Myanmar enters the Mainstream

Myanmar enters the Mainstream

On 08 Nov 2015, Myanmar went in for elections for a new Parliament. Ms Aung San Suu Kyi, as the head of the National League for Democracy Party (NLD), has attained a historic majority, making it possible for the Party to form the country’s first, truly civilian government in more than five decades. For her to be of any use in Parliament, her Party had not just to win, but it had to gain a majority to form a government. A clause in the Constitution, however, prevents Ms Suu Kyi to be elected as the President, notwithstanding her position in her party; the clause debars any individual, whose spouse or children are foreign citizens, from seeking to become the President of the country. Ms Suu Kyi’s deceased husband was a British academic, while her two sons were born in Britain and continue to hold British passports. The lady, while carrying the hopes of the population at large, has a tightrope to walk, not just with the Constitution, but with other issues too.

The swearing in of the first civilian president, could be the most important historical turning point for the country that has been under military rule in some form or the other, for many decades. The election of President Htin Kyaw, a close confidante of Ms Suu Kyi, was almost a foregone conclusion, as the party has a majority in Parliament. It is the aftermath of the election of the President that is now turning out to be more important.
While Ms Suu Kyi's election and her party coming to power in a majority can be termed as a happy ending to her long struggle to free Myanmar from the military rule, the arrangement of her wielding power from behind the scene, can raise serious issues in providing good governance. Myanmar continues to have a mix of civil and military parliament; the Army continues to wield considerable political clout with 25 per cent of the seats in parliament. Successful elections is not "Mission Accomplished"; it is "Work in Progress" to accomplish a total transition to democracy, a step forward, albeit a tiny step.
Ms Suu Kyi and her party must resist the temptation of forming power centres that might seduce the army to once again take over the reins, under the garb of a disappointing government that could not fulfil the wishes of the people. Analogies are aplenty in the neighbourhood for her learn lessons of 'what not to do'. The recent proposal submitted in parliament to make her the "President's Boss" is incorrect and indicative of her desire to wield power by any means, even if she has to circumvent the Constitution! Critics are already questioning the legality of such an appointment, more so since she has taken over four portfolios in the Cabinet, that of Foreign affairs, education, energy, and the president's office. India, over the last few years has done well so far in pursuing its national interests, even at the cost of earning the displeasure of human rights activists and Western nations, when it engaged the military rulers well before the democratic reforms were put in place; it has now to maintain the momentum without overbearing itself. It should now take advantage of its position to leverage the goodwill through historical, cultural and military links, combined with the wariness that Myanmar has displayed on over-dependence on China. Bilateral security cooperation towards insurgencies and better connectivity should be the route for India to follow to see results for its Act-East Policy. Extending support to the new government in Myanmar is in India's interest.

ECONOMICS FOR STRATEGISTS

(Published in Purple Beret-Nov 2011) 

Introduction

Just in case the reader has not noticed, the American and some European economies are not doing well – in fact, some of the economies are in dire straits. America is screaming blue-murder over the ‘stealing’ of its jobs by India. America, they say, has been ‘Bangalored’! Globalisation has, since its inception from the last decade of the 20^th century, has adjusted jobs between nations as never before.

Changes are altering the scenario in the world around us. It has been repeated ad nauseam that globalisation has shrunk the world. It simply means that no country can survive in this shrunk world because of the entangled and inter-dependent economies. A consequence of the intertwining of the economies is the distribution of income – there has been a rise of the middle class in India with an increase in spending power, but the incomes of the richest, as against the poorest, have also been increasing, thus widening the gap. For any nation, prosperity has always been dependent upon the buying power of the middle class, with a not-too-large a gap between the ‘haves and the have-nots’; any disturbance in this trend portends trouble.

