this perspective that this study — or rather an interpretative essay reflecting on the significant issues and events of the past 80 years — approaches the challenges the Indian Air Force faces in the coming decades. IAF combat force levels have slumped while its commitments are rapidly growing in consonance with our expanding economic and political interests well beyond our territorial boundaries.




The Forgotten Few; The Indian Air Force in World War II


Book Description

The Forgotten Few is the first contemporary attempt to produce a historical narrative of the nation's contribution, specifically to the Air Force component, of World War II, which was an important part of our journey to Independence and national identity. Close to three million Indians served in uniform during the War. And yet, the Indian chapter of this globe-straddling story, reverberations of which still echo today, are barely known - a symptom of which was the recent controversy over the absence of Indians in the Christopher Nolan film Dunkirk. This book brings to light some of the lost stories of Indian aviators who built the very foundations of human and physical infrastructure for what is now the world's fourth largest air force. It benefits from several first-person interviews with some of the last Indian survivors of World War II, enabling a level of fidelity that is quite rare among Indian histories.




Indian Defence Review Vol 22.4


Book Description

Indian Defence Review (IDR) is India's best-known defense journal. Over the year the journal has attained the "most quoted" status by defense and security analysts worldwide. The journal offers an incisive analysis of defense and politico-security affairs focused on Asia. In This Volume: DEMOCRACY AND SECURITY - Bharat Verma (Ed) INDIAN DEFENCE REVIEW COMMENT US POODLE OR CHINESE POODLE? - B Raman INDIAN INTELLIGENCE: The Fiddling Has to Stop... - B Raman IAF: Flying into the Future - Air Commodore Jasjit Singh DEFENCE and TECHNOLOGY MONITOR AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS - IDR Research Team BLUE PRINT FOR INDIAN AEROSAPCE INDUSTRY - Air Chief Marshal Fali Homi Major ENERGIZING AEROSPACE INDUSTRY: New Opportunities for Partnerships - Chris Chadwick INNOVATIVE APPROACH TO GLOBAL PARTNERSHIPS - Richard Kirkland TURBOMECA: HIGH PROFILE PRESENCE IN INDIA BEL GIVES RS.84.96 CR DIVIDEND TO GOVT EUROFIGHTER TYPHOON IN THE RACE MALABAR: Navy Tests Her Mettle - Captain Vinay Garg VARUNA 2007 THE NEW 'MAKE' PROCEDURE: A Retrograde Step - Maj Gen Mrinal Suman WARSHIP BUILDING: Cost and Time Overruns - Vice Admiral Rajeshwer Nath CHINA: Friend or Foe? - Claude Arpi MILITARY SERVICE PAY - Lt Gen Vijay Oberoi IMAGE OF THE ARMED FORCES - Group Capt AG Bewoor TIBET: The Real Issue - Maj Gen Sheru Thapliyal PUNJAB'S PAKISTAN - RSN Singh SRI LANKAN TAMILS: Anatomy of Indian Involvement - Anand K Verma NBC DISASTERS: Prevention and Management - Lt Gen Shankar Prasad PAKISTAN: A Convoluted Script - Wilson John DEFENCE UNIVERSITY FOR INDIA: An Appraisal of the Proposition - Maj Gen Mrinal Suman B Raman: BID TO ASSASSINATE BENAZIR LTTE'S ANURADHAPURA RAID JIHADI ANARCHY IN SWAT SABOTAGE IN NWFP




The Military Effectiveness of Post-Colonial States


Book Description

Current military historiography has a tendency to portray the military effectiveness of non-western, post-colonial states in broad generalized stereotypes. This monograph examines the militaries of Nigeria, Argentina, Egypt and India in times of crisis to challenge these assumptions. The book shows that despite having broad similarities, each of these states had unique characteristics that impacted their military effectiveness in different ways. These key variables included the military institutions’ maturity and skill sets, the availability and management of human and material resources, and the quality of both civil and military leadership.