After the Industrial Revolution, the world has now experienced a Technological Revolution. The Technological Revolution has not just brought in new ways of making old things –new technologies differ from the previous ones in eliminating some of the daily mundane tasks of our lives. We take it for granted that an ATM is an essential convenience – have you ever wondered what happened to the Teller in the bank? Phone banking is a comparatively new innovation where the computer has replaced the operator (you are reminded of it when a heavily accented voice asks you to punch 1for English, punch 2 for Hindi and so on!); in an office, there are fewer people behind desks; the once familiar clickety-clack of typewriters is seldom heard anywhere; are the computers alone responsible for all this?

These disquieting issues, and others, are of concern not just for the economists, the planners, the Governments, but also the common man. I would restrict myself to a sect, not specifically mentioned above, namely, the strategists and military planners. I would not be going into the macro or micro-economics of tackling these and other unsettling issues. It would be my endeavour, however, to get the reader that I am targeting, to think differently about the challenges the world economies and, hence, our economy is facing.

Socialism versus Capitalism

India adopted a predominantly socialist pattern ever since gaining independence, as compared to totally capitalist patterns then existing elsewhere in the world. It was only in 1991 that winds of change began to blow and we have reached where we are today, thanks to successive Governments following the recommended economic reforms and transforming India to a Socio-Capitalist nation.

The economic reforms in the country brought in common place things for the common man– the availability of which was only for the well-to-do earlier. Things became more common; there was a rise in the standard of living, not just in the urban areas, but also amongst the rural population.

After India had missed the Industrial Revolution it did not want to miss the Technological Revolution which altered the techniques of production and the texture of daily life. Technology, it can be said, was the genie in the bottle, which transformed socialism to capitalism, and today it refuses to go back in. The technological progression in big industrial houses increased the scale of production; it also influenced the small business and commercial establishments, by outstripping their administrative capabilities. As the demand for raw materials increased because of the increased production, the need for speed in delivery also got bigger in an enlarged market.

The reforms, the enlarged need for raw materials, the increase in productivity and the size of the market, thus, affected energy requirements, and thus the political dimension, not just nationally, but internationally too. International politics has led to many developed nations become competitors with each other and with developing nations; singular intervention in internal issues of a country, on the pretext of safeguarding the interests of the locals have tended to increase in the era of globalisation, violating the principles of sovereignty. Fortunately for India, we have not had the need for either economic or non-economic intervention, nor have some other nation intervene in our affairs. The world, however, has witnessed economic and military intervention under many garbs.

Globalisation and India

Globalisation, though not a new phenomenon, has caught the eye in a big way because of its undreamt scale. If there is trade between two countries then production of goods and services can be agreed to without many complications. With globalisation, however, we have seen the birth and the growth of multinationals – sometimes, also called trans-nationals - thus affecting trade between nations. Today there are not just Western-nations dominated multinationals, but Indian businesses too, have acquired companies across the world, thus entangling our economy into the global economy. I am not in the least suggesting that we should not do so, but there are implications.

With the euro zone engaged in a major fire-fighting exercise to rescue itself from a financial crisis and America, once again, going through the throes of a second recession, can India be free from risk? The rupee has declined to lowest values in three years, giving sleepless nights to policy-makers. Though there are silver-linings associated with the depreciation of the rupee, there problems are many fold; imports of crucial items would become expensive, leading to inflation in the country. With the global growth slowing down and the rupee declining, the ripple effect would be felt on the Indian economy.

A weaker currency not only makes imports more expensive, it eats into the profits and becomes an additional liability affecting growth. In addition to these issues, if the Government does not control its spending, the fiscal deficit would further increase beyond the projected figure of the National Budget, thus leading to a further slowdown of growth.

Conclusion

So where and how does the strategist and military planner fit into this scenario? If the growth rate falls, the real-time value of the defence allocation in the Budget would reduce; this would affect the capital acquisitions planned for the next fiscal as there would not be enough available after the payment of the committed liabilities of existing and ongoing contracts. The modernisation programme of the Armed Forces, which got an impetus in the last few years due to the boost in the economy, would need a re-look. Not only will the new acquisitions take a hit, the provision of infrastructure, for the acquisitions already in the pipe-line, would also be adversely affected with a reduction in the revenue allocation.

The falling value of the rupee could postpone the finalisation of pending contracts which have been inordinately delayed due to the acquisition procedure that has to be so meticulously followed. As it is, all big-ticket defence purchases have a long gestation period; a slow-down of the economy would have far reaching adverse effects to the modernisation programme with cost escalation a major impediment. Whatever little indigenisation that the national corporates have initiated, will also take a hit with the fall in the rupee value and the growth rate; after all the figures on the bottom line are their prime concern!

The military planners would do well to monitor the happenings in the world, not just those related with Defence, but also on the economic front. What happens in Europe, South America, East or West Asia, or Africa, should be of interest to them, be it political, economic or a social change. There is a need to demystify the economy for the strategists as it affects our long-term future.

All this has a moral for our tale and needs a proper ending. The Government in our country, as it is in USA and in other countries, is much maligned, criticised and denounced for its policies, for what it does and for what it does not do. The Government is blamed for being bureaucratic, slow-moving, perceived as inefficient, without virtue and foresight; it is, however, the only means by which the Defence can be provided with a public capital – so crucial for our modernisation. The planners are essential as a check-and-balance to steer the Armed Forces away from the ill-effects of globalisation and other insistent problems that threaten to impede our progress. Strategists must understand the subject and prepare themselves to face the challenges once they fully comprehend economics.

BUDGET AFTERMATH : LESS CAN BE MORE

(Published in Defence Watch-April 2005) 

Introduction

1.       Now that the budget for Financial Year 2005-06 has been declared by the FM, dissected and discussed by the experts under the limelight of  the media, chewed and digested by the public, it is time to get to work for the finance whiz-kids of each ministry and department to assess their respective gains or losses. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) is no exception. With the allocation for each Service being finalised, it is now upto the Services to individually plan the expenditure for the fiscal year 2005-06.

2.       The Defence allocation has been increased from Rs 77,000 Cr in 2004-05 to Rs 83,000 Cr, an increase of Rs 6,000 Cr or 7.79 %. The increase, though welcome, is probably not as much as desired by the Armed Forces for their modernisation programme. Over the past few years, the allocation has not been enough for the modernisation programme to gather worthwhile momentum, as sought by the Services.

3.       Modernisation is an important facet of military planning, be it in the Army, Navy or Air Force. In a developing country as ours, there are many other competing sectors that vie for a large portion of the fiscal pie, some due to political compulsions while others to maintain the economy. If the Armed Forces do not get the required share, how best can they cope with such a situation created by budgetary constraints? It would be the endeavour of this paper to examine some proposals for creating finances that could be utilised for the modernisation programme of the Armed Forces. Being a “man of blue”, it is but natural that the tilt would be towards the Air Force.

Methods of Financing

4.       As budget deficits soar all over the world, leading to non-availability of precious resources for modernisation of the armed forces, some countries are resorting to innovative methods to raise the required funds for military hardware that is becoming more technology-intensive with high costs, than what it was a few years ago. Countries in Europe, for some years now, are trying to bring together resources through private financing initiative (PFI), albeit on a small scale. The trend seems to be catching on with banks and defence manufacturing consortiums also pitching in, offering lease agreements to ensure the sale of their equipment. Bankers view the defence and security sectors purely as profitable business propositions with opportunities of public-private cooperation.

5. United Kingdom.      The first in PFI was the British Government. It outsourced helicopter training in 1996. It contracted Flight Refuelling, Bristow and Serco (all aviation related companies), to provide basic tri-service training. Viewing the success of the scheme, the British Government, after 1996, has signed contracts for training on jet trainers, advanced helicopters, armoured vehicles and warships. Apart from meeting training requirements through PFI, Britain’s MoD has signed as many as 50 contracts in the last 10 years, ranging from providing water and wastewater services to military satellite communications.