New Heavens


Book Description

The origins of Israeli air power.




Four Miles to Freedom


Book Description

When Flight Lieutenant Dilip Parulkar was shot down over Pakistan on 10 December 1971, he quickly turned that catastrophe into the greatest adventure of his life. On 13 August 1972, Parulkar, along with Malvinder Singh Grewal and Harish Sinhji, escaped from a POW camp in Rawalpindi. Four Miles to Freedom is their story. Based on interviews with eight Indian fighter pilots who helped prepare the escape and the two who escaped, as well as research into other sources, Four Miles is also the moving, sometimes amusing, account of how twelve fighter pilots from different ranks and backgrounds coped with deprivation, forced intimacy, and the pervasive uncertainty of a year in captivity, and how they came together to support Parulkar’s courageous escape plan.




Indian Defence Review, Volume 24 (4)


Book Description

In This Volume: The Big Picture Maoists And The Armed Forces On The Spot Report The Rajapaksa Model: Of Defeating Terror, Securing Peace and National Reconciliation Defense and Aerospace Digest Rheinmetall Thales KMW Arihant: The Annihilator India-Us Relations: Future Trajectory India's Foreign Policy: A Muddle For Sixty Two Years Kargil Controversy: Sorry State Of Higher Defense Management Defense Procurements: Learning From Past Mistakes Defense Psus: The Great Betrayal Defense Purchases: Time India Asserts Itself Incursions, Now And Then Prospects For Democratization In Myanmar: Impact On India Myanmar Going Nuclear China's String of Pearls Vs India's Iron Curtain Bows, Arrows And Nuclear Weapons "Is War Around The Corner?" Return Of Jiang China's Role As Pakistan's Nuclear And Missile Patron Resurrecting Afghanistan Recollections Of The 1971 War The Fragile Af-Pak Policy Some Reflections On Our Defense Policy India's Nuclear Doctrine Line Of Actual Control Or Contention? Pakistan: Dialogue Process Will End Only In Frustration Executive Summary By B Raman Gilgit-Baltistan: Pakistani Colony India Should Suspend Work Visas For Chinese October 1: Day Of Mourning Obama Veering Towards Neutrality On Arunachal Pradesh? A Professional Departs




India's Wars


Book Description

India’s armed forces play a key role in protecting the country and occupy a special place in the Indian people’s hearts, yet standard accounts of contemporary Indian history rarely have a military dimension. In India’s Wars, serving Air Vice Marshal Arjun Subramaniam seeks to rectify that oversight by giving India’s military exploits their rightful place in history. Subramaniam begins India’s Wars with a frank call to reinvigorate the study of military history as part of Indian history more generally. Part II surveys the development of the India’s army, navy, and air force from the early years of the modern era to 1971. In Parts III and IV, Subramaniam considers conflicts from 1947 to 1962 as well as conflicts with China in 1962 and Pakistan in 1965 and 1971. Part V concludes by assessing these conflicts through the lens of India’s ancient strategist, Kautilya, who is revered in India as much as Sun Tzu is in China. Not merely a wide-ranging historical narrative of India’s military performance in battle, India’s Wars also offers a strategic, operational, and human perspective on the wars fought by independent India’s armed forces. Subramaniam highlights possible ways to improve the synergy between the three services, and argues in favor of the declassification of historical material pertaining to national security. The author also examines the overall state of civil-military relations in India, leadership within the Indian armed forces, as well as training, capability building, and other vitally important issues of concern to citizens, the government, and the armed forces. This objective and critical analysis provides policy cues for the reinvigoration of the armed forces as a critical tool of statecraft and diplomacy. Readers will come away from India’s Wars with a greater understanding of the international environment of war and conflict in modern India. Laced with veterans’ intense experiences in combat operations, and deeply researched and passionately written, it unfolds with surprising ease and offers a fresh perspective on independent India’s history.