6. Germany and Austria.       Germany, an important member of the EU, is also known to want to adopt PFI methods to meet its military needs. The German Government has announced a 488 million euro contract with a consortium, for simulator training for NH90 helicopters. Austria is also seeking ways to get money to buy military hardware and is planning a three pronged approach. First, it is looking at ways to shrink operational costs through down-sizing its Army. Second, it wants to privatise no-longer needed and less-used facilities and lastly, the Ministry of Defence is seeking an appropriate and fixed part of the GDP. 

7. France.   France, in its first case of public-private partnership, is pursuing a 70 million euro deal for a helicopter training school after its efforts to purchase a warship through a bank-loan was not accepted by the Finance Ministry. If sanctioned, it could serve as a precedent for many more such cases in France. Through such innovative methods to garner resources, France hopes to budget a six-year programme for the modernisation of its forces. While the Finance Ministry does not want to cede budgetary control to the Defence Ministry, for obvious reasons, it is examining the PFI proposals of the Defence Ministry. Apart from helicopter training, the French Defence Ministry is also looking at other projects with the same aim in mind, such as, transfer of Army sports school, purchase of flight hours at the fighter pilot’s training centre and simulators.

Can India Follow Such a System?

8.       The allocation for defence in India has generally been pegged at 2.5% of the GDP. The availability of funds for each Service for the respective modernisation programme is, therefore, restricted, with the bulk of the expenditure diverted towards maintenance of the human resources and machines, and payments towards ongoing contracts.

9.       The expenditure on defence in China and Pakistan is far higher than in India. This, however, is at the cost of building the social infrastructure, which is not the case in our country.

10.     With a limited amount available for the much-needed modernisation programme, there is, therefore, a necessity to look at alternates for generating funds in the Armed Forces. This cannot be decided uni-laterally and needs to be analysed with the models available in the world. The implications against the advantages have to be debated, as the issue involves national security. Some of the areas that can be studied are discussed in the following paragraphs. 

11.     Among the assets that can be financed through private means are the training schools, construction and maintenance of buildings, managing of common-user vehicle fleets and the Messes.

         (a)      A helicopter flying training school can be run by a private     enterprise. A training institution is being run by the IAF with HAL manufactured Cheetah and Chetak helicopters. The helicopters for training in the private school would be owned by a contractor or a bank. The contractor could be tasked to ensure the availability of aircraft for flying, with severe penalties for any breach of contract. The operational aircraft of the Air Force, being used in the training institution, could then be released for use in the field. Similar arrangements can be made for training on jets (HJT-16) and the basic trainer (HPT-32). Training pattern would be as per the Service requirement and can be made out for Army, Navy and the Coast Guard. With a beginning having been made by the acquisition of helicopters by the Border Security Force, a para-military force, training can be extended to pilots for such organisations also. The training package could also include simulator training and ground training. In a reverse scenario, the Air Force is already using a civil training facility at Hyderabad, run by another government agency, for simulator training of its pilots on the B-737 aircraft. The Navy had outsourced helicopter training for its pilots but was soon discontinued as the quality of pilots passing out was not as per the required standards.

         (b)     The Armed Forces have already started utilising the services of private companies, in place of the Military Engineering Service (MES), for the construction of accommodation for its personnel. This could be further extended to maintenance of the buildings and construction of office accommodation and maybe even aircraft hangars. In a manner of speaking, this is being done through tendering by the MES, but, at times, the quality suffers.

         (c)      On similar lines, the test and repair facilities available at Base Repair Depots of the Air Force and Station Workshops of the Army could be leased to private contractors for maintenance of aircraft and other equipment. Once again, the advantage of making available a large pool of trained manpower for operational tasks cannot be over-emphasised.

         (d)     Another asset of the Armed Forces that can be handled by the private sector is the large fleet of common user vehicles. The entire fleet of a Service can be sold to a contractor, who can then act as a fleet-manager. This would release a large chunk of trained manpower for maintenance of specialist vehicles of missile and aircraft systems.

         (e)      Management of the messes can also be outsourced to private vendors. The vendor can be chosen as per credentials and not necessarily as per the remuneration offered. The Air Force can start on an experimental basis as it has only static units as compared to Army and Navy.

Conclusion

12.     Handing over assets to a private sector vendor or accepting a service offered by one, would have associated advantages in releasing equipment and manpower for use in operational units.  The financial gain of leasing assets for the use by the contractor could offset expenditure in other areas, thus making available funds for much needed purchases. The cons would have to be studied in detail before deciding the nature of involvement of the private sector in PFI. Bankers and the private sector see the defence and security sector as a business opportunity. Would we, however, compromise security if such a line of action is followed – or is it an opportunity for the Armed Forces that cannot be missed?

13.     A pilot project can be selected that can then be progressed using PFI. Each subsequent case would have to be decided on the individual merits of the case, but a beginning definitely needs to be made if the Armed Forces have to modernise their inventory without depending much on public money.

UAV, RPV, DRONE: CALL IT BY ANY NAME

UAV, RPV, DRONE: CALL IT BY ANY NAME

(First Published in Defence Monitor in Hindi -July 2014)

The Evolution of Drones

            An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, also referred to as a Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), is an aircraft without a human pilot onboard. Its flight is controlled, either autonomously by onboard computers through preset programming, or by remote control of a pilot on the ground, who may be thousands of miles away, or in the near vicinity of the launch, in a vehicle. The typical launch and recovery method of an unmanned aircraft is by the function of an automatic system, or an external operator on the ground. Historically, UAVs were simple remotely piloted aircraft, but increasingly, autonomous control is today being employed.

            

               UAVs, usually deployed for military and special operation applications, also have a growing number of civil applications, such as policing and fire-fighting, and non-military security work, such as surveillance of pipelines. The unmanned vehicles are often preferred for missions that are too "dull, dirty or dangerous" for manned aircraft, a term used by the USAF.

           

               The idea of a pilotless aerial vehicle is not a new concept. The concept of drones dates back to the mid-1800s, when Austrians sent off unmanned, bomb-filled balloons as a way to attack Venice. The modernisation of today’s drone started in the early 1900s, and was originally used for target practice to train military personnel. It continued to be developed during World War I, when a pilotless aerial torpedo was developed that would drop and explode at a preset time or place.

            A number of improvements on remote-controlled model airplanes followed during and after World War I. It is surprising, but the film star and model airplane enthusiast, Reginald Denny, developed the first scale-RPV (Remote Piloted Vehicle) in 1935. In the technology rush during World War II, both the Allied countries and Germany developed many more; these were used not just to train anti-aircraft gunners, but for attack missions too. 

            The operational use of drones by the US military started in 1959 when the Air Force, concerned about the loss of trained pilots over hostile territory, commenced planning for unmanned flights. The plans intensified when, in 1960, the erstwhile USSR shot down Gary Powers in his U-2 aircraft, at about 70,000 ft altitude. This incident, followed by another similar one during the Cuban missile crisis, accelerated the secret Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) programme. USA has used UAVs extensively during peace and war since 1964 in Vietnam and elsewhere; the primary task of the UAVs being surveillance and intelligence gathering. With increased operational requirements, the intelligence gathering equipment was either totally, or partially replaced, with armament and they became to be known as Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles (UCAVs).

            These ‘pilotless’ platforms, as mentioned, are known by many names, such as drones, UAVs, RPVs, RPA, UCAV, to name a few. The role for these platforms, except for the UCAVs, was primarily reconnaissance, but all are supported by equally vital systems, both in the air and on ground, such as, launch and Recovery Stations, Ground Control Stations, Data Links, various types of payloads etc. A need was felt to give cognisance to these support systems and hence, a new comprehensive term, Unmanned Aerial/Aircraft Systems (UAS), was coined. The term reflects the need for not only co-dependence of the systems, but also for the future development of associated systems, rather than just focus on the platform. The inclusion of the term ‘aircraft’ in UAS emphasises that irrespective of the location of the pilot and the operating crew, the operations must comply with all regulations and procedures as are applicable to those aircraft that are manned with the pilot(s) and crew onboard. The term, UAS is also officially recognised by ICAO.

            The UAS has proved to be game-changer and a force multiplier in warfare and otherwise. As we approach the centenary of unmanned flight in 2018, no change to some of the basic combat and combat support roles is foreseen. However, with the exponential growth of computing power, the advances in nano-technology, the future of UAS is bright with many paired systems being added to the existing payloads, thus giving a wider role in the civilian domain too.

India’s Acquisitions and Development of the UAS

            The need for possessing UAS was felt in the aftermath of Kargil conflict in 1999 and the attack on the Parliament House in New Delhi. Initially, the Indian Armed Forces inducted over a 100 drones from Israel, for intelligence gathering, reconnaissance and surveillance of sensitive areas. UAS are now considered as an essential part of the segment of force multipliers. Today, these systems are being tasked in numerous roles – monitoring movements and communications in real time, data transmission and detection of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), are just to name a few.

             The Indian Army went in first for the acquisition of UAS, followed by the Air Force and then the Navy; today, all the three Services make extensive use of the systems. Initially the Army and the Air Force acquired the Searcher Mk I, followed by the Searcher Mk II; the Searcher could operate at a ceiling of 15,000 ft. This was followed by the Air Force purchasing the Heron, which could operate up to a ceiling of 30,000 ft; the Navy too acquired the Heron to meet its outstanding long-range offshore needs.

            India is also in the process of acquiring the Harop, which is more like a UCAV. This hunter-killer drone does not carry any munitions like the US UCAVs but is like a flying missile and explodes itself on either a pre-programmed target or one that it searches for itself. This missile-drone can loiter over a battlefield and can be used against high value targets, including for Suppression of Enemy Air Defences (SEAD) missions.

            The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has shown tremendous potential to indigenously develop UAS in India. At the outset, DRDO was tasked to produce a catapult-launched drone, which was developed by its Aeronautical Developmental Establishment (ADE), Bangalore and improved thereafter, to meet user requirements. The DRDO has developed two UAS, the Lakshya and the Nishant, and is now working on a Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) drone, called Rustom. It is a MALE drone, capable of flying at about 30,000 ft, for more than 24 hrs with a surveillance range of 250 kms, extendable to beyond 1000 kms and can also be used as a killer drone. Made to order as per the Army’s specifications, the Nishant can remain in the air for four and a half hours, flying at a speed of about 185 kmph. The Lakshya, on the other hand, is a pilotless target drone to tow low-flying targets for aerial tracking and live-fire training.

            DRDO is also working with Israeli manufacturers to develop two other different types of drones, the Pawan and the Gagan, apart from the Rustom. The Pawan is a short-range system, primarily for the Army. With a range of about 150 kms and an endurance of about five hours, it can operate both by day and night. The Gagan is an advanced version of the Nishant with a range of about 250 kms and an operating ceiling of about 20,000 ft.

            The HAL has also entered the fray of developing a drone as a joint venture; it is developing to modify the existing Chetak helicopter as a ship-borne UAS for the Indian Navy. The Navy has placed an order for eight such systems, but reportedly, the project has not gathered steam; it, therefore, is now looking to procure other systems from abroad. The Army is on the lookout for a large number of miniaturised UAVs (MAVs), which are easy to handle and launch and can evade easy detection; the main role for such systems would be for surveillance in mountainous terrain and congested urban areas. It also wants the MAVs to act as killer drones for small but high-value targets. Once procured, they are likely to be deployed on the Line of Control (LoC) to facilitate the detection of any terrorist intrusion from as far as 1000m, both by day and night.

            Apart from the Indian Armed Forces, the police and paramilitary forces also use such systems and are keen to further their use of UAS for their counter insurgency and other tasks. The CRPF has been successful in using UAS to monitor ground conversation and watch closely Maoist movements in the forested terrain of Chattisgarh. Apart from the Searcher series and Heron, which are available with the Armed Forces and other Government agencies, it has also used the Netra, a MAV, developed by DRDO. It now wants to acquire more such modern platforms to gain an upper hand over the insurgents.

            An unmanned system, AARUSH XI, has been developed and tested by an 11-member student team from Delhi Technological University. It is a next generation system for urban applications and has been designed in collaboration with an American company, Lockheed Martin. The system is capable of a fully autonomous take-off, waypoint navigation and autonomous imagery as well; it has a capability of carrying 8-10 kg of payload and a speed of 120kmph. The UAS has great potential for a number of civil applications, such as, law enforcement, meteorological operations, pipeline surveillance, mining surveillance, disaster management, and coastal and border patrolling, to name a few.

Emerging Technology

            Technology is driving military and civilian uses of UAS into areas previously untried. While the UCAVs are in the news for their use by USAF against terrorist targets in the Middle East and in Afghanistan and Pakistan, other UAVs are being used for police surveillance, monitoring forest fires, inspecting wind turbines, crops, high-rise buildings and power lines. The possibilities seem endless.

            On the smallest size, living moths have been implanted with electrodes in their nervous systems to control their movements; on the largest and grandest size, unmanned flights are expected to be flying in controlled civilian air space by the end of this decade. A crucial technology that would then be needed is a robust “sense and avoid system” to permit unmanned flights in a busy and congested air space. Drone technology is rapidly spreading across the globe, and for the present, the military is driving the innovation. The time, however, is not far when commercial and other civil applications will dictate the roles and technology for UAS.

            Two interesting new technologies are worth a mention for the information of the reader. First, Boeing, the major aircraft manufacturing company of the world, and the USAF have completed the first unmanned QF-16 Full-Scale Aerial Target flight. The QF-16 is ‘retired’ F-16  jet, modified to be an aerial target. The aircraft flight profile included auto take off, simulated manoeuvres, supersonic flight, and an auto landing – all this without a pilot in the cockpit! The other attention grabbing news is about a hypersonic drone developed on the lines on the earlier Mach 3 SR-71 Blackbird strategic reconnaissance aircraft. The SR-72, nicknamed ‘Son of Blackbird’, is designed to fly at speeds up to Mach 6 with hypersonic missiles. It is developed for intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and strike missions and can penetrate restricted/prohibited air space to strike any location across a continent, all within an hour. The SR-72 could enter service with USAF in 2030.

Concluding Thoughts

             A new generation of deadly unmanned weapons has arrived. The operators, or should we call them as warriors, sitting in dimly lit rooms, thousands of miles away, engaging targets halfway across the globe. It is not only the ‘war on terror’, but also the future of many a military doctrine in the world with the nature of warfare being affected. Not too far in the past, the use of drones was laughed at by professional soldiers; today, with evolving technologies, however, the very same soldiers are integrating the capabilities of the drones as force multipliers and game-changers in warfare.

            Countries across the world are developing and applying newer technologies to increase their inventory of UAS. The use of the unmanned systems in warfare in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Middle East has amply demonstrated the battlefield capabilities, particularly in strikes against terrorist camps. There is serious thinking in the Royal Air Force (RAF) to replace 30 per cent of the fighter aircraft with UCAVs. The US Navy is planning to deploy an unmanned drone that recently carried out successful landings on an aircraft carrier.

            In India, the research is yet in the nascent stage; the present holding of the systems is extremely low and dependent upon foreign countries. The road map for development and procurement needs to be clearly drawn for the future; any process undertaken, as by the DRDO or any of the DPSUs or private industries, singly or in joint ventures, must meet timelines, as inordinate delays may be operationally expensive.

            Apart from the development and subsequent manufacture, future UAS in India will have other challenges to face; adequacy of bandwidth, air space management, data management and inter-operability will require a responsive networking system capable of sharing information. It is, thus, essential for the Armed Forces to bring out an actionable joint plan, in collaboration with DRDO, ISRO, DGCA, MHA and MoD, charting the road map for UAS operations in India for the next 25 years. This will go a long way in planning the development of not only new technologies, but also the training of operators. As the strategic importance of UAS increases, it is up to the R&D and the industry to respond to deliver systems that are ever more cost effective, reliable and survivable.

Does the Media have no Responsibility

Does the Media have no Responsibility    ( First Published- Defence Watch, July 2012)

Dr Manmohan Singh, PM of India, has been quoted in the India Today of 10 Oct 2005, “Newspapers can’t be mere platforms of entertainment and gossip. They can’t be purveyors of justice. They must serve a larger purpose”. Newspapers are a small part of the term ‘media’ which also constitutes the electronic medium, the all pervasive television, or the ‘idiot box’.

Media is no longer limited to the geographical boundaries of a nation, reaching out to a global audience through the omnipresent World Wide Web. It, therefore, plays an important role in almost every sphere of our lives, exposing or commenting upon governance or lack of it, creating a public opinion, whether right or wrong, informing and educating the general public on issues which otherwise would have remained dormant.

As the fourth pillar of a democracy, the media is generally aware of its responsibilities and commitments towards society. The Shekar Guptas, Josy Josephs, Barkha Dutts, Rajdeep Sardesais and Arnab Goswamis of the print and electronic medium are aware of the power of the pen and speech, yet there are some who get carried away with wanting to increase circulation or TRP ratings through hyper-exaggeration of news, ‘paid news’ or ‘inside information’.

Lately there has been a debate generated on whether the media needs to be regulated? The answer, in my opinion, is both in the affirmative and in the negative. There exists a Code of Conduct for the media, but is there an effective regulatory body to enforce it? What one media organization may find as saleable news may not be very palatable to another. This is not in the least a suggestion for regulating the news contents, for self-accountability gives media the necessary freedom of expression and a certain degree of independence. It should, however, be careful to write/talk about issues that are sensitive to national security.

There have been occasions when news about the military has been brought to the notice of the public without a careful thought of its impact. Cases of corruption in the military, considered the last bastion of discipline, should and must be reported, but at the same time it must also be brought to the notice of the same public, through similar prominence in the news, of the prompt action taken by the concerned authorities; this is almost never done and it gives an impression to the public at large, and members of the military in particular, that the issue has been buried just as in other cases of corruption. Has anybody in any media organization ever given a thought to this aspect?

Another issue, sensitive to the morale and national security, is the subject of military readiness or new acquisitions. One wonders how does the media lay its hands on “Secret” or “Confidential” documents and report them for the consumption of the public without a second thought, when the same documents, if reported by a member of the military, would invite strictures and punitive action on him under the Official Secrets Act? Does the journalist never think that such ‘breaking news’ could undermine the morale of the fighting soldier and create niggling doubts in the mind of the man in the street while providing priceless information to the adversaries?

While wrong doings should not be suppressed, there is a definite need for some introspection before reporting on sensitive matters that could affect the morale of personnel and could also lead to the unwanted disclosures of military plans.

There is an immediate need for the media, more so the electronic media, to observe self-discipline, ask mature questions of the politicians and officials, and report objectively and responsibly. State- authorized regulation is not the answer, but self-regulation through acquiring domain knowledge on matters of national security, is. The existing regulatory bodies, such as The Press Council of India, needs to act on their mandate and wield the cane wherever required. Dr Aroon Tikekar, former editor and present President of the Asiatic Society, is quoted in the Outlook (05 December 2011), “When the media fails to evolve its own code of conduct, the first casualty is its impact on society….if the media starts enjoying power without responsibility, it can be a menace to all concerned”.

Is the Indian society condemned to suffer this menace? Hopefully not!

Note: This piece was written in 2012, and most, if not all of it is still valid!